Job Summary:
The Associate Pastor of Worship leads the planning, execution, and development of the worship ministry at Friends Church. Reporting to the Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative, this role creates Christ-centered worship experiences that help people encounter God, grow in their faith, and take next steps in discipleship.
Associate Pastor of Worship
Job Summary:
The Associate Pastor of Worship leads the planning, execution, and development of the worship ministry at Friends Church. Reporting to the Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative, this role creates Christ-centered worship experiences that help people encounter God, grow in their faith, and take next steps in discipleship.
This pastor recruits, develops, and shepherds worship and production volunteers, leads worship services, and collaborates across ministries to create engaging, excellent weekend experiences. The Associate Pastor of Worship is responsible for building healthy teams, developing future leaders, and cultivating a culture of authentic worship, spiritual growth, and servant leadership.
General Ministry Expectations
Maintain a growing personal relationship with Jesus through consistent prayer, Scripture, worship, and spiritual disciplines.
Live a life consistent with biblical leadership and the mission, vision, and values of Friends Church.
Actively participate in the life of Friends Church through worship, discipleship, and church-wide initiatives.
Help people encounter Christ, grow spiritually, and engage in the church's discipleship pathway.
Equip and develop volunteers to use their gifts in ministry (Ephesians 4).
Shepherd volunteers with humility, integrity, and care (1 Peter 5).
Support the leadership and direction of the Executive Pastor of Creative and Weekend Services.
Foster unity, collaboration, and a positive staff culture.
Key Responsibilities: Weekend Worship Leadership
Plan and lead engaging, Christ-centered worship experiences.
Lead rehearsals, weekend services, and assigned ministry events.
Collaborate with Creative, Production, Communications, and Teaching teams to ensure seamless service execution.
Build worship sets, service flows, and rehearsal plans using Planning Center.
Contribute creative ideas that enhance worship experiences while supporting the overall vision of Friends Church.
Team Development & Shepherding
Recruit, train, schedule, and develop worship and production volunteers.
Coach worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, and technicians toward musical and spiritual growth.
Provide ongoing pastoral care, encouragement, and leadership development.
Build a culture of discipleship, ownership, excellence, and servant leadership.
Develop clear leadership pathways for volunteers from first involvement to team leadership.
Next Generation Worship
Lead worship within Student Ministry as assigned.
Recruit and mentor student musicians and production volunteers.
Develop future worship leaders and create intentional opportunities for students to serve alongside adult teams.
Build a sustainable leadership pipeline for future worship ministry.
Ministry Operations
Maintain accurate Planning Center schedules, resources, and communications.
Steward worship equipment, instruments, and ministry resources.
Ensure worship environments are prepared, organized, and ministry-ready.
Improve ministry systems, workflows, and volunteer processes for greater effectiveness.
Assist with special events, conferences, holidays, and church-wide initiatives.
Success Metrics
Weekend Excellence
Worship services are prepared and executed with excellence.
Planning Center plans are completed by established deadlines.
Weekend execution issues remain minimal and are addressed proactively.
Volunteer scheduling maintains at least a 90% fulfillment rate.
Team Development
Recruit and onboard 20–30 new worship and production volunteers annually.
Provide quarterly coaching and care for volunteers.
Develop emerging leaders capable of leading teams and worship experiences independently.
Next Generation
Lead Student Ministry worship 2–4 times per month.
Recruit and develop 10–20 student volunteers annually.
Identify and mentor 3–5 student leaders each year.
Transition 2–4 students annually into adult worship or production teams.
Ministry Health
Maintain healthy volunteer retention and engagement.
Strengthen collaboration across Creative, Production, and Weekend Experience teams.
Continuously improve ministry systems, communication, and volunteer experience
Qualifications:
Growing relationship with Jesus Christ and agreement with the beliefs and values of Friends Church.
Demonstrated calling to worship ministry and pastoral leadership.
Strong vocal and instrumental proficiency.
Experience leading contemporary worship in a church setting.
Experience recruiting, leading, and developing volunteer teams.
Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
Working knowledge of Planning Center and worship technology.
Preferred
Bachelor's degree in Worship Ministry, Music, Theology, or related field.
Three to five years of worship leadership experience in a growing church.
Experience leading multi-generational volunteer teams.
Familiarity with production environments and AVL systems.
Familiarity with Planning Center
Core Competencies:
Gets It: Understands the vision of Friends Church and the role worship plays in disciple-making.
Wants It: Has a passion for leading people in worship, developing volunteers, and building healthy ministry teams.
Capacity: Demonstrates the leadership, relational skills, musical ability, and organizational capacity to lead a growing worship ministry.
Spiritual Maturity
Humility and Servant Leadership
Team Builder
Musical Excellence
Strong Communicator
Organizational Excellence
Collaborative
Disciple Maker
Adaptable and Solution-Oriented
Creative Thinker
Reports to:
Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative
Works Closely With
Weekend Experience Team
Production Team
Communications Team
Student Ministry
