OVERVIEW
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2006, Bel Air Presbyterian Church is one of the largest and most recognized churches in Los Angeles. Even though the church is located in the famous and exclusive community of Bel Air and its members have included public figures such as President Ronald and Nancy Reagan, these have not been the church’s primary distinctions nor formed its identity. The strong legacy of Bel Air Pres has been rooted in deep commitment to Jesus Christ and a rich history in missions.
With the call of Dr. Mark Brewer as senior pastor in 2001, the church has embarked upon an exciting new season, with expanded vision, bold direction, dynamic preaching and worship services and a steady increase in membership and attendance. New ministries and programs have been formed and the church’s commitment to urban ministry has taken on new life. To accommodate the vast opportunities for ministry presented by new vision and direction, the church has recently expanded and renovated its magnificent facility.
The role of Executive Director has been critical during this transition. Eight years ago, a long-term member and former marketing and advertising executive, Mike Hooper, brought a new level of stability, competence and servant-leadership to the day-to-day operation of the church, providing the foundation of support needed for a new senior minister to become established and for the ministries of the church to flourish. His retirement was planned to intentionally coincide with completion of the massive building project, paving the way for a new Executive Director to take over the operational and administrative reins as the church prepares to embark on a new and exciting phase of its mission.
Bel Air Presbyterian Church now seeks an astute business and operations executive, with a servant’s heart, a profound understanding of church life, an appreciation for mission and outreach, and a desire to use his or her exceptional leadership and administration abilities to serve the church of Jesus Christ. In particular, he or she will be inspired by the opportunity to participate in the adventure of “Making Los Angeles the Greatest City for Christ.”
THE CHURCH
In describing Bel Air Presbyterian Church in the Who We Are section of the church’s website, Senior Pastor, Dr. Mark Brewer writes: “Building upon our past, we’re growing into a church for our present times: a church that seeks to be a blessing to other churches and ministries in our part of Los Angeles...a church that is intentional in loving people and growing disciples...a church that is alive with authentic relationships–real relationships with Christ and each other...a church that seeks to return the ministry back into the hands of the people...a church that is characterized by the joy of serving the Lord together.
“Our mission field is not only our ‘Base Camp’ on Mulholland Drive, but connecting with churches in the Valley and the Westside, downtown, and literally the world.”
Under Dr. Brewer’s leadership, Bel Air Pres has a renewed vision for its role in the larger Christian community and in reaching well beyond its surrounding neighborhoods into the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area. This is articulated by the Vision Statement: Making Los Angeles the Greatest City for Christ. This vision includes embracing the challenges of urban ministry even though the church is physically located in one of the most exclusive communities in the world. This includes building bridges with urban churches and acting as agents of grace in serving the poor and homeless and proclaiming the love of God in the city and throughout the world. Now, the church is on the verge of taking an even bolder step in this direction. With several possible sites already identified, a new inner-city church will be planted within the next year.
In the best of evangelical tradition, high value is placed on Biblical preaching and teaching, both in the pulpit and in the classroom. Essential beliefs include the priesthood of all believers and worship of the triune God, revealed in the divinely inspired Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Standing within the reformed tradition, guidance is provided by God’s Word as the ultimate authority and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) consisting of the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions, which serve as a connection with believers throughout the history of God’s church.
Bel Air Presbyterian Church is experiencing a season of growth. After a drop in membership and attendance during the years leading up to Dr. Brewer’s call to the Senior Pastor role in 2001, the church’s membership has grown 44% over the past five years to 2,537, with average weekly attendance of 2,700 in its three Sunday worship services. In addition, an average of 400 young adults meet weekly for “The Foundry” and 150 college students gather together weekly. An average of 150 children and youth attend weekly church school. Much of the growth in membership and attendance is represented by growing families, young married couples and young professionals.
The church has an onsite Preschool with close to 100 children enrolled. This is a vital ministry for the church and provides an outreach into the surrounding community as well as a point of entry into the church.
Congregational Culture
The church has a large number of affluent, highly accomplished professionals and executives who are leaders in various industries and disciplines, including business, the corporate world, legal, medical, media and entertainment. This presents an abundance of resources and talent, but also presents the challenge of a community with high expectations of church leadership and the quality of ministry and programs – some might even use the term “demanding.” This is a congregation that expects nothing less than excellence and this can be seen, for example, in the quality of the church’s music and drama programs, including production of original videos for use in worship. Church events that in some communities would involve a “potluck dinner,” would more than likely be catered at Bel Air Presbyterian. This is an environment in which there “are a lot of chiefs,” in which people are motivated to serve through leading.
