Grace Chapel Executive Pastor OP

EXECUTIVE PASTOR
OPPORTUNITY PROFILE
Executive Pastor
Grace Chapel
Lexington, MA (Boston)
GRACE CHAPEL
Lexington, MA (Boston)
Discovering life with God for the good of the world.

GREETINGS
From the Search Committee Chair
Dear Prospective Candidate,
Thank you for considering serving our Lord Jesus Christ through Grace Chapel!
Grace Chapel has grown from a few families praying about starting a church to serving thousands across greater
Boston. Boston is a wonderful place which attracts people from all over the world to learn and work. For the
past 70 years, we have faithfully served this part of the country by providing a place for people to encounter and
follow Jesus.
We seek a strong leader to mentor, guide and direct our talented staff. Our next Executive Pastor will be essential
to the continued growth of Grace Chapel’s influence and effectiveness, both regionally and globally. We have an
amazing mix of backgrounds and skills on our staff and we need to utilize everyone’s strengths while building a
collaborative team. We have sought counsel and surveyed best practices as we have refined our organizational
structure and feel we are well positioned to welcome our next Executive Pastor to Grace Chapel.
“Discovering Life with God for the Good of the World.” That’s our mission statement; it’s what we hope for every
person, both on Sundays and throughout the week. We want people from all backgrounds, wherever they are on
their spiritual journey, committed or simply curious - they are welcome here!
We are one church in five locations in the greater Boston area: Lexington, Wilmington, Watertown, East Lexington,
and Foxboro. We have a unique model for New England as we live stream our preaching from our Lexington
Campus to each location every Sunday.
We continue to grow through new campus locations and regional partnerships. Our size is unique for this part
of the country, which comes with challenge and opportunity as we strive to expand God’s Kingdom to greater
Boston. I pray you will get to know this unique expression of the church in New England and hear God’s voice
clearly about serving with us.
If you believe your gifts, abilities, and experience align with our needs for an Executive Pastor, we look forward
to talking with you. If you have questions, contact the office of Laura Coverstone and Tommy Thomas (615-261-
4623), the JobfitMatters consultants who are assisting us in this search.
Sincerely,
Mark MacDonald
Chair, Grace Chapel Search Committee

OVERVIEW
Grace Chapel is a non-denominational, multicultural church in the evangelical tradition that welcomes everyone,
regardless of faith background or where a person is on his or her spiritual journey. Grace believes that life with
God doesn’t just make our lives better; it makes us better for the world around us.
Grace began in 1948, when a few families in Lexington, Massachusetts started weekly gatherings in their home
for a time of worship, Bible study, and prayer. Since incorporating in 1956, Grace Chapel has grown from a few
dozen people in a rented space in Lexington to 4,000 people coming together for Sunday services and midweek
programs across five campuses: Lexington, Wilmington, Watertown, East Lexington, and Foxboro.
Grace’s worship services are casual, contemporary, and upbeat (the music at the 9:15am service at the Lexington
campus is more traditional), and the church offers Sunday morning programs for kids and students at all of the
five locations.
Grace Chapel welcomes people from many faith backgrounds, and embraces a variety of Christian traditions. The
church has enjoyed remarkable unity and stability over many decades. To learn more about what Grace believes,
see Articles of Faith.
Grace is a congregational church, and the Annual Meeting is an opportunity for members to vote on the budget,
nominations for church offices, and other aspects of church life. The elder board, composed of staff and lay
leaders, provides leadership and guidance to the ministry efforts of Grace Chapel.
Bryan Wilkerson was called as Senior Pastor in September 2000 and is well-loved for his leadership, preaching
and genuine heart for the Lord. With the upcoming retirement of Executive Pastor Bill Burke, the Grace search
committee is seeking the right partner for Bryan and the right leader of a complex, multi-site, multi-layered
ministry team of 70+ dedicated pastors and staff as Grace continues to grow.
This Opportunity Profile will help you learn more about who Grace Chapel is, the governance structure, key staff
roles, what makes Grace Chapel unique, a description of the Executive Pastor role, expectations of the next
Executive Pastor, and the Process of Candidacy.
Grace Chapel is in a process of
rebranding (logo, colors, website)
and will launch the new website
in Fall 2018. The website may be
found at www.grace.org.

