Position: Pastor

Trinity Lutheran Church

Carrington, North Dakota, United States

Pastor

• Address: 100 Poplar Ave, Carrington, North Dakota 58421
• Affiliation: LCMC
• Contact: Jennifer Wede
• Phone: 701.650.1488
• Email: jennifer.wede@gmail.com
• Website: Click Here
• Category: Pastoral Ministry
• Position Title: Pastor
• Position Type: Full Time
• Description:

                               

  Trinity Lutheran Church LCMC

  Carrington, North Dakota

  Pastor’s Job Description

   

  The Pastor shall provide spiritual and pastoral direction to the overall ministry and mission of Trinity Lutheran Church.  The Pastor will have primary responsibility for leading and coordinating the congregation’s worship, education, ministry programs and the church staff.  The Pastor serves under the supervision of the Church Council and Executive Committee.

  The Pastor shall:

  1. Regularly and faithfully pray for the congregation and its ministry.
  2. Regularly and faithfully preach and teach the inerrant Word of God and administer the Sacraments to the congregation.
  3. Plan and lead worship that reflects the glory of God and the truth of Jesus Christ in cooperation with the organist, musician committee, and lay participants.
  4. Officiate at special services including weddings, funerals, nursing home services, Lenten services, and other special occasions.
  5. Provide pastoral care for all members and others in need through visitations, counseling, and prayer.
  6. Encourage the sharing of music by all people of all ages for the sake of enhancing the worship experience.
  7. To teach confirmation in cooperation with the Board of Education and provide opportunities for the youth of our church to regularly meet, serve, learn, and enjoy God’s love in fellowship, service activities, fundraising, and trips.
  8. In collaboration with the Church Council, promote congregational benevolence and mission support on a local, national, and global level.  Invite all to participate in the mission of the Church so that our members, the greater community, and the whole world may come to Christ.
  9. Direct Adult Christian Education through Bible studies, special series, and educational forums or workshops.
  10. Participate in the assimilation of new members into the life of the congregation in conjunction with the Council and organizations of the congregation.
  11. Lead, administer, and manage all areas of the ministry and council along with all Church boards, employees, and committees and cultivate in them a way to embody Christ’s example of service and leadership.
  12. Provide leadership and direction to the council for long term planning and help guide them in a way that is focused on Christ and the vision statement of the congregation.
  13. Serve as a resource and help foster a positive work environment for staff through coordination with the church secretary in day-to-day administration of the church and congregation.
  14. Supervise and collaborate with the Parish Nurse in the carrying out of our ministry.
  15. Provide monthly pastoral report at council meetings.
  16. Represent Trinity Lutheran Church in the community of Carrington and beyond by participating in community affairs and volunteering to serve as time and opportunity permits with priority to Trinity congregation.
  17. The Pastor should be available to the congregation with the understanding that there is a need for flexibility in hours based on circumstances that arise.  Visits and calls may include evenings and weekends, with intense schedules possible.  Office presence is essential as well for accessibility by church members and staff.

  Congregational Information
  Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMC

              Council President: Nic Beach
              Phone: 701-307-0785
              Email: beachcustomhauling@gmail.com

  Call Committee Chair
              Jennifer Wede
              Phone: 701-285-3516/cell 701-650-1488
              Email: jennifer.wede@gmail.com

  Important History

  • Congregation formed in 1933
  • Left ELCA and joined the LCMC in January of 2012
  • Shifting youth education from Sunday morning to Wednesday evening for more parent involvement

  Construction date of church building: 1979
  Date of last renovation: 2015

  Significant trends in demographics: our current roster has us at 362 households which makes about 900 members, including people living in nursing homes and students attending college. We have a broad range of all age groups. Our Wednesday evening B.L.A.S.T. (Building Lives Around Spiritual Truth) program has brought quite a big population of young families to our church.