However, the church is not strictly comprised of the affluent; the congregation includes a large number of middle class families, young professionals in the early stages of their careers, aspiring artists attempting to break into the entertainment world and others who for whatever reason are struggling to survive from paycheck to paycheck.
In the midst of the diversity of this congregation, the atmosphere is charged with grace. There is great intentionality in creating a welcoming environment and the congregation is perceived by many as loving and accepting. As the church has approached mega church status, there is a desire to provide the relational connections of a smaller church. Some of the phrases and terms used to describe the church include: “spirit of joy...contagious excitement...something for everyone...growing...vital...expectant.”
Staff Culture
Bel Air Presbyterian Church has a competent, vibrant staff, both in pastoral leadership and in the operational and administrative groups. There is a sense that people enjoy their work and are highly motivated. One of the sayings among the staff in referring to Bel Air Pres is that “the only constant is change.” This is indeed a highly dynamic and exciting time within this church. Dr. Brewer is described by the staff with terms like “visionary, entrepreneur, risk-taker and maverick.” He is described as a strong and winsome leader and as someone who is great at casting vision and releasing people to do their jobs with a sense of empowerment. With a warm and fun-loving Senior Pastor, this sets the tone for the staff. However, even with a casual environment and management style, there is an underlying seriousness and an inherent understanding that there is a lot of important work to accomplish.
Worship Services and Sunday Schedule
Three worship services are offered each Sunday including a traditional service at 9:00 a.m. and two contemporary services at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Nursery and Sunday School classes are offered for children during both morning services, as well as special programs for middle and high school. Various adult education classes as well as two prayer gatherings are offered each Sunday morning.
Ministries and Programs
Programs are as diverse as the congregation. The church has a quality adult discipleship and education program with classes centered on Bible study and exposition or topical issues facing Christians in contemporary society. Fellowship groups exist for adults of all ages and stages, including an active singles group, family ministries and ministry to professionals in the entertainment industry. The college group involves an average of 150 students meeting on Wednesday evenings, from UCLA, USC and other local colleges. Junior and senior high groups have weekly Bible study, retreats and mission trips. In addition to traditional Sunday School, the children's program includes Vacation Bible School, summer camps, a children's choir and dramatic presentations.
Urban Outreach programs involve 400 – 500 members and students in over 20 urban ministries in the greater Los Angeles area. Bel Air Pres sends short-term mission teams and supports over 25 global missionaries or mission organizations. Including staff, the mission budget is over $800,000 per year. Mission connections reach from the Union Rescue Mission in Downtown Los Angeles to a church in Zacatepec, Mexico, from the Heart of LA youth programs at a sister Presbyterian Church in urban LA to the Habitat for Humanity project in Northern Ireland, from People Assisting the Homeless in LA to a sister church in Oderwitz, Germany.
A week-long Family Camp each summer attracts over 300 members of the church family.
Leadership and Governance
In accordance with the polity of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the ministries, programs and operations of the church are governed by a Board of Elders elected from within the congregation in conjunction with the ordained Ministers of Word and Sacrament (senior pastor, associate pastors), collectively referred to as to as the Session. Elders serve three-year terms. Pastors (Ministers of Word and Sacrament) both serve on and report to the Session, with the Senior Pastor acting as Session moderator.
The church also has an elected body of 75+ deacons, serving similar terms as elders, who are responsible for implementing the care and benevolence ministries of the church.
In addition to its Senior Pastor, Bel Air Presbyterian Church has an Executive Pastor and five Associate Pastors, who along with the Executive Director and the Director of Worship and Arts, make up the Executive Team.
Staff
There are 117 paid staff members, including 64 full time and 53 part time. Associate Pastors are responsible for the following functional areas: Caring Ministries, Congregational Life, Discipleship, Entertainment and Outreach. Functional areas overseen by a Director include Worship & Arts, Communications, Information Services, Operations, Finance, Support, Facilities & Grounds and the Preschool. Directors report to a Pastor or to the Executive Director.
Finances and Facilities
The church’s annual operating budget is $8.0 million with annual pledges of $4.5 million for 2007.
As of May 2004, the church embarked on the $12 million "Campaign for Bel Air" to expand its facilities and extend its mission activities. The church completed Phase I of its building project in 2007 which includes a new administration building, a Christian Education building and a Discipleship Center. Purchase of leased property for exclusive use of the preschool is currently underway. Later development of the church’s master plan will include a new multi-use Student Ministry facility and parking structure.