MISSION
Mission
We are a community of people discovering life with God for the good of the world.
Vision
To change the spiritual landscape* of greater Boston and beyond by making and mobilizing more disciples for
Jesus Christ.
(* more seekers, more believers, more churches, more unity, more beauty, justice, and human flourishing)
Strategy
• Growing all generations deeper, closer, and wider in Christ
• Launching new locations in under-served communities
• Partnering with vibrant churches and agencies in greater Boston and beyond
Values/Distinctives of Grace Chapel
• Vibrant Faith – Grace is intentionally non-denominational and authentic in its desire to see people
discover a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Biblical Teaching – This intellectually sophisticated and curious congregation is blessed with consistently
authentic and insightful teaching.
• Multicultural Community – Grace is quite diverse with respect to age, gender, ethnicity (30% and rising),
culture, faith journey, etc. Women are fully-affirmed in all leadership roles.
• Gracious Orthodoxy – Throughout Grace’s history, pastoral staff, lay leaders, and members have
flourished together by “majoring in the majors and minoring in the minors” theologically.
• Missional Heart – This body has supported evangelism and missions at a high level from day one, both
internationally and locally.
• Cultural Engagement – Grace has embraced a bold vision for “going” into the community and the world
to share the love and truth of Christ.

AT-A-GLANCE
WORSHIP & ATTENDANCE
10 Sunday worship
services at 5 campuses
Kids and teen programs
on all campuses
4,000
Average worship
attendance
at 5 campuses
CAMPUS ADULTS KIDS STUDENTS TOTAL
Lexington 1889 351 142 2382
Wilmington 444 126 50 620
East Lexington 69 22 20 111
Watertown 164 42 8 214
Foxboro 162 37 11 210
Online 612
FINANCIAL
$9.5 M
FY 2018 Giving
(up 4.7%)
$2.2 M
Current Cash Reserves
$
$3.9 M
Current Debt
$27 M
Assets
TOTAL 4149
Membership as of April 2018: 1686
Age breakdown of members (regular attendance skews younger):
5%
11%
25-34
25%
35-44
45-54
24% 55-64
65+
27%
Accredited member of the ECFA.
To learn more, see the full Grace 2017-2018 Annual
Report and a video of Grace’s Annual Meeting.
30% of the congregation is of non-western European descent

MINISTRY
Ministry Highlights 2018
• Harvest Fest community outreach events in Wilmington and Watertown combined to draw over 1800
people.
• Welcomed almost 7,000 people to Christmas Eve services and had Grace’s most-attended Easter
services ever (over 800 people came to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Watertown campus, and over 350
came to the first Easter services at the new Foxboro campus).
• Winter Blast 2018 at the Lexington Campus welcomed thousands of people into the church on a cold
winter’s day, and over 100 new families have been invited to Kids Week 2018.
• Nearly 700 people served their local communities on 59 different projects through Spring Serve 2018.
• People from all over the world spent over 1.2 million minutes watching Grace’s YouTube channel, which
includes the Sunday morning worship services live stream and other videos.
• Reached over 10,000 people per month on social media. Over 2,000 people downloaded the app,
Grace Chapel Connect.
Ministry Goals for 2018-19
• Connection and retention – increase and measure “belonging” at Grace Chapel next year.
• Refreshing the GC brand and vision – a new branding, logo, and website will be launched in the Fall of
2018.
• Re-imagine Sunday worship and preaching to address flat in-person attendance and increase visitor
engagement.
• Better meet the needs of the lonely and alienated in our society, the marginalized, and young families
in distress.
To watch videos of recent worship services, visit https://www.youtube.com/c/gracechapel/.

