Pastor Cover Letter Example

Riverstone Community Church ran one Sunday service with 180 people in the room when I became senior pastor four years ago; we now run two services averaging 260 total, and the growth that matters more to me than the number is that 45 people now serve on a volunteer team who used to just attend. I'm looking for a congregation ready for that same kind of shift from attending church to building it.

We raised $1.2 million against a $900,000 capital stewardship goal to fund a facility expansion that finished on schedule, and the food outreach program we launched afterward now feeds 200-plus families a month through partnerships with three local nonprofits rather than trying to run it all ourselves. I still carry pastoral counseling and crisis care for about 15 households a month personally, because a growing church is not a reason to stop showing up at hospital bedsides.

Before Riverstone I spent five years as associate pastor of discipleship and outreach at Grace Fellowship Church, where our small group structure grew from six to 24 active groups, and three years as youth pastor at First Covenant Church, building a youth ministry from 20 to 75 regular attendees. I hold a Master of Divinity, am ordained through the Southern Baptist Convention, and am a Certified Pastoral Counselor.

I'd welcome the chance to talk with [Church name]'s search committee about where the congregation feels ready to grow next, whether that's in worship, outreach, or leadership development.