Cantonese Lead Pastor

Sunset Chinese Baptist Church is a multigenerational, multi-cultural church located in the outer Sunset District in San Francisco for over 40 years.   Our church vision is to glorify God by making Gospel transformed disciples of all peoples, in our city, and in the world.

We are seeking a Cantonese speaking Lead Pastor who can provide vision, teaching, and strategic direction for the Cantonese congregation of Sunset Church. He will nurture the church’s vision through prayer, preaching, discipleship, and leadership. As a teacher, he is committed to the Scriptures and leads from them. He is dependent on the Holy Spirit as a humble communicator of the Word and relies on the Spirit to help him connect Scripture to the church’s needs and engage with the culture.

General Responsibilities

1. Teaching and Preaching – The primary responsibility is to lead the congregation’s spiritual growth by serving as the main teacher and communicator, delivering well-prepared and engaging Cantonese sermons, and cultivating a culture of spiritual formation and discipleship.

2. Spiritual Leadership – Provide spiritual leadership and mentorship to the Cantonese congregation, casting a vision for Great Commission faithfulness, and developing next-generation leaders.

3. Oversight and Management – Oversee and mentor Cantonese staff, develop and communicate a ministry vision, participate in board leadership, empower lay leaders, and guide ministry development and implementation.

4. Pastoral Care – Foster a team-based approach to member care among elders, pastors, and leaders, including support during life events like illness, funerals, weddings, and counseling.

5. Commitment to Sunset Church – Serve and support Sunset Church’s mission, adhering to its code of conduct, membership requirements, articles of faith, and accountability to leadership.

Qualifications:

1. Spiritual Maturity: Maintain an intimate and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ and meet the biblical qualifications for an elder as outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

2. Communication: Be a faithful and Spirit-filled communicator of God’s Word. Have a strong fluency in Cantonese and adequate English.

3. Emotional Health: Demonstrate self-awareness and emotional health.

4. Theological Soundness: Be committed to historical Christian orthodoxy and have a humble learning posture towards Scripture and theology. This includes, but is not limited to, a Master of Divinity or similar academic and experience.

5. Leadership Experience: Have experience leading a team of elders, staff, and congregational leaders in a mid-sized to large church.

6. Church Development: Possess the ability to initiate and patiently lead an established church.

Experience:

• Education: Master of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary (preferred).

• Ministry Experience: Minimum 5 years of pastoral experience in North America churches.

• Leadership Development: A proven track record of developing leaders of leaders.

• Emotional Intelligence: Strong emotional intelligence (EQ), with excellent communication and public speaking skills.

• Organizational Skills: Proven success in multitasking, time management, prioritizing, and positively influencing a team.

• Teamwork: Ability to work effectively as part of a team to plan, communicate, and implement a cohesive church vision and purpose.

• Community Relations: Demonstrated ability to work with and maintain positive, loyal relationships with community members from within the church or neighborhood surroundings.

• Church Commitment: Commitment to serving Sunset Church and supporting the mission of Christ through the local church.

• Philosophical Alignment: Philosophical alignment with church leadership.

• Conflict Resolution: Ability to effectively deal with conflict in a healthy, biblical manner.

• Confidentiality: Ability to disclose sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality and trust regarding church and member information.

Join Us:

If you are a dedicated and experienced pastor with a heart for serving the Cantonese community, we invite you to apply for this leadership position at openpositions@sunset.life