Congregation Executive Pastor / Operations Director

Summary

The Congregation Executive Pastor/Operations Director (CXP/COD) provides primary executive leadership within a local congregation of The Austin Stone Community Church. 

In partnership with the Congregation Pastor (CP), the CXP/COD shares stewardship of the congregation's health and mission. The CXP/COD contributes meaningfully to ministry discernment and gives primary executive leadership to translating agreed ministry direction into aligned & effective plans, people, resources, systems, leadership rhythms and accountability.

The CXP/COD partners and supports CP leadership of Congregational Leadership Community (elders, deacons, staff, and key lay ministry leaders) by helping establish clear roles, rhythms, goals, communication, accountability, and deployment across the community.

As a churchwide executive leader, the CXP/COD helps ensure the contextualized ministry of the congregation is aligned with the doctrine, culture, philosophies, shared ministry commitments, and direction of The Austin Stone while exercising appropriate local agency as one church through local congregations. The CXP/COD reports to the Congregation Pastor.

Essential Responsibilities

Congregational Disciple-Making Leadership

• Partner with the Congregation Pastor to assess congregational health, clarify ministry priorities, and establish annual plans that help people take wise, practical next steps toward joyful devotion to Jesus by gathering, growing, giving, and going.
• Give executive leadership to the implementation of agreed congregation plans and churchwide ministry commitments by clarifying ownership, goals, resources, timelines, and accountability and ensuring they are effectively contextualized and coordinated within the congregation.

Congregation Leadership Community

• Partner with the CP's leadership of the Congregational Leadership Community to establish and sustain clear roles, rhythms, goals, communication, and accountability across elders, deacons, staff, and key lay leaders, increasingly entrusting meaningful ministry responsibility to qualified leaders.
• Lead the congregational deacon team, supporting the CP and elders’ provision of pastoral oversight and care giving particular leadership to deacon development, integration, deployment, and clear ministry ownership.
• Lead the congregational staff with the CP, with the CP giving primary leadership to spiritual tone and ministry direction and the CXP/COD giving primary executive leadership to organizational clarity, management, staff rhythms, accountability, performance, development, and effective deployment.
• Identify, develop, and raise up future church leaders (including elders, deacons, staff, managers, and ministry leaders when applicable) in partnership with the CP and Congregational Leadership Community.
• When serving as an elder, participate meaningfully on the congregational elder team by contributing executive leadership, organizational perspective, shepherding, and wisdom in support of the CP's leadership as first among equals. 

Congregational Operational Excellence

• Give primary executive leadership to congregational operations, regularly assessing and aligning people, resources, ministry environments, systems, and workflows with ministry priorities and leading adjustments that improve ministry effectiveness.
• Ensure clear and healthy staff management by establishing roles, reporting relationships, priorities, expectations, and goals, and ensuring staff receive appropriate feedback, care, development, accountability, and support.
• Steward the congregation’s budget and financial resources through annual budgeting, forecasting, expense management, financial accountability, and wise allocation of resources in alignment with agreed ministry priorities.
• Ensure excellent Sunday ministry by coordinating with the CP, Worship Pastor/Leader, and appropriate leaders the people, volunteers, systems, logistics, facilities, and resources necessary for effective Sunday ministry.
• Ensure clear, timely congregation communication by coordinating local leaders and churchwide communication resources so partners, attenders, leaders, and volunteers receive what they need to participate meaningfully in the life and mission of the congregation.

Churchwide Executive Leadership

• Contribute as a churchwide executive leader to planning, organizational leadership, resource stewardship, training, and strategic initiatives that strengthen the health and mission of The Austin Stone as a whole.
• Give primary leadership energy to the local congregation while maintaining meaningful churchwide ownership, collaboration, and executive leadership.
• Collaborate with congregation executive leaders, Division Leaders, Integrators, and churchwide teams to strengthen alignment, share learning, solve common problems, and improve shared systems, resources, and ministry practices.
• Represent local congregation realities in churchwide planning by surfacing the people, time, financial, and operational implications of shared priorities to the appropriate Lead Pastor and Division leadership; steward local decisions with a whole-church perspective while faithfully championing agreed churchwide direction and ensuring congregation ministries operate within appropriate policies, financial controls, safety standards, and organizational commitments.
• Partner effectively with shared-service teams and participate fully in required churchwide rhythms, including Finance, HR, Technology, Facilities, Creative/Communications, ministry Integrators, staff meetings, prayer gatherings, leadership meetings, retreats, and development days, modeling spiritual vitality, unity, humility, ownership, and leadership.

