Small Groups Pastor

Lakeside Church Small Groups Pastor Job Description

Position Title: Small Groups Pastor

Team/Ministry Area: Discipleship Ministry

Reports To: Executive Pastor

Position Type: Full-time, Salaried

Purpose Statement

The Small Groups Pastor leads Lakeside's discipleship strategy by fostering biblical community and equipping people for spiritual growth. This role ensures that small groups are healthy, multiplying, and aligned with Lakeside's mission of helping people move from where they are to where God wants them to be. It carries responsibility for roughly 40 groups and over 500 people meeting across Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and in homes throughout the week — which means the ministry rises or falls not only on pastoral care but on accurate records, a clean calendar, and a sign-up process people can actually navigate.

Key Responsibilities

Ministry Administration and Systems

• Own Planning Center as the system of record for small groups: create and maintain every group record, and keep leaders, co-leaders, meeting days and times, locations, childcare notes, and group descriptions current throughout the year.
• Audit group data regularly against the published catalog and leader rosters, resolving discrepancies before they reach the congregation.
• Manage the group lifecycle in Planning Center — opening groups for enrollment, closing them when full, archiving groups that end, and keeping the active leader list accurate.
• Train every leader to take attendance in Planning Center, monitor weekly for missing entries, and follow up personally with leaders who fall behind.
• Use attendance and enrollment data to track participation trends, identify groups that are struggling or stalled, and flag people who have stopped showing up so they can be cared for.
• Produce regular reports on group health, participation, and leader coverage for the Executive Pastor and Leadership Team.
  
  

Facilities, Scheduling, and Logistics

• Assign rooms for all on-campus groups across Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, matching group size and format to the right space.
• Coordinate with other ministries and the churchwide calendar to prevent room and resource conflicts before they happen, and resolve them quickly when they do.
• Keep room assignments, setup needs, and signage accurate and communicated to leaders, hosts, and facilities staff each season.
• Plan ahead for churchwide events, holidays, and seasonal changes that displace groups from their usual spaces.
  
  

Group Catalog and Signups

• Create, organize, and publish the small group catalog in both online and printed form ahead of each launch, with promotion beginning well before groups start.
• Write clear, consistent group listings — topic, leader, day, time, location, childcare, and who the group is for — so people can find the right fit without asking.
• Build and maintain a simple signup path online and on campus, and make sure signups flow into Planning Center accurately and promptly.
• Partner with communications and design staff on the catalog's layout, print production, and rollout across platforms.
• Keep the catalog current as groups fill, change, or close, so what people see matches what is actually available.
  
  

Discipleship and Community Building

• Develop and implement a clear discipleship pathway for new and mature believers.
• Foster connection and belonging by helping people take next steps into small groups.
• Build relationships with attendees and newcomers to guide them toward discipleship opportunities.
  
  

Small Group Leadership and Growth

• Lead the development and multiplication of a strong, healthy small group ministry.
• Recruit, train, and coach small group leaders to cultivate vulnerability, accountability, Scripture application, and belonging.
• Build a multiplying leader pipeline — identify potential leaders inside existing groups, place apprentices alongside current leaders, and develop them until they are ready to lead a group of their own.
• Cultivate a culture where healthy groups expect to multiply rather than close, and walk leaders through the process of birthing a new group without losing the relationships that made the first one work.
• Create and maintain an annual growth plan that sets targets for both new participants and newly multiplied groups.
• Plan and host connection events to help people move from large gatherings into small groups.
• Provide curriculum and resources to equip groups for discipleship, outreach, and multiplication.
  
  

Leadership Development and Support

• Establish a strong network of small group leaders and regularly encourage and resource them.
• Meet individually with small group leaders twice a year for coaching and relationship development.
• Organize leader training, mentoring, and recognition events.
• Write small group questions that go with the sermon weekly.
  
  

Pastoral Responsibilities

• Serve as part of the pastoral staff team, participating in weddings, funerals, baptisms, and pastoral care rotations.
• Assist with churchwide events, welcoming and connecting new people.
• Collaborate with staff and the Leadership Team to align discipleship ministry with Lakeside's mission.
• Manage small group ministry budget and resources.
  
  

Key Relationships

• Executive Pastor: Reports to and works closely with for alignment in discipleship strategy.
• Small Group Leaders: Trains, coaches, and supports for effective ministry; meets with them individually; holds them accountable for attendance and accurate group information.
• Congregation/New Attendees: Builds connections to integrate people into groups.
• Pastoral and Support Staff: Collaborates on pastoral duties, the churchwide calendar, facilities scheduling, and catalog production.
  
  

Skills And Competencies

• Spiritual: Mature and growing Christian faith; passion for discipleship and community.
• Administrative: Highly organized and detail-oriented, with proven ability to maintain accurate records, manage a complex calendar, and keep multiple moving pieces on schedule. Comfortable with church management software — Planning Center experience strongly preferred.
• Leadership: Strong ability to recruit, develop, and multiply leaders, including following up when expectations are not being met.
• Relational: Outgoing and approachable, energized by meeting new people and helping them connect.
• Strategic: Creative, proactive, and able to implement new ideas for growth.
  
  

Spiritual And Personal Qualifications

• Agreement with Lakeside's mission, vision, values, and doctrine.
• Active participant in the life and community of Lakeside Church.
• Demonstrated experience in discipleship or small group ministry leadership.
• Self-starter with high energy, initiative, and a strong work ethic.
• Able to work independently on detailed, recurring administrative tasks without prompting.
  
  

Success Measures (12–18 months)

• Planning Center group records are accurate and current, and match the published catalog at every point in the year.
• A large majority of group leaders are taking attendance weekly, and gaps are followed up on consistently.
• The group catalog is published online and in print ahead of each launch, with a signup process people can complete without help.
• Room assignments are set before each season begins and the calendar runs without recurring conflicts.
• Every small group leader has been met with individually at least twice.
• Apprentice leaders are in place in a meaningful share of groups, and new groups have been birthed out of existing ones.
• New attendees are building connections and being integrated into groups.
• Small group ministry is viewed as central to Lakeside's discipleship culture.