  Constitution was last updated: 2013, we are currently updating the constitution and it will be up for congregational approval in January of 2023

  Present programs/practices

  • Worship

  9:30am traditional service with communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, in the last 12 months we’ve averaged 140 people every Sunday

  • Education
    Confirmation: Wednesdays during the school year, about 30 kids in grades 7-9
    Youth: Our “Sunday School” is held on Wednesday as B.L.A.S.T. and an average of 60-70 kindergarten-6th grade students
    • 4:12 youth group is about 10 7th and 8th grade kids
    • New Life Group is about 20 9th-12th grade students, Vacation Bible School

              Adult: Sunday after church Bible study, Monday evening Bible studies, women’s Bible
              study monthly on the 3rd Monday evening and 3rd Tuesday morning
              Library: We have an excellent library at our church that is open to everyone and has a
              wide array of books and movies for people of all ages and stages of Christian education
              to check out and bring home

  • Evangelism
                Radio broadcast
                Monthly newsletter
                Guest speakers
                Slovakia mission
                Parish nurse
  • Special Ministries
                Children’s message during worship
                Special music during worship
                Lenten services
                TLCW (Trinity Lutheran Church Women)
                Fall supper
                Fair food booth
  • Service Ministries

              Carrington’s Daily Bread
  Facilitate and host blood drives
  Quilting, nalbinding, and prayer shawls
  Community Vacation Bible School
  School supply drive and health kits for Lutheran World Relief
  Scholarships to any child that would like to attend a Christian summer camp
  Community Thanksgiving meal
  Lifetime membership to Stephen Ministries
   

  • Staffing: Currently, we are served fulltime by one pastor. There is a part-time secretary, custodian, parish nurse, and a pianist, assisted by a network of volunteers.
  • Vision Statement
                It’s time to come back to a connection with God,
                                             connection with each other,
                                             connection with our community
  • Vision: Our community and the whole world has had a challenging time. It is time for something new. Our Lord says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. It’s time. It’s time to put past difficulties and the pandemic behind us. We have demonstrated our resilience. It’s time to come back together and make a concentrated effort to become more than we have ever been before. It’s time for us all to come back and reconnect with those relationships that are most important.
  • Building: In 2015, we added on our Faith addition for educational use, office space, and meeting purposes. Our next building project is addressing the drainage issues in the parking lot. We just updated the doors to push-button handicap accessible doors and ramps on both of the entrances to the church building.
  • Stewardship: The church’s trustees prepare the budget each year. When there is a particular need, fundraisers are held and are well attended.
  • Spending plan: Pastoral Ministry and Staff-58%, Building and Maintenance-25%, Congregational Life-13%, Missions and Benevolence-3%  Our Missions and Benevolence percentage is low due to COVID and our budget hasn’t quite rebounded yet.

   

  Needs and strengths:

  Strengths	Needs
  Good leadership	Increase participation in activities
  Great volunteers	Adult fellowship/small group opportunities
  Parish nurse	Get over fear of being disciples
  Wonderful library	Increase church attendance
  Nice facility	Enhanced youth education
  Diligent stewardship	Increase volunteers
  Financial stability	Youth participation/retention
  Fair food booth	More engaging worship/music leader
  Lent soup suppers/B.L.A.S.T. suppers	Better communication
  Bible study opportunities available	Website/social media presence
  Youth programs	Summer youth activities

   

  • Pastoral skills: Bible knowledge and ability to teach, preach the Gospel, strong moral character, understanding of rural congregational needs and lifestyle, leadership, and community involvement  
  • Call process unique to our congregation: We have had an Intentional Interim Pastor for the last year and a half and he has been an excellent guide, helping us address past issues and work through things we didn’t even realize were affecting us as a congregation.  We formed a Transition Team to address issues, survey the congregation, and give us a deeper understanding of who we are as we enter into the call process.  We also formulated a vision graphic and vision statement to help us pinpoint exactly what we want our church to be as we go forward.