The Congregation at Duke University Chapel is an interdenominational, inclusive church in Durham, NC located on the Duke University campus. We are seeking a new full-time Senior Pastor for our 435-member Congregation. Our mission statement is
Believing that God reaches out to us with love and forgiveness, we seek to grow together in faith through worship, study, service and our life together.
The Congregation worships in the Duke University Chapel, serves in ministry in the Chapel, but is independent of the University; the Senior Pastor does not have an academic appointment.
Ideally a candidate would be familiar with both parish and academic settings.
Our Congregation was formed in 1985 and has been served by 3 pastors, the latest of whom retired in December of 2023. We currently have an Interim Pastor who expects to remain in that role until a new Senior Pastor is hired.
We are seeking a fully-ordained Protestant pastor who is skilled in Christian education for all ages, mission and community service, pastoral care, stewardship, and administration. The senior pastor will lead a staff consisting of another full-time position, several part time and internship positions, and will attend monthly meetings and serve as an advisor to a 12-member Council made up of elected Congregation members. We worship in the Duke University Chapel and the Senior Pastor may be expected to offer prayers, administer sacraments, and occasionally preach (on average once per quarter) at the request of the Dean or his staff of the Duke University Chapel.
The Senior Pastor job description can be found here.
We are eagerly and prayerfully considering this new chapter in our Congregation life.
We welcome candidates who are interested to submit the following:
- Cover Letter
- Full Resume
- Statement of Faith and Experience (2-page maximum)
- Link to Sermons
Please submit your materials to: [email protected]
The Congregation at Duke University Chapel is a unique church. Some things to know about our congregation are:
- We are a diverse membership of 435 members, which has aged and decreased in size in recent years.
- As a university church, we have more attendees in worship than in our membership, including strong virtual attendance of 100-200 people per Sunday. Chapel worship services are ecumenical.
- Our age range is broad, from newborn to age 90 years and above.
- We are geographically dispersed and have members and who come from locations outside of Durham, including virtual only.
- We are a welcoming congregation being fully inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. We are racially diverse with members from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
- We consider ourselves as interdenominational, welcoming folks with or without denominational affiliation.
Some other things to keep in mind about the context and setting of our Church are:
- The Congregation is separate and distinctly different from Duke University, Duke Chapel, and Duke Divinity School.
- We are structured as a 503(c) charity, not under the direction of a specific denomination’s leadership and not under Duke’s structure. We collaborate with the Chapel and Duke University for a seamless church experience for all.
- We do not control, own, or have to pay for our facilities. These are owned and maintained by Duke University and physically on campus grounds.
- We are financially independent. Our budget is allocated mainly to staff support and mission work.
- Our Senior Pastor is a valued part of the ministry team at the Chapel. The senior pastor is included in worship planning and often participates in weekly services without regular preaching commitments.
- Sometimes we describe ourselves as “a church within a church.”