Education
Six learning pathways, from calling and discernment to governance and pastoral care, built for those serving in associate and supporting roles.
The Associate Pastor
Called to Serve. Equipped to Lead.
A professional home for pastors and ministers whose leadership strengthens the Church every day.
Our Mission
A distinct assignment, not a lesser calling.
We exist to recognize, equip, connect and advance pastors and ministers serving in associate and supporting leadership roles, for the health and effectiveness of the Church.
Some serve as associates for a season. Others serve for a lifetime. Either way, the work deserves serious preparation, honest support and recognition that does not depend on a platform.
Four Pathways
Where to begin.
Careers
Reviewed ministry opportunities that link directly to the hiring church, with the date each listing was last verified.
Leadership
Calling, assignment and partnership: practical thinking on serving well alongside a senior pastor and within healthy governance.
Community
A professional community for pastors and ministers whose work is often unseen, beginning with a moderated monthly roundtable.
Calling & Gifting
The Calling, the Assignment, and the Partnership.
Calling is not the same as ambition. Gifting is not the same as preference. Loyalty to a leader is not the same as loyalty to Christ. Associate ministry asks a pastor to hold each of these distinctions clearly, often without a title that announces it.
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About
Strengthening the leaders who strengthen the Church.
The Associate Pastor is a leadership publication, resource library and professional ministry community. We respect denominational differences, hold our recognition to editorial standards rather than payment, and publish nothing about a real person without their consent.