CHURCH GOVERNANCE
The Bylaws of Grace Chapel may be downloaded by clicking here.
Board of Elders (BOE) – Under our bylaws, the BOE serves as the top level of governance for the church. Elders are
nominated and elected by the congregation for 4 year terms and can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms. The primary
responsibility of the BOE is to spiritually guard and strategically guide the church. Day to day leadership of the church is
delegated to the OSP as they lead the pastors and staff to execute on the Mission and Vision of the Grace Chapel.
Office of the Senior Pastor (OSP) – The Senior Pastor and the Executive Pastor serve as Elders and members of the BOE
(sharing one vote) and participate fully in the theological and strategic leadership of the church. The OSP also assumes
responsibility for day-to-day leadership of the staff and execution of the Mission and Vision of the church and is directly
accountable to the BOE for achieving the church’s ministry goals and financial results.
Executive Team (XT) – The Executive Team has been newly formed to support the implementation of the Mission and Vision
and to provide the proactive, hands-on organizational leadership needed in Grace’s fast-moving environment. The team will
typically have 5 to 7 members, two of whom will serve as “At Large” members rotating from time to time. Members of the XT
based on their leadership roles will be the Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, Pastor of Campus Development, Pastor of Central
Ministries and Director of Ministry Support. The “At Large” members as Grace launches the new XT are appointed to one
year terms. The XT will typically meet for two hours each week. The OSP is accountable for the effective leadership of this
XT. It is the OSP’s goal for the XT to function via consensus, making and implementing the important decisions necessary
for the ministry to function with excellence and being responsive to unforeseen situations. In situations where the XT is not
able to reach consensus or act quickly enough under the circumstances, the OSP will make any necessary decisions. There
will also be situations where staff confidentiality requires the OSP to take certain actions independently.
Management Team (MT) - The MT serves as the communication and coordination point for all central ministry departments.
The MT will typically meet once per month and be led by the Executive Pastor. The other members of this newly expanded

CHURCH GOVERNANCE (cont.)
team will include the Pastors of Campus Development, NextGen/Central Ministries, Worship and the Arts, Discipleship/
Community, Community Life, Community of Women, Men’s Ministry, Global & Local Engagement, Social Justice/Multi-
Cultural, Stewardship, and Community Care along with the Directors of Communications, IT, Campus Operations,
Media Tech, Facilities, Staff Development and Finance.
Campus Pastor Team (CPT) - The CPT will be led by the Pastor of Campus Development and made up of the 5
Campus Pastors plus the OSP. The CPT represents the congregation-facing edge of the church and takes the lead on
the shepherding of the flock and reaching out to our local communities. The CPT typically meets once per month.

THE POSITION
The Executive Pastor will serve Grace Chapel by providing strategic and operational leadership for the staff and ministries
of the church, in partnership with the Senior Pastor.
Responsibilities:
• Ensures the integration of Grace Chapel’s vision into all key aspects of ministry.
• Promotes a healthy culture of teaming, trust, clear and regular communication, safety, personal care, diligent
work, high morale, creativity, inclusion, and affirmation.
• Is a key connector of all the principal staff, campus leaders, and elder voices which speak into the leadership life
of Grace Chapel.
• Sets the rhythms and patterns of the Executive Team and the Management team.
• Coaches, mentors and evaluates the Pastor of Central Ministries, Director of Ministry Support, Pastor of Campus.
Development, Pastor of Staff Development, Pastor of Stewardship and Executive Assistant.
• Builds an ongoing culture of personal and professional growth and learning for all staff.
• Oversees the hiring, supervision, evaluation, and termination of all employees, including compensation packages.
• Ensure an effective and timely budget process, in cooperation with the Director of Ministry Support and the
Elder’s Finance Committee.
• Monitor attendance, finances, membership and other trends relevant to the health of the church.
The Ideal Candidate will be:
• An experienced organizational expert who can lead a complex, geographically-dispersed team.
• An experienced motivator and nurturer of teams who has previously developed strategies to implement a vision
effectively
• Someone with change management experience.
• An extroverted, nurturing servant-leader who is passionate about relationships and will care for staff.
• Someone who affirms and wholeheartedly supports women in leadership.
• A leader who is completely committed to the “one church, multiple-location” model of Grace.
• Someone with a significant history of pastoral and/or lay leadership in a church setting, preferably multi-site.
• A leader who has succeeded at helping an organization grow and advance.
• Someone with high emotional intelligence.
• A person with the right balance of being a trusted “chief of staff” for the Senior Pastor without being a
gatekeeper.
• A strong financial leader who manages resources appropriately and efficiently.
• Someone who doesn’t see everything in black and white, but will be somewhat flexible and can manage uncertainty
without rigidity.
• A leader who embraces new ideas and innovation and likes to see progress and updates.
• Someone who fully embraces the welcoming culture of Grace.
• A person who enjoys managing by walking around.
• Comfortable with giving some control and autonomy to the individual campus leaders.
Education and Experience Required:
• Mature and experienced (5-10 years+) in previous leadership roles: leadership dynamics; mentoring and discipling
leaders; building healthy teams; encouraging an innovative spirit among team members, while building unity;
bringing out the best in leaders and in teams of leaders; supervising others; collaborating with others.
• Proven administrative skills.
• Applicants of any ethnic background or gender are encouraged.
• Multi site church experience preferred, but not required.
• M. Div. not required, but the degree or equivalent in life experience/training is a plus.

