PCUSA

WEEKLY ATTENDANCE: 373

Meet Woodside Church

Woodside Church is a Christ-centered community dedicated to helping people grow in their relationship with God through worship, prayer, biblical teaching, and service. The church emphasizes three core values: loving God, growing in grace, and sharing God’s love with others both locally and globally. Through its ministries, mission programs, and community outreach efforts, Woodside Church seeks to create an environment where individuals and families can experience spiritual growth, meaningful relationships, and opportunities to serve. Woodside Church strives to make a positive impact in its community and beyond through a strong commitment to faith, discipleship, and compassion.

About the Senior Pastor

At Woodside Church, the Senior Pastor operates as a leader of leaders within a unique staff-led team structure, taking responsibility for coaching ministry directors, leading staff meetings, and moderating the Session. 

In addition to collaborating with the Elders and staff to cast the church's long-term vision, the pastor acts as the primary teacher, crafting and delivering relatable, biblically grounded sermons across four distinct Sunday services.

Beyond the pulpit, the Senior Pastor provides direct pastoral care through visitations, champions the church's core Growth Groups, and models a commitment to both local missions and financial stewardship. The role also involves a highly visible presence throughout the church's various programs, which includes teaching monthly faith lessons to the Woodside Christian Preschool students, equipping lay caregivers, and managing the broader administrative responsibilities of an active congregation.

The Senior Pastor's responsibilities include:

• Vision: Working with the Elders and staff to discern God’s vision and shepherding the church toward it.
• Worship and Preaching: Preaching the Word to challenge and comfort the congregation, leading the Message Team to train other preachers, planning sermon series, and designing worship services.
• Coaching: Bringing out the best in staff members, coaching them to develop their own leaders, and fostering a collaborative team environment.
• Growth Groups: Publicly promoting and personally inviting people to join small groups, which are considered the heart of Woodside Church.
• Stewardship & Mission: Modeling generous living, leading by example in sharing faith, and engaging with the church's local and global mission partners.
• Preschool: Opening the doorway to faith for families by teaching a monthly Bible lesson to the preschool students and interacting with their families.
• Ongoing/Weekly: Preaching, attending Communications Team meetings, making pastoral visits, and leading a Growth Group.
• Twice a Month: Creating the agenda for and leading staff meetings.
• Monthly: Writing the Pastor's Report, moderating the Session, conducting one-on-one meetings with staff members, training the lay pastoral caregivers (REACH Ministers), teaching the preschool Bible lesson, and sending out Stewardship communications.
• Every Other Month: Checking in with Finance and Facilities leaders, and leading newcomer orientations alongside the staff, including "Pizza with the Pastor" and the 4-week orientation "The Way".
• Yearly: Providing Officer Training for incoming leaders, writing the Annual Report, moderating the Annual Congregational Meeting, and leading the annual Stewardship Campaign (which includes creating and passing the budget). The Pastor also leads special holiday services (such as Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas Eve) and special churchwide missions like "The Church Has Left the Building" and Advent Night.

What you bring

The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Senior Pastor:

Education and Experience

• Master's Degree: The position requires a Master of Divinity degree from a PCUSA approved seminary.  
• Ordination: The candidate must be formally ordained and acceptable by the PCUSA.
•  Years of Experience: The church is explicitly looking for a candidate with 5 years or more experience in ministry.
• Leadership and Equipping: The candidate must be a proven leader of leaders. They need the organizational experience to equip others, share leadership, and effectively guide a unique staff-led team structure, rather than relying on a traditional committee-based model.
• Generational Bridge-builder: The candidate must have the experience and specific skill set needed to connect with adults in every season of life.
• Navigating Complexity: They must have the maturity, awareness, and pastoral experience to proactively unite people of differing viewpoints on complex cultural, political, and theological issues.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Biblical and Theological Depth: The candidate must possess an academic understanding of the Bible combined with a deep, practical devotion to Scripture that shapes how they live and serve.
• Organizational Operations: They must understand and appreciate the business realities of ministry, demonstrating the knowledge required to oversee a church with a budget of over $1 million and a staff of 17.
• Preaching and Teaching: The pastor must be an engaging and dynamic communicator who delivers clear, compelling, and relatable messages. Their teaching should actively help the congregation apply Scripture to their daily lives.
• Equipping and Team Management:The candidate must be highly skilled at sharing leadership and equipping others. They must be adept at coaching and guiding Woodside’s unique staff-led team structure, rather than relying on a traditional committee-based model.
• Unifying and Conflict Navigation: The candidate needs the maturity and conflict-navigation skills to proactively unite people of differing viewpoints on complex cultural, political, and theological issues. They must focus on bringing diverse people together to serve Christ rather than allowing the church to be fractured by worldly divisions.
• Pastoral Care Systems: They must have the competency to develop and maintain a robust, sustainable system of pastoral care for the congregation.
• Visionary Leadership: The pastor must have the ability to gently guide the congregation into new harvest fields and forms of ministry, specifically supporting Woodside's vision for "Macro, Micro, and Digital" church models.
• Relational Chemistry: The candidate needs to be personable, approachable, joy-filled, humble, and compassionate. They must be able to connect relationally across all demographics of the church and genuinely embody Woodside's "permission giving" culture.
• Missional Drive: They must have a strong ability to champion the church's internal Growth Groups culture while remaining highly passionate about outward-focused evangelism and community service.
• Sustainable Commitment: The pastor must have the physical and emotional resilience to maintain a sustainable pace and volume of work, demonstrating a strong desire to stay for a long season of ministry while continuing to learn and grow.

What it's like to live in Yardley, PA

Nestled in the southeastern corner of Bucks County, Yardley offers a picturesque setting along the tranquil banks of the Delaware River and Canal. The area exudes a historic charm, effortlessly blending eighteenth and nineteenth-century architecture with preserved farmlands and lush forests. It is a community deeply rooted in the American story, tracing its origins back to William Penn and sitting just a short distance from where George Washington famously crossed the Delaware. This rich mix of natural countryside and quaint town life provides a peaceful, welcoming backdrop for its residents.

Despite this quiet, small-town atmosphere, the area is incredibly well-connected, making it a highly desirable haven for families and professionals alike. The community is known for its exceptional safety and highly regarded schools, creating an environment that feels both nurturing and secure. When residents want to venture beyond their scenic neighborhoods, convenient rail lines and highway access put major destinations like Philadelphia, New York City, the Jersey Shore, and the Pocono Mountains easily within reach. It offers the perfect balance of a relaxed, suburban lifestyle without sacrificing the energy and opportunities of nearby metropolitan hubs.