The church’s current facilities include a total of 88,000 square feet on 27 acres of land. The church’s main sanctuary, with a world-class organ, seats 1400, and the chapel seats 400. In keeping with its setting and commitment to excellence, the church’s facilities are exquisitely beautiful and provide a stunning view.
SENIOR PASTOR’S BIO
In June 2001, in a resounding vote, the membership of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles voted to call The Reverend Dr. Mark Brewer of Englewood, Colorado as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff.
Dr. Brewer comes to church ministry as a third-generation Presbyterian minister’s son. He received his early education in Denver, Colorado and did his doctoral work at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and in St. Andrews, Scotland.
He served as Pastor in the Denver area for twenty years, not only building up his own congregation but reaching out to the larger Denver community in urban and suburban alliances as well. He was involved in starting two different churches in Denver, each growing to several thousand members. He launched the nationally syndicated radio ministry “A New Day for America” which seeks to build relationships between the urban and suburban churches. Dr. Brewer was also head of ‘Denver LINK’, an organization that builds relationships among the spiritual leadership of the City.
In 1992, Mark served as Senior Pastor of a large church in Detroit. It was during his short time in Detroit that the passion of his life took hold. He found joy in building relationships between worlds that people said could not be bridged, discovering that it is possible to be in cross racial, cross denominational and extremely hostile situations while bringing true healing, by applying the truths of “family systems.”
In the year 2000, Dr. Brewer’s book A Walk Into The City was published. He writes about discovering the principles of the new relationships between urban and suburban churches, bringing to light the attitude of service and reconciliation.
Dr. Brewer is no stranger to Bel Air Presbyterian Church. He served the church for three years as an intern, from 1978-1980, while attending Fuller Theological Seminary. Mark’s passion is “weaving a fabric of friendship across the city.” His desire is to equip his missions-minded church with bold and fresh ways of connecting with the city.
Mark's primary spiritual gifts lie in leadership and preaching, each enhanced by his warmth, humility, intellectual rigor and vision. He has been married to his lovely wife, Carolyn, for twenty-seven years. Carolyn is an Occupational Therapist. They have three children: Vanessa, who was recently married; Paul, who recently graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder; and Rachel, who currently attends UCLA.
THE LOCALE
As one of the most well-known cities in the world, a description of Los Angeles, California will not be provided in this Profile. More specifically, however, the church is located in a district in the western region of the City of Los Angeles known as Bel Air. The church’s facilities are in the northern section of Bel Air on scenic Mulholland Drive which offers breath-taking views of the city below. It is located just south of Encino in the San Fernando Valley and north of Westwood, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The church is located within a mile of the 405 freeway and is just about a four-mile drive from the intersection of the 405 and 101 freeways.
THE POSITION
Introduction
The role of Executive Director serves as a right hand to the Senior Pastor in ensuring that the church runs smoothly and is able to support the established vision, mission and objectives. He or she ensures that the mission and ministry of the church move forward uninhibited (as much as possible) by administrative and operational issues.
Under the leadership of the current Senior Pastor, there is a highly charged atmosphere of boldness and excitement in exploring new directions and possibilities. The Executive Director is vital to providing an environment where this exploration and implementation of new initiatives is possible.
The Executive Director reports directly to the Senior Pastor. In addition to an intimate working relationship with the Senior Pastor, the Executive Director works closely with the Executive Pastor. While, organizationally, the Executive Pastor reports to the Executive Director, this will most often function as a collegial reporting relationship requiring extensive collaboration and mutual consultation. This role also involves a close working relationship with the church’s Corporate President (volunteer role staffed by a church elder).
All staff other than the Senior Pastor report directly or indirectly to the Executive Director. Direct reports include the Executive Pastor, Directors of Communications, Operations, Finance, Support and Facilities & Grounds, and the Office/Human Resources Manager. Positions reporting directly to the Executive Pastor, and indirectly to the Executive Director, include Associate Pastors, Director of Worship & Arts, Preschool Director, and ministry support and program staff.
The Executive Director oversees management of human resources and finances, and all operational and administrative activities of the church, including policies, procedures, systems and guidelines. While the Executive Pastor is directly responsible for overseeing the church’s ministry goals and objectives, including management of the pastoral staff and Sunday worship planning, the Executive Director will provide the most general oversight to ministry staff to ensure that they are empowered by the organization to carry out their critical roles.
