Job Description

About the Small Groups and Connections Pastor:

The Small Groups and Connections Pastor  will play a key role in the health and mission of the Midlothian Bible Church family by focusing on the development and support of small groups and mid-sized communities. This role identifies, equips, empowers, and cares for small group and mid-sized community leaders. The role works closely with other pastors and church staff to improve and further develop our connection pathway to help people believe in the Gospel of Christ, belong to the community in Christ, build up one’s walk with Christ, and be strong in the mission of Christ.

The Small Groups and Connections Pastor’s Responsibilities Include: 

• Vision:

• • Communicates the vision of genuine biblical community to group leaders and the church family. Envisioning with elder and staff team a group ministry that furthers growth in Christ, marked by the one another’s of Scripture and the multiplication of shepherding leaders.

• Collaboration: 
  • Collaborates with the ministry staff team to develop church wide strategies to connect people to genuine biblical community. This may include special group emphasis in September and January, connection events and mid-size events that lead to small group participation, and guest welcome and new member classes.

• Strategy: 

• •  Executes and manages strategies that make it easy to join a group. This includes website content and periodic church-wide communication that include easy to follow steps to join a group.

• Equipping:  

• • Creates and implements a leadership development strategy to recruit, train, and build up small group leaders over time. This may use the current discipleship and leadership pathway that is currently being put in place. However, it will also involve specialized training for group leadership.
  • One training resource that has been used to some extent is Transforming Small Group Leadership, developed by Soul Care Consulting. The resource, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change, is another curriculum that gets at the kind of care that would be ideal to develop.

• Shepherding:
  • Regularly encourages and cares for group leaders through one-on-one meetings. As the number of groups multiply, develop coaches who can help care for group leaders.

• Communication:

• •  Clearly communicates group life issues/concerns to the pastoral staff, elder team, group leaders, and congregation.

• Encouraging:

• • Encourages and inspires  group leaders through periodic leadership huddles, appreciation dinners/luncheons/gifts/cards, and other ideas.

• Connection and Next Steps: 

• • Works with church staff to improve upon an existing process or implement a new process to incorporate newcomers to the church.  This includes directing greeting teams, creating discovery groups, and helping lead new member classes.

• Caring:
  • Works with church staff, elder team, and deacon team to ensure widows, single mothers, and other vulnerable people are being cared for by the church family.

• Preaching: 

• • Preaches God’s Word periodically as assigned by the Lead Pastor.

What You Bring: 

The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Small Groups and Connections Pastor:

Education & Experience

The ideal candidate will have:

• 7-10 years of church/ministry experience
• Undergraduate degree, required
• Seminary degree, preferred

Personal Characteristics & Qualifications

• A history of doing life in an authentic community and developing new relationships easily.
• A habit of identifying, recruiting, and developing group leaders.
• A pattern of regularly encouraging and lifting up the accomplishments of group leaders.
• A steadfastness to stay the course in group ministry development.
• A strong team player working in tandem with other pastors, church staff, and church family.
• A heart to see believers become ministers who disciple, care, and counsel fellow believers.

What it’s Like to Live in Midlothian, TX: 

Situated in Ellis County just 26 miles south of Dallas and Fort Worth, this suburban gem sparkles quietly on the bustling North Texas landscape. With a population around 53,000, this affluent community blends cosmopolitan amenities with provincial living.

Incorporated in 1888, Midlothian still celebrates its rural heritage built on cattle farms, cotton gins, and corn production while forging into a future defined by business growth, stellar education, gorgeous homes, a growing local dining scene, and quality of life. The community has undergone rapid growth in the past decade fueled by a steady influx of new residents, ongoing housing, retail, commercial development, and several new school campuses.

Renowned chiefly for its ample outdoor activities from paddleboard or kayak trips along Joe Pool Lake where visitors find plenty of trails & breathtaking views.   Additionally, construction on a new library and city hall are underway in Midlothian’s quaint downtown.

Businesses that call Midlothian home include Gerdau, Holcim, Applied LNG, Ash Grove, Buckley Oil, Martin Marietta, the  Midlothian Towne Center, while Google, Methodist Midlothian Medical Center, Sunrider Manufacturing, and SunOpta are among the community’s newest corporate residents. (Midlothian, Texas)