Director of Church Planting & Multi Denom. Training Partnerships

Overview:
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary is a multidenominational, evangelical graduate school committed to equipping Christian leaders to think theologically, engage globally, and live biblically. With nearly 1,400 students across campuses in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, and online, Gordon-Conwell’s student body represents more than eighty-five denominations and fifty countries. The seminary offers master’s and doctoral programs—delivered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese—that combine academic excellence, spiritual formation, and a deep commitment to Scripture. Its 12,000 alumni serve Christ through ministry in the church, the academy, and the workplace. Gordon-Conwell is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, the New England Commission of Higher Education, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
 
Position Summary:  
The Director of Church Planting & Multi-Denominational Training Partnerships is responsible for developing and managing a consortium of unaccredited denominational and ministry-based training schools. The role involves fostering a church-planting community among graduate and post-graduate students, enhancing the church planting culture within the wider community, and building partnerships with church planting networks and other organizations. Additionally, the director will strengthen relationships with denominational training partners, develop new partnerships, and ensure compliance with accreditation and state agency policies. The position also includes administrative leadership responsibilities, such as participating in academic meetings, fundraising, and supporting campus-wide events.
 
Key Responsibilities:
•    Church Planting (40%)
a.    Foster the Church-Planting community among graduate and postgraduate students at GCTS through a variety of forums, events, roundtables and communications.
b.    Ensure high academic church planting resources are accessible at least electronically through the Gordon-Conwell Library.
c.    Enhance the Church Planting Culture: Weaving support for church planting ministries even more deeply into the wider Gordon-Conwell community.
d.    Work with Student Success to support current students in the CP concentration
e.    Work with advancement and GCTS scholarship committees to oversee the awarding of scholarships to GCTS students who are called to Church Planting.
f.    Work with admissions and the Doctor of Ministry office to recruit new students into the Church Planting Concentration and DMin. Church Planting Cohorts.
g.    Build partnerships with church planting networks, denominations, and other organizations to foster a Church Planting movement, working together to share what is common and develop what is unique.
•    Denominational & Ministry Training Institute Partnerships (40%)
a.    Build and strengthen an identifiable team of Denominational training partners (i.e. Lutheran Studies Program, Anglican Studies Program, GMC) within the seminary.
b.    Seek and develop relationships with additional denominational or ministry training institutes that could become a training institute partner.
c.    Develop and build a network of potential credit bearing ministry training resources that could be brought into various ministry settings, working together to share what is common and develop what is unique.
d.    Work closely with the student services team (admissions, student success, registration) to develop simple, effective processes and procedures that ensure GCTS is following accreditation and state agency policies and procedures.
e.    Create scalable policies and procedures to be easily adaptable in a variety of contexts so that contextualized training institutes can maximize their own recruitment, retention and academic effectiveness reviews.
•    Administrative Leadership (20%)
a.    Participate as a member of the Enrollment Management and Academic Operations Teams, attending academic meetings as necessary/assigned.
b.    Fundraising: work with Development Office to identify individuals, foundations, and churches to match the March Family Foundation’s support of the Church Planting Initiative and to ensure its future sustainability.
c.    Participate in and support all-hands-on-deck events or activities on the local hub/campus the position serves from and seminary wide events as appropriate.
 
Required Competencies
·    Content Expertise: This position requires evidential knowledge of the history and context of the church planting movement in Canada and the United States.
·    Communication and Interpersonal Effectiveness: Must have strong written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated ability to collaborate and serve in a team environment that requires collegiality and regular collaboration across multiple locations and modalities.
·    Technical Knowledge: Experience with student information or similar system in a capacity accessing student records, course records, and creating and modifying data preferred.  Competency with Microsoft Office, prioritizing Word, and Excel.  Ability to use web conferencing software (e.g., Zoom) preferred.
·    Reporting and Monitoring: Ability to generate reports using reporting software and to monitor enrollment and attrition data while flagging anomalies preferred.
·    Clear understanding of the mission of the Seminary and willingness to abide by the Community Life Statement of GCTS.
 
Education and Experience
·    A master’s degree in a field related to education, ministry or theological studies is required; a post-graduate degree in the field of practical theology is ideal.
·    2+ years of leading a church planting/multi-denominational center is preferred.

Application Process
Please apply through Gordon-Conwell’s Career Center available here: https://www.gordonconwell.edu/employment/

Please include these documents in either Microsoft Word or PDF formats:
•    A cover letter addressed to Dr. Brad Howell, VP of Operations, explaining your interest in the position preferred.
•    A formal CV that includes the names of at least three references required.

No hard copy materials, please. Opportunities to interview will be made available at the search committee’s initiative. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.