Director for Evangelical Mission​/Assistant to Bishop, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod

Director for Evangelical Mission/Assistant to the Bishop, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world.

The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

The Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod includes 70 congregations in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania. Our territory covers all or part of 15 counties:
Armstrong, Cameron, Crawford, Clarion, Elk, Erie, Forest, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Vanango, Warren and Westmoreland.

Grounded in our purpose and priorities, the Christian Community and Leadership unit (CCL) helps the ELCA reach and engage new people reflecting the diversity of communities, welcoming them into the Christian faith. To this end, we will energize and engage our core membership and work with the whole of the ELCA to recruit, develop and deploy the leadership, both lay and rostered, that the church needs to fulfill its purpose of spreading the gospel and building the church.

The Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) represents the ELCA through the Christian Community and Leadership Unit (CCL) in the Northwestern Synod and is responsible for the development of tools to support congregational vitality, which we define as, “Communities of Jesus that nurture new life‑changing relationships with God, one another and the world.” The position also reflects the purposes, principles and commitments of the synod, CCL and the ELCA as a whole.

The DEM will collaborate and coordinate with Churchwide, synod and congregational leaders to develop strategies designed to help congregations engage their communities so that more people know the way of Jesus and discover community, justice and love.

The DEM is expected to fully participate in the life and ministry of the synod on the synod staff with synod initiatives and is responsible for implementing and building upon ELCA commitments to ministries among diverse cultures and communities, people with disabilities, and the young‑adult population, as well as people and communities experiencing poverty.

The DEM also serves as an Assistant to the Bishop by representing the bishop in:

• Education and collegiality among Authorized Lay Worship Leaders (ALWL) and Authorized Distribution Ministers (ADM);
• Education and collegiality among Rostered Ministers;
• Building relationships and providing pastoral care among the rostered ministers of the synod.

This position is full‑time, purchase of service and co‑terminous with the synod bishop, and will end August 31, 2031. The position is an in‑person, exempt position; responsibilities require being in the synod office at least weekly. The position is an in‑person, exempt role. Candidates must reside within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia and be authorized to work lawfully in the United States.

• Responsible for the formation and coordination of at least one synod team that organizes the vitality of existing congregations and new mission development in the synod (including area ministry strategies, congregational mission plans, and congregational vitality).
• Responsible for the administration of the portfolio of supported ministries including the process of application and evaluation of grants through the ELCA Grantmaker System. Provides supervision, monitors development and evaluates progress of funded ministries.
• Responsible for identifying, recruiting and training leaders for the work of the church including those who can serve as mission developers and rostered ministers.
• Responsible for establishing short‑ and…