Haddock Baptist Church in Haddock, Georgia is seeking a full-time senior pastor called to be the spiritual leader of our congregation with responsibility to the church and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Established in 1907, we are a congregationally led church which affirms the Baptist Faith and Message of 1962 and the autonomy of the local church. We honor God’s calling through the service, ministry and leadership of the men and women of our church. Our mission is to honor God through worship and fellowship, to communicate Christ’s message, and to prepare members to demonstrate God’s love. Our vision statement is sharing Christ through a caring church for a changing world. Primary pastoral duties include preaching, congregational worship, counseling, teaching, congregational care and administrative responsibilities. 

If you are an experienced pastor with completed seminary training, please send your resume/CV with references and your statement of faith to hbctransitionteam@gmail.com. 

First Baptist Church of Dalton
311 N Thornton Ave, Dalton, GA 30720
Apply Here 

The Minister/Director of Missions and Community Ministry will enable the laity to meet the mission opportunities identified by the Pastoral Staff or the Missions Committee to help the Church to equip and empower a community of faith to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world.

Core Responsibilities

1. Global, National, & Regional Missions

This pillar focuses on expanding the church’s footprint beyond the local community through strategic partnerships, sending short-term teams, and supporting global workers.

• Balanced Strategy: Foster a mission program with the congregation that is balanced between local, state, national, and international mission activities.
• Denominational Partnerships: Lead the Church in developing mission partnerships. Establish and maintain mission-networking relationships with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia, and local mission/ministry organizations.
• Missionary Support: Serve as the primary point of contact for the church’s supported global workers and CBF Field Personnel, ensuring consistent prayer, financial communication, and holistic care from the congregation.
• Trip Risk Management: Develop, direct, and oversee all short-term mission trips, ensuring proper safety protocols, travel insurance, medical releases, and volunteer vetting are strictly managed.

2. Local Community Ministry & Benevolence

This pillar focuses on incarnational ministry within the Dalton community, seeking to address both immediate relief and long-term systemic needs.

• Strategic Target Areas: Lead the Church in embracing God’s mission for the world and the Dalton community, prioritizing local strategic initiatives aimed at addressing homelessness and hunger.
• Community Engagement: Be actively involved in the community, building relationships with both members and non-members to extend our Church’s witness.
• Partner Vetting & Collaboration: Relate positively to all the Church’s local mission partners, assessing needs, connecting volunteers, and channeling resources.
• Transformational Benevolence: Assist in the direction of the Church’s benevolence ministry through direct service or in partnership with other providers. Provide direct ministry where appropriate.
• Direct Ministry Innovation: Develop and supervise any other direct missions ministry in which the Church chooses to engage.

3. Congregational Mobilization & Education

This pillar focuses on moving the congregation from passive observers to active participants in missions through teaching, communication, and age-targeted programming.

• All-Age Mission Education: In cooperation with the ministry staff, develop and maintain a mission education program that reaches all age groups within the congregation.
• Laity Skill Development: Develop lay mission skills, educating all ages within the congregation concerning missions.
• Missional Communication: Communicate with the congregation and the community about mission programs.
• Inter-Generational Synergy: Coordinate with and support the work of other staff members who need assistance with age- or program-specific mission projects.

4. Pastoral Leadership & Administration

This section covers the collaborative staff functions, committee stewardship, and pastoral duties expected of a ministerial staff member.

• Large-Scale Financial Stewardship: Develop, track, and manage approximately $300,0000 in annualized missions funding across various church ministries with complete fiscal transparency and integrity.
• Committee Liaison: Provide leadership to assigned Church committees and ministry groups, especially as liaison to the Missions Committee.
• Staff Synergy & Culture: Work effectively with all ministerial staff to accomplish the objectives of the Church. Actively participate in an “all-hands-on-deck” staff culture, rejecting ministry silos, valuing hard work, and practicing collaborative flexibility (including staying until the job is done and debriefing together as a team).
• Bounded Pastoral Care: Develop rapport with members of the congregation to encourage their spiritual development and the vitality of the Church. Lead in pastoral care to adults and their families, prioritizing individuals engaged in or impacted by the missions and benevolence ecosystem. Provide counseling to adults and their families, as well as others in the community, as needed.
• Worship & Core Care Support: Provide pastoral support through visitation in hospitals, nursing homes, and other extended care facilities, and for bereavement situations as well. At the request of the Senior Pastor, provide leadership in worship services and other teaching opportunities that may present themselves. Participate in the worship services and outreach programs of the Church as assigned. Participate in home visitation, outreach, and hospital visitation.
• Governance: Be actively connected to the larger Baptist and Christian world through participation in our affinity partner’s events, as well as interdenominational. Participate in an annual performance evaluation of self. Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Senior Pastor.

Qualifications & Competencies

• Spiritual Calling: A visible, mature Christian faith with a clear, verifiable call to missional leadership, community engagement, and justice ministry.
• Cultural Fit & Guardrails: Ability to thrive in a “big-tent,” CBF-affiliated Baptist church profile. Candidates must be committed to maintaining an apolitical, non-partisan public presence, avoiding public vocalization/advocacy on divisive political or social matters (including sexuality or complementarian preaching), and honoring FBC Dalton’s identity as a theological “purple church.”
• Project Management & Logic: High proficiency in large-scale event coordination, long-range planning methodologies, and standard project management tracking tools (e.g., Gantt charts).
• Community Organizer Mindset: Proven ability to network across diverse socioeconomic, denominational, and cultural lines within the local municipality.
• Educational Background: A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Missions, Theology, Social Work, Christian Education) is required; a Master of Divinity or related graduate degree is highly preferred.
• Ordination Status Flexibility: Open to both ordained and non-ordained candidates. (Note: Denominational ordination status dictates final job title, life insurance coverage, and annuity benefits package percentages as outlined by church policy). Some pastoral care responsibilities may depend on ordination status.

The Senior Pastor serves as the primary spiritual leader, preacher, teacher and shepherd of the congregation. Under the direction of God and in cooperation with the church’s governing bodies, the Senior Pastor provides visionary leadership for the church’s mission, ministries, and future direction. The Senior Pastor equips and encourages the congregation to grow in faith, engage in ministry, and fulfill the church’s calling to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

FBC Gainesville has been without a Senior Pastor since April 2026 when Jeremy Shoulta passed away from lymphoma. The search committee is charged with finding God’s candidate to lead our church in preaching and teaching, spiritual leadership, pastoral care, staff leadership and development, church governance and administration, community and denominational relations.

Please contact Johnny Johnson at 770-538-5637 or fbcpsdgv2026@gmail.com with questions or to submit a resume with references. We anticipate accepting resumes until the end of September but also will begin the interview process before then.