Last Updated 3/8/23

Church Purpose, Vision, Mission

At Adams Boulevard Church of Christ we are Disciples Making Disciples.

We do this as we LOVE, SHARE and SERVE. We LOVE God and LOVE Others. We Share our lives and SHARE Jesus with others. We SERVE inside the church and SERVE outside the Church.  Our Mission is to reach children and their families and connect them to Jesus and his church. We are intentionally doing this through partnership with Wilson Elementary.

Job Mission/Purpose

At Adams, we believe the church thrives when its leadership is patterned after the leadership of the New Testament church. While every Christian is a full participant and has an essential role within the church (1 Peter 2:9), some people are gifted and called to special service and leadership (Ephesians 4:11-13). These roles are vital for helping the church be effective in reaching the world for Christ and discipling the Lord’s family.

We also believe that church leadership is inherently servant-leadership. In leadership we follow the Master and Lord who washed feet (John 13:1-17) and we believe that the greatest among us will be a servant to all (Matthew 23:11).

Shepherds (also called Elders, Pastors, Bishops, and Overseers) leadership is vital to the health and success of the church. Shepherds lead and serve in four vital ways: Prayer, Teaching, Hospitality, and Oversight.

Character and Qualifications

A Shepherd is first and foremost a person whose life is spent consistently living in the Way of Jesus. Their authority comes from their integrity and commitment to Christ. They should also lead a life in line with the character traits of Shepherds found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

In general, they should be sincere, worthy of respect, and have a good reputation both inside and outside the church. They should be filled with the Spirit and with wisdom.  They should attend and give their time and resources regularly to Adams Boulevard Church of Christ. They should have a genuine desire to serve and minister to other people, and they must also have a heart for discipling others and helping them grow in their faith.

Because Shepherding is inherently a team job involving both a husband and wife, a Shepherd must also have a spouse who embodies the character qualities in 1 Timothy 3:11.

Both spouses must embody the Fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) in their lives, with a clear history of living out their commitment to Jesus and using their gifts in the church.

The man who agrees to serve as a Shepherd is affirmed by the congregation, confirmed by the Shepherds, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and responsible to Jesus Christ, the head of the Church.

Communicates to:    Other Shepherds, Ministers, Ministry Leaders, Staff, and the Church

Responsibilities

1. Prayer
1. Shepherds meet together to pray for wisdom and direction from the Holy Spirit. This includes prayers for discernment and guidance, which are critical as the Shepherds set the spiritual direction and focus of the church. 
2. Shepherds commit to praying with and for the congregation regularly.
3. Currently, our Shepherds are expected to call members of the congregation weekly and pray with them.
2. Teaching
1. Shepherds guard the church against false doctrine by encouraging and teaching the church with sound doctrine (Acts 6:4; Titus 1:8-9).
2. Not all Shepherds have the gift of teaching in a public setting, but all Shepherds must be able to understand, teach, and instruct people about the Gospel and the doctrine of the church.
3. Shepherds are also responsible for participating in and monitoring the various classes, sermon series, small groups, etc where teaching takes place at Adams.
3. Hospitality
1. The Shepherding role is primarily a pastoral and relational role. For this reason, Shepherds must be generous with their time and attention to the needs of the members of the church.
2. Shepherds must be hospitable (Titus 1:8). This includes - but is not limited to - having people in their homes.
3. If a Shepherd is to know the prayer needs of the church, he must be in contact with the individuals of the church. Likewise, if a Shepherd is going to encourage and teach the church, he must give his time to personal discipleship. This requires a spirit of hospitality.
4. Shepherds also practice hospitality by spending time encouraging and counseling the congregation as needed.
5. Shepherds are encouraged to have people in their homes, host life groups, make house or hospital calls, etc.
4. Oversight
1. Shepherds are responsible for the general oversight of the church in four key areas.
1. First, they set and oversee the general spiritual direction of the church (Acts 15:13-21).
1. Shepherds do not micromanage ministries, unless they are the leaders of those specific ministries. They set the vision and direction of the church, and then empower and equip others in the church family to use their gifts to execute that vision.
2. Shepherds oversee all the ministries of the church to ensure they are all moving together toward the church’s mission and goals.
2. Second - and related - Shepherds set the spiritual direction of the church’s financial resources and empower others to use the church’s money to accomplish the church’s mission (Acts 4:32-37; 6:2-4).
1. Shepherds do not oversee the day to day spending of the church.
2. Shepherds empower trusted individuals in the church to use the church’s money to further the goals the Shepherds have set.
3. Shepherds work with the Finance Ministry to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place to provide accurate and transparent accountability of the church’s financial resources.
3. Third, Shepherds do their best to ensure that communication is open and frequent within the church and church leadership.  This includes among themselves, with and between Ministry Leaders, Ministers and Staff, as well as with the congregation.
4. Fourth, Shepherds mediate between church members during times of conflict and sin (Matthew 18:17).

Other

Shepherds have oversight of the ministry and administrative staff. Each year in November or December the ministry and administrative staff will provide the Shepherds a plan, including budget, for the upcoming year for their particular area of responsibility.  At least two Shepherds will review each of these plans, with the goal of determining how the Shepherds can best assist in achieving the objectives stated in each plan.  In the case of salaried staff, such review will include the determination of any salary adjustments for the upcoming year.  This process will be repeated each year. 

All those in leadership positions are asked to agree to the following: 

• Fulfill the responsibilities outlined in the Job Description.
• Help fulfill the Purpose, Vision, & Mission of Adams Boulevard Church of Christ.
• Embrace and teach the beliefs we affirm and the lifestyle we aspire to.