Role of the Campus Pastor: Responsibilities and Practices in Multisite Churches

Abstract

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to this project by describing the current definition of the campus pastor and evaluates the overall idea of multisite churches. This chapter introduces my personal background which led me to this project and identifies the rational for focusing on this topic.

Chapter 2 explores the biblical calling of the pastoral ministry as found in the Pastoral Epistles. This chapter focuses on what the campus pastor must be and what the campus pastor must do. While there are many functional aspects of being a campus pastor, he must first be biblically qualified to be a pastor and perform those functions while serving in his role.

Chapter 3 gives the results of the online survey and presents the functional job descriptions for campus pastor based on the different ministry models. This data helps the campus pastor see how the role can look different based on size of the church, number of campuses, preaching style used, and geography of the campuses.

Chapter 4 provides practical suggestions on the top three best practices of campus pastors that emerged from the online surveys: effective communication, contextualization amidst structure, leading from the second chair. Interviews were conducted with various campus pastors and practical ideas were captured that can be implemented by new campus pastors to help them be most effective in their role.

Chapter 5 describes a learning map for a new campus pastor to use in the first ninety days of his position. This learning map outlines how a campus pastor should relate to others, how he should learn his context, how he should develop leaders, and how he should take care of his own soul. This learning map will be a helpful resource and guide to ensure the campus pastor can maximize his first ninety days and establish habits and patterns that will help him be successful going forward.