Shepherding Pastor

Religious | Presbyterian Church in America

The Shepherding Pastor will work as part of the pastoral leadership team and equip the elders of MRPC in their biblical calling to shepherd the congregation, ensuring that officers and laypeople are formed in Christlikeness, grounded in the love and grace of Jesus, and mobilized to extend that love and grace in the church, the local community, and the world.

Lead Elders in Shepherding the Congregation — 30%

• Develop and guide a unified shepherding strategy for the Session through the Shepherding Leadership Team (SLT).
• Equip ruling and teaching elders for effective pastoral care, visitation, spiritual oversight, and discipleship.
• Ensure regular communication between elders, staff, and ministries regarding the spiritual and physical needs of members.
• Provide tools, training, and rhythms for elders to shepherd their assigned flocks faithfully and consistently.

Working with Equipping the Church Ministries— 30%

• Hospital and home visitation, pastoral counseling, crisis care, and spiritual encouragement.
• Maintain ongoing awareness of congregational needs and coordinate appropriate responses.

Teaching, Counseling, Weddings, and Funerals — 20%

• Teach in various church contexts as directed.
• Provide biblical counseling.
• Conduct weddings, pre-marital counseling, and funerals as needed.

Oversight of Care & Marriage Ministries — 15%

• Provide leadership for Stephen Ministry and Safe Places.
• Oversee Marriage Mentors, pre-marital efforts, ReEngage, and Grace Marriage.
• Provide administrative oversight to staff who report to this position.
• Shepherd and support ministry leaders and volunteers.
• Ensure smooth communication, reporting, and coordination among ministry teams.

• Ordained in the PCA (or eligible for ordination)
• A demonstrated heart of compassion and relational wisdom.
• Experience in pastoral counseling, visitation, and congregational care.
• Ability to creatively develop and lead ministry, educational, and care programs.

MRPC is a dynamic, intergenerational congregation, whose Core Values are Resting in Grace, Hope-filled Discipleship, Courageous Living, and Loving Community. We seek to implement these values through our working groups of Celebrating Christ, Equipping the Church, Engaging the World, and our church Operations.

We have just under 1700 members, and we are the largest PCA church in South Carolina. That said, we work hard to make a large church feel like a smaller congregation through small groups, events and activities that lend themselves to an inspiring corporate intimacy, and congregational care and shepherding in a variety of ways.