The pastor shall preach the Gospel regularly and shall be at liberty to preach the whole counsel of the Word of God from the Authorized King James Bible. He shall administer the ordinances of the church; act as moderator, or appoint a moderator, at all church meetings for the transaction of church matters; supervise the teaching ministries of the church; and watch over the spiritual interests of the membership. In all conflicts regarding the interpretation of Scriptures, the pastor will have authority & liberty to decide, as long as that interpretation does not go against Pilgrim Baptist Church's doctrinal beliefs and beliefs about life and family.
The pastor, on behalf of the church, shall establish ministries and appoint leaders to those ministries as needed. He shall publicly inform all members of any newly formed ministry and the responsibilities of the leaders of those ministries. He shall extend the right hand of fellowship to all new members on behalf of the church, and shall perform such other duties as generally appertain to the position of pastor. Furthermore, he shall be free to choose the means and methods by which he exercises the ministry God has given him.
All appointments for public worship and Bible study and the arrangements thereof, including time and place, and the use of the property belonging to the church for any other purposes, are under the control of the pastor, who, with the advice and counsel of the deacons, trustees, and church leaders, shall be able to determine the appropriateness of all property use, as well as persons permitted to use the church property.
The pastor shall be responsible to fill the pulpit for each regularly scheduled church service, as well as any special services. In the event of his absence, he (or the deacons, trustees, or leaders) shall be responsible for inviting speakers from within the membership or outside the church to preach in a manner consistent with the beliefs articulated in the statement of faith.
The pastor, along with church leadership, shall be responsible to establish mandatory safety and security procedures for all ministries and programs. There will be a zero-tolerance policy with regard to abuse of minors, and any reasonable suspicions of child abuse alleged to be perpetrated by staff, volunteers, members or non-members will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement or child abuse prevention authorities.
