An Online Pastor Job Description
The Online Pastor guides, nurtures, and spiritually shepherds people online.
Online Pastors humanize a digital experience. They add a personal element to an experience that might otherwise be just a screen and a message. They may do the work of reaching out after a service to greet or connect with those that have attended. Their online connection opens a door for one-on-one discipleship.
Until recently, Online Pastor may have been an add-on to an existing staff member’s job description. The role might have been cobbled together, combining key responsibilities of someone who is social media savvy, a gifted communicator, and possesses some technical aspects to ensure that the live stream or podcast works for those listening.
But now, the possibilities of church online necessitates that the Online Pastor has a persona and a scalable job description.
Online Pastor Responsibilities
1) Develop Weekend for Online
Work alongside worship, production and stage teams in preparing your weekly service online. Most weekend prep teams understand how to create effective worship services in physical spaces. Do the announcements work for people outside of your physical locations? Does the application of the message need adjusting for people watching from an online environment?
2) Develop Online Hosts and Leaders
The Online Pastor multiplies himself or herself by recruiting and training online volunteers: Hosts to engage and follow-up viewers; online group leaders to operate Next Steps, Alpha, or other online groups.
3) Drive Online Discipleship
The most important aspect of an Online Pastor is to discover, meet and engage the people who are watching Online. Connect them into your Online Discipleship Pathway.
4) Champion Online Locations
A healthy Church Online isn't just a virtual broadcast watched on a screen, but a method of gathering people in physical spaces. Empower others to start Watch Parties, Microsites, or Home Groups.
5) Liaison to Onsite Pastors
An effective Online Pastor helps others see how Church Online can help the entire church do ministry.
6) Research & Development
Online changes on a regular basis. What is the church doing that's working? That's not working? What new advances are happening in technology?
What content can your church create to be a more effective front door?
In what ways can mobile technology help create disciples 168 hours a week, expanding our ministry to more than just one hour on Sunday?
How can the technology of Church Online help people serve in their community, regardless of where they live?
7) Remuneration
Economic pressures may limit churches from hiring qualified personnel for a full time position. Specialized personnel may be challenging to find in your congregation or local area. The beauty of Church Online is a staff member can serve in multiple churches, and also work from out of town or even out of province.
Three churches each providing $25,000/year to share one on-line pastor is feasible. For that online pastor to be allowed to work from home opens up the possibilities of reduced overhead office expense, and shared resource expenses.
8) Top Qualities
A passion for reaching people for Jesus on a local and a global scale.
An entrepreneur who builds and enhances relationships and causes.
A self-starter with a driven personality.
Able to oversee a growing team of remote leaders to effectively build a scalable structure for multiple small groups.
Team oriented while being organized, efficient and focused.
Leveraging technology to build and grow relationships.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.