Ministry Information Form Query

For over 160 years, FPC has held forth God’s word of love and light in downtown Dallas. Our vision today continues that tradition: Embrace God’s vision for a just and merciful world where all are welcomed, all are fed, all are healed, all are freed, and all are home, through worship, education, service ministries.

FPC’s rich worship traditions are grounded in decades of preaching and teaching excellence. Complementing traditional worship, we have vibrant music programs for adults and children plus special services throughout the church year. Wood Street worship offers an engaging band-led worship service that is proving meaningful to persons of all ages. Our education ministry offers opportunities focused on nurturing and challenging our faith. Our service ministry includes one of the largest social ministries in the denomination, focusing on serving downtown homeless and at-risk individuals and youth, through nationally recognized programs. We actively support and participate in global missions in Haiti and Mexico, while tending to the needs of our own congregation through Congregational Life ministries.

We feel called to be a constant example of Christ’s love amid the changing landscape of our city, downtown neighborhood, and congregation.

FPC has long ministered to Dallas’s homeless population through The Stewpot, providing access to dental/medical care, rehabilitation, counseling, support for communication and creative expression, and opportunities for employment. FPC serves 1,000 meals daily at The Bridge, local homeless recovery center. We advocate for social justice, and will display the same commitment to racial justice working to end racism and move toward reconciliation with God’s help.

Our neighborhood has changed from a marginalized section of Dallas to a revitalized dynamic part of the city. We face the complexity of serving an increasing downtown homeless population, while also attracting neighborhood residents, many of whom have never participated actively in a church.

FPC campus includes additional entities that hold significant opportunities for serving the congregation and community: FPC Day School provides childcare through pre-K for children of working parents; Encore Park creates innovative outreach programs with collaborative nonprofits; community garden; amphitheater.

Sharing and celebrating Jesus Christ are cornerstones of our mission, and to do so with the passion and vigor we hold dear, we must ensure our own flock are fed, cared for, and nurtured.

FPC is a warm, loving, and diverse congregation that welcomes members and clients from many zip codes in the North Texas area, as well as those seeking a tie or connection with our faith community. The Associate Pastor for Practice and Formation offers an extraordinary opportunity for a collaborative innovator to build upon our spiritual foundations while creating new ways to discover and live out our greater spiritual purpose in response to God’s love.

Spiritually mature educator: nurtures a learning community of practice in personal and communal prayer and table fellowship; makes and holds space for renewal and transformation through innovative educational opportunities; engages in expanding existing and developing new creative spiritual formation practices

Lifelong learner: strives to learn through careful listening

Collegial self-starter: energized by others; able to take initiative; comfortable working with changing priorities; can intuit the complexity of FPC with careful listening/asking the right questions

Strong teamwork/people-management skills: collaborates, encourages, supports and manages team members and volunteers

Pastoral Care: creates a spirit of openness so those in need of care feel comfortable confiding in her/him/them; respects confidences; recognizes her/his/their limits; refers to other professional care providers as necessary

Personal resilience: copes well with change/uncertainty; able to find new direction when confronted with disappointment

Hopeful and engaging: maintains stability in the moment and hope for the future; provides direction, guidance, and encouragement to others in chaos and complexity; cultivates connections between others and spirit of openness

Essential Functions

Design/lead spiritual formation opportunities for adults: groups, classes, retreats that inspire transformation

Be a detail-oriented artist. Write liturgy, keep worship calendar, oversee bulletin preparation for all Sunday morning worship services

Lead your team supervising Directors of Youth and Children’s ministry, encouraging professional growth, and asking for their help

Work closely with Senior Pastor to lead church’s healing justice and racial equity initiatives

Spark leadership in others. Serve as primary staff support to Mission and Faith Formation Committees

Oversee development of new Home Group program partnering with Associate Pastor for Care and Belonging

Lead monthly worship services for The Stewpot community

Practice your craft. Teach regularly - average once per week

Publicize faith formation opportunities working closely with communications team to invite participation in a manner welcoming to people who are new to church

Steward our legacy managing the faith formation and mission budgets

Other Functions

Participate regularly in worship and preach upon request, 6-8 times per year

Serve as “on-call” pastor for pastoral emergencies as scheduled through the AP for Care and Belonging

Officiate at weddings and funerals at direction of Senior Pastor

Support care ministry of the church by visiting ailing church members, guests in hospitals/care facilities at direction of the AP for Care and Belonging

Perform other duties assigned by Senior Pastor