Job Summary
The Executive Director will plan, manage and direct the day-to-day administration and operations of Bel Air Presbyterian Church to provide a supportive environment for carrying out the mission and ministries of the church.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
- Partner with the Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor in setting direction, strategies, objectives and goals, contributing managerial, operational and administrative wisdom and expertise, and guidance pertaining to feasibility and necessary actions or steps.
- Oversee all operational and administrative functions of the church with responsibility for ongoing improvement of operational and organizational effectiveness, efficiency and excellence. Includes development and recommendation of internal administrative, human resources and operational policy and procedure to guide ongoing staff team activities and day-to-day ministry operations.
- Collaborate with pastors and staff members to recommend and ensure the availability of appropriate resources (including personnel, equipment, facilities and supplies) to support the needs of ongoing ministry leadership and ministry program efforts.
- Oversee implementation of Executive Staff decisions and strategies.
- Communicate, interpret and reinforce established vision, strategies and goals to the staff and various groups or individuals in the church.
- Oversee implementation of Session policies and decisions and ensure appropriate communication to members of the staff and congregation; ensure that staff administrative support is provided to Session and its committees.
- Act as primary liaison between the congregation and professional staff.
- Oversee human resources functions (such as hiring, terminations, benefits, etc.) in conjunction with the Personnel Committee.
- Oversee all financial management and reporting functions of the church, including budgeting.
- Review and approve all contractual agreements; empowered by Session as the principal agent for negotiating and signing contracts on behalf of the church.
- Provide staff leadership for all capital campaigns by recruiting team members and overseeing related activities.
- Provide general oversight to the management and maintenance of church facilities; acts as internal project manager for major building or renovation projects.
- Nurture favorable relationships with neighboring HOAs, schools and others within the surrounding area as needed to promote positive community relations.
- Assist the Senior Pastor with other special projects as requested.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
The greatest requirement for a person in the role of Executive Director is a strong personal commitment to Jesus Christ and, with this, a love for his church. The person must demonstrate commitment to ongoing spiritual development and maturity, and must be someone of impeccable personal integrity and moral purity.
Theologically, he or she must be an Evangelical with deep appreciation for the authority of Scripture and an unswerving commitment to a Biblically-based lifestyle. Overall beliefs must be consistent with Bel Air Pres’ Statement of Beliefs (see addendum).
Professionally, a qualified candidate will be experienced as a manager of a medium to large organization, with a successful record of accomplishment. Candidates for this position will possibly come from business, a nonprofit organization, or an Executive Director (or equivalent) role within another church. As a general rule, someone coming from a business setting will have performed in at least a middle management role within a $75 million or larger company, or a senior management role in a company smaller than this. From a nonprofit setting, the person will have worked in one of the larger, more progressive organizations. From a church setting, the congregation size will have been over 2000. Management experience must involve effectively overseeing a staff of 25 or more (both direct and indirect supervision), including professional or supervisory employees. (Exceptions to the foregoing will certainly be considered in light of other compelling qualifications.)
If someone comes from a business background, he or she must have the deep understanding of church life that comes from active involvement and significant lay leadership roles. Ideally, the person will have been a long-term Elder or Trustee, or otherwise highly responsible role within a local church. On the other hand, a candidate coming from a church setting will ideally also have business experience in his or her background.
This is a role for someone especially gifted in leadership, administration and organization, yet who is a servant leader in the truest sense, strongly committed to the empowerment of others; someone who encourages and inspires others. The person must be an effective and capable manager of people, operations and resources, able to plan for both long- and short-range needs and goals. He or she must be highly versatile and flexible both in relating to staff and meeting the wide range of needs within a diverse congregation. A high degree of resourcefulness is required in understanding and managing the administrative and operational support requirements of diverse existing ministries as well as new programs and initiatives.
A key expectation is that this person enjoys the supportive role of a #2 position. The Executive Director position is for a leader who does not desire the limelight, but rather one who seeks to carry the vision into reality as a dedicated supporter of and complement to the Senior Pastor and his gifting.
This role requires exceptional interpersonal relationship skills. The person must be an executive who deeply values people and relates well to those at all levels. He/she will value a participative, team-oriented culture and will strive to support this. At the same time, the person will work to foster accountability for the accomplishment of objectives. This should be someone who can be demanding, yet openly encouraging.
The Executive Director must be an effective and winsome communicator, both in speaking and writing. This person must be able to convey contagious enthusiasm for the overall vision of the church. A key part of the person’s communication ability will be effective listening. People will feel like they have been heard and that their concerns and opinions matter. Feedback and responses will be relevant and constructive.
