Evangelical Covenant Church
Director of Church Planting
Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60631
Job Description
Job Description Description: Summary The Director of Church Planting advances our shared mission to multiply healthy, missional Covenant churches across North America. Working in close collaboration with the Senior Director of Church Planting, this role focuses on implementing strategy, supporting church planter development, managing key partnerships, and resourcing conference and local leaders. The Associate Director ensures continuity, operational excellence, and integration of a shared vision across all church planting systems. Essential Functions Vision and Strategy Development: Collaborate with the Senior Director of Church Planting and Conference Leadership to develop regional plans for multiplying healthy, missional, Covenant churches. Contextualize denominational church planting vision and plans within conferences. Identify strategic planting opportunities through demographic study, prayerful discernment, and relational connection. Develop 12–18-month, 3-5 year, and 10-year regional plans in partnership with ECC’s mission priorities. Leadership Development & Planter Support: Cultivate, assess, and equip diverse leaders called to plant and support the planting of Covenant churches. Recruit emerging leaders through residencies, networks and conference initiatives. Coordinate planter participation in ECC’s Assessment Centers, Training, and Residencies. Encourage and provide oversight to coaching, mentorship, connectional experiences, and spiritual care, including rhythms of Sabbath and soul health. Connectional Collaboration & Resource Stewardship: Strengthen partnerships and wisely steward resources to sustain church planting health. Engage conferences and existing churches in sending, sponsoring, or supporting new plants by identifying and encouraging a growing number of sending churches. Facilitate shared giving and strategic use of funding. Foster transparency and accountability in financial and relational partnerships. Inclusion, Innovation, & Holistic Impact: Champion diverse, justice-rooted, and context-sensitive expressions of church planting. Promote ethnic and gender diversity in church planting systems and opportunities. Support and calibrate nontraditional planting models (e.g., microchurch, dinner church, replanting efforts). Encourage ECC priorities of discipleship, intercultural agility, racial righteousness, and community transformation. Renewal Prayer & Spiritual Discernment: Ground church planting in a personal and communal movement of prayer, spiritual renewal, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Establish regional prayer network(s) focused on renewal, revival, and discernment. Integrate regular rhythms of prayer into planning, coaching, and team gatherings. Initiate or support quarterly or annual renewal prayer events with planters, churches, and ECC leaders. Perform Additional Responsibilities as assigned by the Senior Director of Church Planting Requirements: Education and Experience Required:
A minimum of five (5) years within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and at least 8 years of ministry experience reflecting: church planting, local church and conference level activity.
A minimum of 30 hours worked per week. Preferred:
Master’s Level or Comparable. Ordained within the ECC or open to pursuing Ordination Skills Proven fruitfulness in church planting, missional vitality, creative, and catalytic ministry. Demonstrated intercultural agility. Works well under pressure and can accomplish multiple tasks, with conflicting priorities and timelines. Ability to operate with discretion and confidentiality at all times. Talks to others to convey information effectively and efficiently. Responds appropriately and adjusts actions in relation to others' actions. Effectively presents information to top management, boards, and key stakeholders. Reads, analyzes, and interprets common ministry journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Creatively formulates reports, communication and marketing material for audiences. Provides vision and inspiration to peers and subordinates. Displays passion and optimism. Inspires respect and trust. Mobilizes others to fulfill the vision. Environmental Conditions Must be able to work in remote locations with corresponding applications and connections, in accordance with personnel policies. Occasional domestic travel (~50%). Must be versatile and able to work for prolonged segments sitting/standing and on a computer. Must engage frequently with office tools and equipment, such as: computer, copier, phone, printers, etc. Must be able to occasionally lift or move items, less than 35lbs.
Job Description Description: Summary The Director of Church Planting advances our shared mission to multiply healthy, missional Covenant churches across North America. Working in close collaboration with the Senior Director of Church Planting, this role focuses on implementing strategy, supporting church planter development, managing key partnerships, and resourcing conference and local leaders. The Associate Director ensures continuity, operational excellence, and integration of a shared vision across all church planting systems. Essential Functions Vision and Strategy Development: Collaborate with the Senior Director of Church Planting and Conference Leadership to develop regional plans for multiplying healthy, missional, Covenant churches. Contextualize denominational church planting vision and plans within conferences. Identify strategic planting opportunities through demographic study, prayerful discernment, and relational connection. Develop 12–18-month, 3-5 year, and 10-year regional plans in partnership with ECC’s mission priorities. Leadership Development & Planter Support: Cultivate, assess, and equip diverse leaders called to plant and support the planting of Covenant churches. Recruit emerging leaders through residencies, networks and conference initiatives. Coordinate planter participation in ECC’s Assessment Centers, Training, and Residencies. Encourage and provide oversight to coaching, mentorship, connectional experiences, and spiritual care, including rhythms of Sabbath and soul health. Connectional Collaboration & Resource Stewardship: Strengthen partnerships and wisely steward resources to sustain church planting health. Engage conferences and existing churches in sending, sponsoring, or supporting new plants by identifying and encouraging a growing number of sending churches. Facilitate shared giving and strategic use of funding. Foster transparency and accountability in financial and relational partnerships. Inclusion, Innovation, & Holistic Impact: Champion diverse, justice-rooted, and context-sensitive expressions of church planting. Promote ethnic and gender diversity in church planting systems and opportunities. Support and calibrate nontraditional planting models (e.g., microchurch, dinner church, replanting efforts). Encourage ECC priorities of discipleship, intercultural agility, racial righteousness, and community transformation. Renewal Prayer & Spiritual Discernment: Ground church planting in a personal and communal movement of prayer, spiritual renewal, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Establish regional prayer network(s) focused on renewal, revival, and discernment. Integrate regular rhythms of prayer into planning, coaching, and team gatherings. Initiate or support quarterly or annual renewal prayer events with planters, churches, and ECC leaders. Perform Additional Responsibilities as assigned by the Senior Director of Church Planting Requirements: Education and Experience Required:
A minimum of five (5) years within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and at least 8 years of ministry experience reflecting: church planting, local church and conference level activity.
A minimum of 30 hours worked per week. Preferred:
Master’s Level or Comparable. Ordained within the ECC or open to pursuing Ordination Skills Proven fruitfulness in church planting, missional vitality, creative, and catalytic ministry. Demonstrated intercultural agility. Works well under pressure and can accomplish multiple tasks, with conflicting priorities and timelines. Ability to operate with discretion and confidentiality at all times. Talks to others to convey information effectively and efficiently. Responds appropriately and adjusts actions in relation to others' actions. Effectively presents information to top management, boards, and key stakeholders. Reads, analyzes, and interprets common ministry journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Creatively formulates reports, communication and marketing material for audiences. Provides vision and inspiration to peers and subordinates. Displays passion and optimism. Inspires respect and trust. Mobilizes others to fulfill the vision. Environmental Conditions Must be able to work in remote locations with corresponding applications and connections, in accordance with personnel policies. Occasional domestic travel (~50%). Must be versatile and able to work for prolonged segments sitting/standing and on a computer. Must engage frequently with office tools and equipment, such as: computer, copier, phone, printers, etc. Must be able to occasionally lift or move items, less than 35lbs.