Church & Position Profile
Indiana Campus Pastor
at
Indiana, Pennsylvania
HISTORY & CURRENT STATUS
Harvest Church began with a handful of families in Kittanning, PA in 1998. By 2005 they were an energetic, young congregation of about 350 with 4 pastors, a part-time secretary and a part-time worship leader. Since then they have grown into a thriving church of over 1200 people, with four campuses, 8 pastors, a full time Children’s Director and Worship Pastor, a large, dynamic support staff, a thriving daycare/preschool ministry, and increased their global missionary presence by partnering with a dozen missionaries and sending hundreds of people on short-term mission trips.
But they're just getting started.
The Indiana Campus is seven years old, located in the heart of downtown Indiana, and adjacent to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The campus is poised to not only impact the community but multiple generations through faithful, strategic gospel presence on and around the campus.
Harvest continues to faithfully develop its people while not ignoring friends, family, and neighbors in their area, the three-million people in Western PA, or the 6,000 unreached people groups throughout the world.
CULTURE & LEADERSHIP
Harvest exists to "increase the health and size of God's church everywhere." They work hard to regularly remind the church of its mission so that they remain focused as one church in four locations. Everything Harvest does evolves from that mission, based on the twin pillars of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, and expressed with their commitment to:
- walk with God
- love one another
- seek the lost.
Harvest's leadership style is marked by grace. The leaders do not micro-manage, but give their staff the freedom to self-manage, trusting them to fulfill their responsibilities in a timely manner as dictated by the needs of the tasks. The general attitude is one of positive reinforcement of individual strengths and the use of mistakes as an opportunity for personal growth, a type of “failing forward”.
As a result, the staff experiences a positive, encouraging environment, evidenced by care and mutual respect shared by the team, and this healthy environment lends itself to the stability and longevity of its staff.
Lead Pastor Mike Greiner (hired 2005) is an exceptional communicator who is committed to his staff and works well with Executive Pastor Fred Neal, Jr (hired 2009). Mike dreams dreams and casts vision, and Fred puts together plans and systems to make it happen. Mike invests in his staff by leading new pastors on staff through elder training, as each pastor serves as an elder. This time is also an opportunity to learn more about Harvest's values and culture.
Mike and Lorrie have been married for 35 years and have 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Mike is a Penn State grad and received his MDiv from Columbia International University and DMin from Southern Baptist Seminary.
Harvest is an non-denominational church with Southern Baptist roots. It is an elder-led church governed by a Board of Directors (Executive Elder Team, aka XET), consisting of the LP and XP (permanent members), as well as 4 non-vocational elders who serve a 1 year term. The Elder Team consists of both vocational (Pastors) as well as non-vocational elders from every campus.
Harvest operates as one church in four locations, while recognizing that each campus has different needs and strengths, based on its community setting. Every campus is led by its own Campus Pastor, who in turn, chooses and is supported by his own team of elders and deacons.
OPPORTUNITY
Harvest is a gospel-centered church, striving to put Jesus and his love for Indiana County, Western Pa, and the world at the center of all they do. This is a true family who works hard and loves one another.
The Indiana campus is seven years old, averages 150 on a weekend and, pre-COVID, was preparing to move to two services in the fall. They occupy the entire third floor of a retail building on Philadelphia Street, the main street in town. Just over a quarter-of-a-mile away is the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, home to 10,000 students.
The ideal candidate has a church planter's profile: an entrepreneurial spirit with a heart for evangelism and disciple-making. The Indiana Campus Pastor has the opportunity to build teams, invest in leaders, and equip the equippers.
Lead Pastor Mike does the bulk of the preaching, but the campus pastor can expect to preach approximately ten times a year.
CHALLENGE
The new campus pastor will be leading in the unchartered COVID territory. While Harvest has done a terrific job through the pandemic, there is still a learning curve for all.
The Indiana campus will inherit a close-knit group of people who were well-loved by their pastor. The new pastor will need to take time to establish himself and focus on investing in its leaders, while simultaneously meeting and connecting new people.
