Associate Pastor (Planting) – City Church Manchester

City Church was planted in September 2014 with the aim of reaching those who live, work or study in
Manchester with the good news of Jesus. We are a growing church that trains and generously gives
laborers to resource and plant churches in Manchester, the Northwest and beyond. By God’s grace, we
have grown from a launch team of 27 adults and 5 children to more than 460 adults and 80 children from
47 different nationalities today. We are committed to training up people to resource and plant churches
across the world. As part of our church planting commitment we have directly planted one church,
facilitated an additional three church plants in Greater Manchester, launched a church planting network
for the city (https://northerngospelproject.com/), raised a seed fund of £64,000, and helped with planting
three further churches in Dubai, Lagos and Fairfield, CT. We are planning to facilitate a further five church
plants (2 in the pipeline) and directly plant one more church in Manchester by 2027. This appointment is
with a view to directly planting a church in 2027.

City Church meets at Elliot House on Deansgate in the city centre. We have our offices at Methodist Central Hall also in the city centre. We have 14 members of staff who work out of the City Church offices. We are a close knit team who meet regularly for training, discussion, reflection, and prayer.

The Role

The Associate Pastor will come on staff at City Church for a period of two years where they will receive
training and coaching in pastoral ministry and church planting. We are committed to resourcing
generously the church we plant. For this to be possible, there needs to be a close alignment of ministry
philosophy and DNA and one of the purposes of the two years is to achieve this alignment so that we
can confidently send people, finances and resources with the plant that the Associate Pastor leads. The
Associate Pastor will work closely with the leadership of City Church to identify a location, venue and
core team and can expect to receive full support in planning and resourcing the new church. There is an
Occupational requirement that the post holder is a committed evangelical Christian under Part 1 of
Schedule 9 to the Equality Acts 2010.

Key Areas of Work

Preaching and Teaching

• To preach at least fifteen times a year at City Church.
• To lead a Connect group (our midweek small groups)
• To lead a discipleship group with men in the church

Leadership

• To join the Eldership of City Church and participate in decision-making
• To lead a ministry team in the church
• To line manage at least one member of staff
• To be a man who others want to follow in pursuing gospel-hearted goals

Evangelism

• To set an example in building meaningful relationships with non-Christians in the city and sharing
  the good news of Jesus.
• To research and understand the prevailing culture and worldviews of Manchester and
  demonstrate an ability to engage with these worldviews and commend the gospel.
• To speak at evangelistic events.

Pastoral Care

• To join the Pastoral Team and exercise pastoral care within the church. This may include: pastoral
  visiting, counselling, marriage counselling and mercy ministries.

Training

• The Associate Pastor will enrol in Incubator – a two-year training course in church planting
  (https://northerngospelproject.com/incubator/)
• The Associate Pastor will join the Manchester Planters Collective (a group of like-minded church
  planters in the city)
• The Associate Pastor will be mentored by Ralph Cunnington on all matters relating to planting a
  church including: setting a vision, gathering a core team, fundraising, evangelism, legal
  compliance, ministry multiplication etc.
• The Associate Pastor will have a funded Gospel Coach who is external to City Church (see
  https://www.cmmnet.org/pages/uk).

Theological Commitment and Values

The Associate Pastor will be in full agreement with the FIEC Doctrinal Basis and Statements on Women

in Ministry, Gospel Unity and Marriage, City Church’s Doctrinal Distinctives (attached) and will
enthusiastically embrace our vision and values.

The Person

Essential

• Godly character consistent with the requirements for an elder in 1 Timothy 3:1-6 and Titus 1:5-9
• Contagious love for Jesus
• Gifted in evangelism who wants to prioritise reaching the lost
• Gifted in gospel-driven expository preaching
• A track record of leadership (staff or volunteer) in the local church
• A track record of equipping and releasing others for works of ministry
• Enthusiasm for church planting
• Robust understanding of Reformed theology
• A desire to commit at least 7 years to ministering in Manchester
• A team player who is self-aware and able to harness others
• A pioneering spirit who thrives on new opportunities and is not afraid of change

Desirable

• Formal theological training
• Experience of working in paid employment outside of the church
• Experience of church planting
• Competency in building sustainable, scalable and agile structures and processes
• Preference for tension over balance
• Instinct to innovate

An offer will be subject to receipt of a satisfactory enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring
Service.

Remuneration package

The Associate Pastor will receive a salary in the range of £33,483-£38,034. They will receive additional
expenses including a training and hospitality budget and an 8% employer contribution to their pension.

Closing Date

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 20 June 2025. Interviews will take place on either 6-7 July or
11-13 July. If you are not available on either of these dates, please let us know in your application. The
role will start on either 1 September 2025 or 1 January 2026 (dependent on notice requirements in
current role).

If you have any questions please contact Ralph Cunnington at ralph@citychurchmanchester.org

 

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