Hope Fellowship

Mission, Vision, and Values

Key Responsibilities

Shepherding and Pastoral Care:

This role carries the primary pastoral responsibility for the congregation’s spiritual health and care. Hope has a formal pastoral care structure in place; the Lead Pastor is responsible for championing and strengthening this culture, not building it from scratch.
Cultivate a relational, shepherd-first culture across all campuses
Be present with and known by the congregation — not just the staff or leadership tier
Oversee and strengthen Hope’s existing pastoral care systems
Move toward hurting people personally, and model that posture for all staff.

Teaching and Preaching:

The Lead Pastor serves as the primary teaching voice of Hope Fellowship. Messages are delivered live from the Frisco East campus and broadcast to all campuses and online. All campuses operate on a single unified teaching calendar, which the Lead Pastor owns and shapes throughout the year.
We expect the Lead Pastor to teach a minimum of 26 and no more than around 36 weekends per calendar year under normal circumstances, with wisdom into other considerations. This range reflects:
Pastoral sustainability: consistent sermon preparation at the highest level is demanding work; this range protects long-term health and effectiveness
Team development: regular opportunities for other teachers invest in the next generation and keep the congregation accustomed to multiple voices
Congregational consistency: a floor of 26 weekends ensures the Lead Pastor remains the clearly recognizable primary voice of Hope
Flexibility: special circumstances (sabbatical, family, illness, or extraordinary calendar needs) may call for variance in a given year, subject to elder oversight
Lead and shape the annual teaching calendar in partnership with the ELT: retaining editorial oversight even on weeks not teaching
On non-teaching weekends, the pulpit is filled by a mixture of Teaching Pastors, campus pastors, and carefully selected guest speakers
Preach with theological depth, pastoral warmth, and formational intent
Develop and equip other teachers within the staff and congregation

Staff Leadership and Development:

The Lead Pastor directly leads the Executive Leadership Team and sets the culture for all of Hope’s employees and volunteers.
Directly oversee the Executive Leadership Team (2–5 members)
Develop, coach, and care for ELT and the broader pastoral team — not just manage them
Build a staff culture that reflects Hope’s DNA across all campuses
Partner with ELT and HR to strengthen the annual staff review and compensation process
Address underperformance with clarity and care

Vision and Strategy:

The Lead Pastor is the primary steward and caster of Hope’s vision. In this season, Hope is not looking for someone to arrive with a vision already formed – we are looking for a visionary leader who will spend the first year listening, learning, and gathering everything there is to know about Hope’s past and present, so they can lead us collaboratively with the ELT & Board toward clarity on where God is calling us next.
Hope’s current posture is depth over breadth — consolidating, going deeper, and investing in health and maturity before expanding. What success looks like at year 3 and year 5 will be discerned collaboratively between the Lead Pastor and ELT; the committee is not prescribing a destination so much as identifying a traveling partner.

Clarify and articulate a compelling vision for Hope’s next season in close partnership with the ELT and Board
Align staff, budget, and programming decisions with the mission and DNA
Lead multi-campus strategy in partnership with campus pastors (through ELT) and elders
Represent Hope Fellowship to the broader DFW community and church networks, Hope Fellowship is not affiliated with any denomination or network. The Lead Pastor is not expected to maintain or build any such affiliation.

Elder and Governance Partnership

Hope’s governance model involves three distinct bodies working in partnership: the Board of Directors (governance and hiring authority), the Elder Team (spiritual discernment and congregational voice), and the Executive Leadership Team (day-to-day ministry leadership). The Lead Pastor operates at the intersection of all three.
Serve as a voting member of the Board of Directors (not as Chair); hold the title of President of the Corporation
Cultivate a relationship of trust, transparency, and mutual accountability with the Board
Partner with the Elder Team in spiritual discernment and major decisions
Participate in regular elder meetings and retreats
Submit to the Board’s authority with humility while leading the staff with clarity

Key Qualifications

Position Profile