Lead Pastor

Job Description

Dear Pastoral Applicant,

We are so glad you are considering making your home and life among us. You honor us simply by your prayerful consideration. Castle Oaks is a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination (https://covchurch.org/) and was a church plant 26 years ago. We are now in a transition, seeking a new lead pastor to shepherd us forward. You will find a brief Job Description posted below. What we’re hoping to share here is a bit more of who we are and the heartbeat of this congregation.

Our congregation is a suburban community in the Colorado front range, between Denver and Colorado Springs. Attendance on a Sunday morning is approximately 350, with 225 in person and another 125 online. As is typical for suburban Colorado, we tend to be educated, active in a variety of ways, and caught up in the demands of our busy culture, longing for deeper connections with one another, while still tending to be independent and distracted by many things.

And yet, there’s something unique about Castle Oaks, too, something refreshing. There’s a tone of grace that runs deep in our DNA. We strive to be “more gracious, more generous, more compassionate… more like Jesus.” You will quickly discover a real depth of wisdom, humor and a love for God and his kingdom in our people. Something here is very alive. Though we don’t tend to be a program-driven church, many ministries have originated or are served by Castle Oaks members. We consist of old and young, introverts and extroverts, Democrats and Republicans, long-time Covenanters and people new to the Covenant. We like each other and accept one another’s differences without judgment or self-righteousness, or at least that’s our aim.

We see ourselves as a healthy congregation, and one that is poised for a new season. We are seeking a visionary person who can take us forward, while still cherishing that which is uniquely beautiful here. In this busy world, we sometimes lack a sense of connectedness in our relationships with one another. We love each other, but we often feel detached, especially those of us in the 18-50 age range. We would love vision in our identity as a church body, in our relationships with one another, in our personal walks with God, and in our interactions with the world. So we need you to set a tone for us, a tone that deeply honors spiritual formation, authentic, messy, iron-sharpening-iron relationships with one another, and the inspiration to take that internal and relational fire into the world. Infuse us with vision and hope and a continued understanding of what is so very good about the Good News in our ongoing lives. The energy of grace is crucial to us. If someone were still swimming in the stale waters of “evange-legalism” with more energy to fix us than to know us and love us and God, this would not be a good fit.

Your own personal walk with God is of paramount importance to us as well. We want you to be fresh, passionate, real, genuine and current in your relationship with God. We hope you crave (and take!) time alone with Him. We realize that may include wrestling with God along the way with your own doubts and fears and sufferings and failures, being honest with Him. We hope you have let God speak into your life and that you now walk more wisely and freely because of those struggles. If you have fully faced hard things, we welcome your presence in the hard things we face, knowing that at a certain level you can only lead us where you have gone before.

Preaching is a high priority to us. We are looking for someone relational, personable, delivering what you say in down to earth, understandable, relatable ways, with a twinkle in your eye and a sense of humor. We value sound theology and depth in what you offer us. We value an understanding of the pervasive goodness of God’s absolute grace, viewing sin and shame in that light, and the ability to articulate this well.

And of course, we want to know you, and your family if you have one, and have you know us. We want to laugh with you, cry with you, think with you, and adventure into the love of God with you. We want you and the fullness of who you are, and are more than willing to come alongside you. Because we strive to be a gracious and compassionate people, we allow for mistakes. There is room for you to mis-step. We know we are all in process and we want to walk with you well there, too.

So there you have it! We hope this gives you a better feel for who we are and what we are seeking. Whether you decide to take the next steps with us or not, we are grateful that you are prayerfully, intentionally pondering whether this would be a good fit for you and for us. May God deeply bless you in the next steps of your life and career.

Sincerely,

The Castle Oaks Search Team

Contact: Deb Lawson at djlawson06@comcast.net or 720-482-0748

Note: When you apply, please submit your resume, cover letter and links to sermons.