It will be tempting to strive to reach the numerous student groups on campus, but it's vital for the campus pastor to build into the church while mobilizing teams to take steps of faith towards impacting the campus and community.
The Indiana worship area is newly remodeled, but the campus pastor would be wise to develop a team to conitnue to evaluate the best use of space for current and future ministry.
SLINGSHOT INSIGHT
I met with seven staff members and one lay elder and absolutely love the team and church. This is an exciting opportunity for a strong leader who is a good teammate and eager to be part of a team committed to making disciples.
The staff is united and supportive and has a healthy culture that allows and encourages "pushback." Team members and leaders want to know what you think, even if it's different from the others.
Harvest has active, vibrant, and strong children and youth ministries. There is no disconnect between what they learn on Sunday and what is preached to the adults, and their lessons include activities for families to do together, providing a pathway for spiritual growth for all. As in everything they do, the lessons are gospel-centered.
Harvest does not fear change and is open to developing new programs, ministries, and systems if they enable them to be more effective in its ministry to both church and community. Complacency and “we’ve always done it this way” does not exist here.
Harvest strives to develop authentic relationships with anyone who works with them, whether it is a community organization, a ministry team within the church, or the missionaries they support. They take a personal interest in all of their missionaries and encourage members and staff alike to regularly participate in short-term mission trips to support their work.
REGION & LOCATION
Harvest Church's Indiana campus is located in beautiful Indiana County, the "Christmas tree capital of the world." While the Indiana University of Pennsylvania is the largest employer in the area, there are still a number of Christmas tree farms. Indiana is the county seat with a population of 14,000.
Indiana County includes nearly 90,000 residents and offers many diverse activities to be enjoyed by anybody who visits. Some of these activities include hunting, fishing, shopping, dining, camping, golfing, water adventures, parks, history, geo-caching, festivals, and fairs. And for those who enjoy trips into the city for professional sports and the arts, Pittsburgh is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes away.
Learn more about the region here.
POSITION SUMMARY
Overview:
Each Campus Pastor works under the direction of the Executive Elder Team while reporting directly to the Executive Pastor in order to launch, lead, establish, and develop the local campus. His responsibilities will be to lead the local campus through staff and volunteer team development toward the realization of the vision and mission of the church: increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere.
Qualifications
1. Meets the requirements of 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9
2. Bachelor or seminary degree is preferred but not required
3. A minimum of 3-5 years in church leadership is preferred
Reports to
1. The Lead Pastor for spiritual oversight and preaching
2. The Executive Pastor for operational oversight
Skills & Abilities
- 1.A catalytic and visionary leader
2. A charismatic personality, able to draw people in and help them take next steps
3. Naturally connects and relates to people from all walks of life
4. Has a heart and love for young adults and able to connect with them and care for them in an authentic way
5. Thinks strategically and able to successfully delegate to gifted leaders
6. Multi-tasker, able to oversee multiple operations from a management perspective
7. Good public communicator who doesn’t feel the need to preach every week
8. Team builder who is able to form, develop, encourage, and inspire leaders
9. Team player who can shape as well as be shaped
Responsibilities
- 1.Pastor/Shepherd the local congregation, while developing teams to impact students and staff at IUP.
2. Provide vision, support, and leadership for the campus staff and congregation
3. Oversee and supervise the operations and logistics of campus ministry
4. Transfer and incorporate the global church DNA to the campus and surrounding community
5. Initiate and facilitate efforts to serve, enrich and reach the surrounding community
6. Implement Harvest’s systems for all ministries at the campus
7. Identify, recruit and develop key ministry leaders
8. Host the worship services
9. Preach as assigned by the Lead Pastor
10. Teach
11. Provide leadership, input, and support to churchwide initiatives as needed
12. Attend all necessary leadership meetings/functions
CONTACT
Ready to take the next step?
To find out additional information about Harvest Church, visit
harvestpa.org to discover more about their core beliefs, vision, values, and to learn about the ministries of the church.
If, after prayerfully reviewing this information, you sense this role and church culture could be a good fit for you, contact Gregg Farah via any of the options below.
Gregg Farah// 646-335-3342 // [email protected]