Lead Pastor

Job Opportunity:

Pastor St. Matthew Christian Church in Bishopville, SC, is seeking a faithful, relational, and community-minded pastor to shepherd our congregation. We are a warm, welcoming, multi-generational church located in a rural setting, with an average weekly worship attendance of 50 to 80 people. Our church family is deeply committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ and is uniquely blessed with a vibrant, active children s ministry and senior adult outreach.

Job Overview Position:

Pastor Location:

Bishopville, SC (Rural community)

Congregation Size:

50-80 weekly attendance

Employment Type:

Full-Time Compensation:

Competitive Salary (commensurate with experience; benefits package included)

Core Responsibilities Preaching & Teaching:

Deliver engaging, biblically sound, and practical messages aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ weekly.

Family & Youth Engagement:

Provide strategic leadership and enthusiastic support to preserve and grow our strong children's ministry.

Pastoral Care:

Provide compassionate care, prayer, and counseling to church families, including home and hospital visitations.

Community Outreach:

Foster deep connections within our local rural community and lead the congregation in impactful outreach initiatives.

Discipleship & Leadership:

Partner with lay leadership and volunteers to cultivate spiritual growth, mentorship, and discipleship programs.

Qualifications & Requirements Faith Alignment:

Must strictly adhere to our Statement of Faith and Mission Statement.

Spiritual Character:

Walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, modeling Christ-like humility, integrity, and love in daily life.

Rural Ministry Heart:

Demonstrate a natural affinity for rural church life, enjoying close-knit community relationships and personal interaction.

Education:

Degree in Divinity, Theology, or a related biblical field preferred.

Experience:

Experience leading or working alongside growing children's ministries is highly valued.

Skills:

Strong relational, communication, and organizational skills, with a proven ability to connect with all generations. How to Apply Please submit the following materials to katherineogaskins28@gmail.

com:

A current resume highlighting relevant ministry experience. A personal faith testimony and a brief philosophy of ministry. Links to video or audio recordings of recent sermons if available.

Mission Statement:

To bring people into loving and growing relationships with Jesus Christ and others. Love God

• Worship) We give reverence and honor to God in everything we do. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37) Love our Neighbors
• Ministry) We use our gifts and talents to serve all people. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39) Love the Lost
• Evangelism) We proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through our words and actions. For the son of man came to seek out and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10) Love our church family
• Fellowship) We support and grow relationships within our congregation. A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved You. So, you must love one another. (John 13:334) Love to Learn
• Discipleship) We study God s word so that we are equipped for daily Christian living.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) Statement of Faith The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the statement of faith accurately represents the teachings of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members, staff, and volunteers. All literature, whether print or electronic, used in the church shall be in complete agreement with the statement of faith. All activities permitted or performed in any facilities owned, rented, or leased by this church, or engaged in by any member of the church staff (volunteer or paid), and all decisions of the administration of this church shall not conflict with the statement of faith. In all conflicts regarding interpretation of the statement of faith, the Administrative Council and the Pastor, on behalf of the church, have the final authority. Statement of Faith Beliefs on

Doctrine The Church:

We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the fellowship in which the Word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the church exists to worship (I Chronicles 16:29), teach (Matthew 28:20), fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25), evangelize (Mark 16:15), and serve (I Peter 4:10).

The Holy Bible:

We believe in the Holy Bible, which reveals the word of God as it is necessary for our salvation. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Apostles Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our

Lord:

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. (Hymnal pg. 881)

Two Sacraments:

They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us. Baptism

• signifies repentance, forgiveness from sin, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and it represents new birth in Christ Jesus and Christian discipleship. (Acts 2:38) The Lord s Supper
• Is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another.

Those who rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink from the blessed cup, partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner proclaiming the Lord s death until he comes again. (I Corinthians 11:23-26) 3

Sin and Free Will:

We believe man is fallen from righteousness and inclined to evil. Except by being born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In his own strength, and without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible for exercising his free will for good.

Justification and Regeneration:

We believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified or accounted righteous before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness and are enabled to serve him. We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.

Good Works:

We believe good works are necessary, but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment. We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from true and living faith, for through and by them faith is made evident.

Judgement:

We believe all men stand under the judgement of Jesus Christ. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to endless condemnation.

The Sabbath Day:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work but on the seventh day you shall rest. The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8

• 11)

Government:

There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. Therefore, those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God and punishment will follow. (Romans 13:1-2)

Property:

We believe all forms of Church property are to be held in solemn trust and used responsibly to support the church s mission in the world and for human good under the sovereignty of God.

Marriage and Sexuality:

We believe that the term marriage has only one legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union as delineated by Scripture. Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility or space owned, leased, or rented by this church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as their genders were determined by anatomy at birth (and not subject to change). Whenever there is a conflict between the church s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the church s statement of faith, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern. (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; I Cor. 7:1-9) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage as defined in (a) above. We believe that any 4 other type of sexual activity, or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more accepted in the culture and the courts, are contradictory to God s natural design and purpose for sexual activity. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9-10; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4) We believe that God creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, unchangeable genders together reflect the image and nature of God, and the rejection of one's biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27)

Sanctity of Life:

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion is murder and constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:13-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:36, 44) We believe that an intentional act or omission that facilitates premature death, is assuming a decision that is to be reserved for God. We do not believe that discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome is euthanasia. (Ex. 20:13; 23:7; Matt. 5:21; Acts 17:28)

Love:

We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal graciously, humbly, gently, and patiently with those who oppose us. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such actions. (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44

• 48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24
• 26; Titus 3:2; I Peter 3:8-9; 1 John 3:17-18)

Protection of Children:

We believe that children are a blessing from the Lord and must be absolutely protected within the church from any form of abuse or molestation. The church has zero tolerance for any person, whether paid staff, volunteer, member, or visitor, who abuses or molests a child. (Ps. 127:3-5; Matt. 18:6, 19:14; Mark 10:14)