The skill set must include a strong understanding of the principles of organizational development and design (knowing how the organization should be structured and how internal systems work most effectively) and how this applies to the ministry environment. The Executive Director will be highly knowledgeable of the application of systems, methods and procedures to promote the overall goals of an organization. The person will have proven his or her ability to organize a major area of responsibility in terms of systems and people, and to formulate policies that promote effectiveness in meeting organizational objectives.
It is imperative that the Executive Director have a clear grasp of the bigger picture in order to guide the day-to-day activities that result in the overall advancement of the church’s mission. He or she must see systems and procedures as means rather than as ends, and be able to customize operations around the needs of the people and the organizational culture. This role requires an analytical and strategic thinker whose decisions are based on discernment and wisdom.
Most likely, the person qualified for this role will have a four-year college degree, however, this is not mandatory if the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities are demonstrated through seasoned experience.
The ideal candidate will see the work of managing church operations as an act of ministry and apply a profoundly spiritual understanding to his/her work.
Additional characteristics include:
- Passionate about the church’s commitment to make Los Angeles the greatest city for Christ; has an appreciation for urban ministry
- Savvy business thinking and acumen within the context of spiritual objectives
- Self-aware and authentic
- Loyal and trustworthy
- Sense of humor
- Politically astute, but not politically driven
- Able to delegate without micromanaging, but with good follow-up
- Able to be visionary and to cast “vision within a vision”
- Entrepreneurial and creative, willing to take calculated risks; however, able to be the respectful “voice of reason” in exploring new options
- Strong time management, skilled in efficient use of time
- Godly humility which includes healthy self-confidence
- Able to make sound decisions relatively quickly and to think on his/her feet
- Able to quickly inspire a sense of trust
- Has a strong family life (if the person has a family, otherwise will have a close group of friends and evidence committed relationships)
- Loves his/her work, but able to set healthy boundaries
- Excellent group facilitator
- Has patience and appreciation for process yet is committed to results
- Puts people first and programs second
- Displays the Fruit of the Spirit
- Shares authority easily
- Genuinely warm and caring, and is sensitive to others; attracts people
- Knowledgeable of or willing to become knowledgeable of Presbyterian polity as it relates to the Executive Director responsibilities
COMPENSATION
The compensation and benefits for this position are competitive, and adequate for a comfortable lifestyle within Southern California. If a candidate is selected from outside of Southern California, careful consideration will be given to the assistance needed to relocate to this area and to secure housing.
THE SEARCH & SELECTION PROCESS
The Dingman Company has been retained by Bel Air Presbyterian Church to assist with this search, including the primary role for candidate searching, screening, and reference checking. Donna White will be the primary recruiter on the search, assisted by associate Tim Bernstein and with Bruce Dingman consulting.
While the preference is for a local candidate, this will be a nationwide search to find the right person for this position. The hope is to fill the position as soon as possible.
Bel Air Pres and the search firm want the process to have integrity and to be fair, considerate, and thorough. Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality of all candidates until the point the person is introduced to the church body as a whole. All candidates considered will go through the same rigorous evaluation process, and prospective candidates will work directly with the search firm.
SUMMARY
This is an incredible opportunity for a leader with strong organizational and administrative ability combined with a heart for ministry to become part of a church that is passionately committed to reaching the world for Christ. This is an opportunity to make a significant contribution toward helping a dynamic church fulfill its purpose on behalf of the Kingdom of God.
The Executive Director for Bel Air Presbyterian Church will:
- Become part of a thriving church with a strong Biblical and spiritual foundation that is experiencing an exciting season of growth and new ministry direction
- Partner with a dynamic and visionary Senior Pastor who is recognized as an outstanding speaker and leader
- Become part of a passionate and competent team in an enjoyable and beautiful work environment
- Contribute gifts, experience and abilities to fulfilling a vital and fulfilling role in the Kingdom of God
- Live in one of the best climates in the country in proximity to Los Angeles, a city that is a world-renowned business, financial, cultural, entertainment and educational center, is culturally-diverse and offers a wide range of surrounding residential communities; a city that offers exceptional benefits, but is also one that is ripe with vast opportunities for proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
The right person for this job will believe him- or herself to be called by God to Bel Air Presbyterian Church, prepared in advance with the right skills, experience and convictions to contribute to the church reaching its goals. We invite interested candidates to prayerfully and thoughtfully explore this opportunity. Inquiries will be treated in strict confidence. |