GREATER BOSTON
With a nickname like “Birthplace of American Liberty’’ you can get a
sense of Lexington’s historic nature. Only 11 short miles from Boston
down Massachusetts Avenue, it was here where the “shot heard round
the world’’ was fired, leading to the start of the American Revolution. But
beyond the town’s association with one of the most significant moments
in American history lies an excellent place to live in the present.
Nearby Boston is the largest city in New England and ranks among the
top cities globally as an economic hub. At the heart of Boston’s character
is a legacy built on innovation and creativity centered on neighboring
Cambridge. Anchored by MIT and Harvard and peppered with a total of
seven Top 50 schools, world renowned research institutes and teaching
hospitals, the metro Boston area is a true knowledge economy. Driven by the education, healthcare, life science,
finance, and high-tech business sectors, Greater Boston has evolved into a diverse and stable economy earning
an enviable global reputation. The Boston metro area continues to attract top talent, businesses and investors
who choose Boston as their place to live, work, invest, and play.
Greater Boston is home to more than 50 higher education establishments that generate thousands of graduates
every year. Roughly 50% of these graduates stay in the Greater Boston area, bolstering the city’s highly educated
workforce. This intellectual infrastructure is a stabilizing economic force and will invariably continue to propel
economic activity and attract new businesses, students, and families to Boston.
The highly educated workforce and innovative environment were specific factors cited recently by General
Electric for why it chose to relocate its global headquarters to Boston in 2016. “Massachusetts spends more
on research & development than any other region in the world, and Boston attracts a diverse, technologicallyfluent
workforce focused on solving challenges for the world. We are excited to bring our headquarters to this
dynamic and creative city.”
Boston is known as a fanatical sports town with the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox bringing people out
in droves to celebrate the Great American pastimes - and multiple championships over the last decade. With
easy access to beaches, lakes, and mountains, as well as a world-renowned cultural center for all of the arts, the
Boston area offers unlimited activities, entertainment, and history for all to enjoy.

PROCESS OF INQUIRY
We highly recommend interested parties view Grace Chapel’s website to learn more. We also welcome your
inquiries as you consider whether to take next steps. You may reach Laura Coverstone or Tommy Thomas at
the below number.
We fully respect the need for confidentiality of information supplied by interested parties and assure them
that their backgrounds and interests will not be discussed with anyone beyond the search consultants without
prior consent, nor will reference contacts be made until mutual interest has been established.
1. Please provide a comprehensive resume. Give enough information so that the breadth and substance of
your experience is understood.
2. To help us get to know you better, in addition to your resume, please respond to the following questions:
• Share your personal faith story. (e.g. How and when did you enter a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ? How do you personally practice your faith in everyday life?)
• Based upon what you have learned about Grace Chapel from this document and any other personal
due diligence you may have conducted, what specifically attracts you to this position?
• From prior spiritual gifts assessments, identification tools, or personal analysis, share what you have
learned about your spiritual gifts.
• Discuss your team leadership experience, including details about the scope, complexity, geographic
dispersion, multi-site, etc. Tell us about how you have led and encouraged your teams, including any
lessons learned from mistakes.
• Please provide a minimum of five references (including at least two subordinates, a supervisor or
overseer, and a peer). Include phone and email information for each reference. We will not contact
references until later in the process and only with your approval.
Submit your resume and essay responses in one Word document or PDF to:
Laura Coverstone
JobfitMatters Executive Search
resumes@jobfitmatters.com
Please use the Subject Line “Grace Chapel Executive Pastor”
Phone: (615) 261-4623