General

• Serve and lead with the congregation at all required events and activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; advanced education in ministry, business, organizational leadership, or a related field beneficial but not required.
• 7 years of experience leading within vocational ministry, organizational leadership, executive leadership, or a comparable leadership environment, preferred.
• Demonstrated maturity as a disciple of Jesus and commitment to the mission, doctrine, culture, and ministry philosophy of The Austin Stone. If an elder, must meet the biblical and organizational qualifications for eldership at The Austin Stone.
• If the employee is eligible and becomes an ordained elder at The Austin Stone, the title of Executive Pastor will be used.
• Demonstrated experience leading staff and managers, developing leaders, creating organizational clarity, and building healthy, high-functioning teams, strategic planning, organizational execution, budgeting, resource stewardship, and assessment.

Competencies

Spiritual Vitality – A personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Living as a mature disciple on mission in family, church, and community. Demonstrates spiritual maturity, humility, prayerfulness, biblical wisdom, and a pattern of dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Executive Leadership – Demonstrated capacity to take complex ministry realities and create clarity, direction, ownership, and action. Able to discern what matters most, steward competing priorities, make wise decisions, allocate resources, and lead leaders toward meaningful ministry outcomes.

Staff Leadership & Development – Skilled in leading staff and managers through clear expectations, feedback, coaching, accountability, development, and care. Builds healthy teams marked by trust, ownership, collaboration, spiritual maturity, and effective performance.

Strategic Planning & Execution – Ability to partner in discerning ministry direction and then organize people, goals, resources, timelines, and accountability around that direction. Demonstrates consistent follow-through and the capacity to move ministry from idea to sustainable implementation.

Resource Stewardship – Demonstrated capacity to steward budgets, staffing, facilities, technology, time, and other resources wisely and strategically. Able to make allocation decisions based on ministry priorities and the good of the broader church rather than merely local preference.

Organizational Intelligence – Capacity to understand how the local congregation functions within the broader Austin Stone organization and to navigate a complex environment with multiple leaders, teams, systems, and areas of shared ownership. Knows when alignment is required, when collaboration is beneficial, and where contextual leadership is appropriate.

Assessment & Problem Solving – Able to assess ministry and organizational effectiveness using both qualitative and quantitative information, identify underlying problems rather than merely symptoms, and lead appropriate change or course correction.

Shepherding – Demonstrates genuine pastoral care for staff, deacons, leaders, and congregation members. Leads people rather than merely processes and creates environments in which those being led experience clarity, care, encouragement, truth, and meaningful development.

Collaborative Leadership – Demonstrates strong complementary leadership alongside the Congregation Pastor and the ability to lead in concert with elders, deacons, staff, lay leaders, Lead Pastors, and churchwide teams. Integrates multiple perspectives into coherent direction while building unity and shared ownership.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Occasional lifting of objects up to 30 pounds.
• Subject to standing, walking, sitting, bending, reaching, kneeling, pushing and pulling.
• Manual dexterity and coordination are required over 50% of the work period while operating equipment such as a computer keyboard, mouse, and similar machines.

Disclaimer

The information presented indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, nor to be interpreted as, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and objectives required of employees assigned to this job.

Culture and Character   

Employees of The Austin Stone are expected to become Partners (our term for members) of the church, fully embracing the values, mission, and purpose of our church. Additionally, all employees of The Austin Stone are expected to understand, affirm and adhere to our Affirmation of Faith, Bylaws, Culture Map, and other documents defining the beliefs, culture, and mission of The Austin Stone Community Church.

Employees also possess the character qualifications of biblical leadership in the church. At a minimum, each employee must agree and aspire to maturity in these qualifications, invite the authority of church community and leaders as a means of growth in them, and pursue them humbly and faithfully by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As part of our child safety program, employees in this role will be required to participate in a child safety screening and training process upon hire.

Please read Attributes of Leaders as Employees at The Austin Stone for a greater description of cultural, character, and other aspects of joining our team at The Austin Stone. 

The Austin Stone Community Church is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Women, Minorities, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities.