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Assistant Pastor/Church Planting Intern Page OK...so you never thought you would be investigating a ministry opportunity in the Hamptons. Guess what? Neither did my wife and I.
We thought we would be doing the urban church plant gig. We almost planted in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Boston and New York City. What brought us to the East End
of Long Island, NY? A powerful and compelling VISION.
The Community: There is perhaps no other place in America with the challenges and opportunities as the Hamptons. The population is growing. The year-round population of our target area is 40,500. There are a few evangelical churches. All are small and cater towards residents who have lived in the Hamptons for many generations. We refer to these multi-generational residents as The Rooted. In the last 10 years over 10,000 people have moved to the Hamptons, mostly from New York City. These we refer to as The Transplants. Before Grace Presbyterian Church there was no church that was effectively reaching the skeptical intellectuals who recently moved to the community. Though they now live in the Hamptons, they have a very Manhattan mindset. Also, during the summer the population explodes to 140,000 to 160,000. Most of these people are the cultural elites who shape societal beliefs and trends: Wall Street investors, media executives, T.V. and movie celebrities. We refer to these as The Perennials. The Vision: Our vision is big. First, our vision is to be a vibrant Christian community that reaches our year-round community of Transplants with the gospel of grace. Second, our vision is to be a church that effectively engages the Perennials so that they may experience the hope and restoration that comes through Christ. Third, our vision is to begin a Christian retreat center similar to Francis Schaeffer's L'abri. Here Christians from New York City may bring their skeptical friends for an encounter with Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. The retreat center will also be used for spiritual renewal as well as housing for visiting musicians, ministers, and artists. And fourth, our vision is to plant 15 churches on Long Island by 2025. There are 3 million people living on Long Island and very few effective churches. Long Island is a beautiful place to live and it is ripe for new churches. Grace Church: Our church is just one year old. It is made up of mostly Transplants with a few Rooteds attending. We are growing in faith, grace and love for each other. God is definitely at work in our midst. Since more and more Perennials are owning their homes in the Hamptons, we seem to have a few attending every Sunday. Most of the relationships that we have in the community are with people who have yet come to church. They like us and all, but they aren't so sure about church. Which is fine with us. There are so many stereotypes that people have about Christians that it takes a while to show them that we aren't what they were expecting. We have anywhere from 30 to 60 people attending on Sundays with the trend going up. We expect even more this summer. Your Role: We are looking for an Assistant Pastor/Church Planting Intern. We say "pastor slash intern" because ideally we are looking for someone who wishes to plant churches someday and who may be interested in planting our first church plant on Long Island. But we also are realistic in that the best candidate to minister with us the next few years might not be either a church planter or might not wish to plant on Long Island. Your role will primarily be to engage the community. How this looks depends on your gifts and passions. If you enjoy hosting coffee shop discussion, go for it. If you like to surf, play tennis, golf, hang out in the local brew pub (we have a great one in town), ride bikes, throw huge parties, fish, whatever you feel like God could use, you are free to pursue it (And you will have a budget to do so). Within a few years you will have developed dozens of life changing relationships and you will have shared the gospel with hundreds of people. In addition to engaging the community and gathering people you will have extensive opportunities to develop the ministry gifts you will need to pastor your own church someday (I know it isn't YOUR church, but you know what I mean). You and I will spend time together regularly to pray for our ministry, to discuss pastoral issues, to plan and strategize, and all the other stuff needed to be excellent for God's glory. You will also have the opportunity to enroll in church planting training at the Redeemer Church Planting Center in Manhattan. So... If you are a few years out of seminary or about to graduate I firmly believe that this is one of the best opportunities out there to immerse yourself in kingdom building work. This will not be easy, and yet I think you will be rewarded by God because he will transform you beyond expectations. How can I make this promise? Because my wife and I have already experienced it ourselves. Our two years in the Hamptons have been amazing. So many lives have been changed by the gospel, including our own. Thank you for considering a calling to the Hamptons, Rev. Mark Middlekauff To email me, click here. Downloads: For a 20-page ministry design that gives details on our community and our vision, click here. For a copy of the job description, click here.
Grace Presbyterian Church
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