Our Church and History
We are the First Congregational Church of Western Springs. Founded in 1887 and now in our third home and second location, we welcome all people as children of God and value that our members come from many traditions. This breadth of theological perspectives allows us to learn from one another and helps us to grow in our own Christian faith in an atmosphere of love and respect. We ask our new members to bring the best of what they have experienced and to acknowledge that all of us have come from a variety of backgrounds and may be in different places on our faith journeys. As a growing and thriving church family, the Church seeks to be a faithful people, to introduce our children to a loving Jesus, and to live out our faith in Christian mission and service.
We are an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation and welcome people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions to join with us in our worship, mission and service.
The church and its congregation have been in its current location since 1929. Both the Sanctuary where we presently worship and the Education/Community Building were designed by G. Grant Elmslie, a prominent Prairie School architect and highly regarded associate of the renowned Louis Sullivan. The Sanctuary offers an inspirational setting for worship and our Education Building (located directly West of the Sanctuary), is a three-story center for classes, meetings, fellowship and community activities. The Education Building also houses our preschool and Kids’ Day Out programs and the third floor is home to The Western Springs School of Talent Education.
Our church continues to grow spiritually and numerically and is truly blessed with both an engaged congregation and a strong and growing financial commitment by our congregation. We have approximately 1250 members 18 years of age or older, roughly 415 pledging households and have averaged 40+ adult new members and 25 confirmands (a total of ~ 65 new members) a year for the last few decades.
Financially, the church has an annual budget in 2024 of $1,520,000.00 ($170,000 for Mission), that is typically balanced by year’s end and is current on all elements of its annual and long-term capital and maintenance plans (virtually no deferred maintenance).
Lastly, our Second Century Endowment Fund today stands at a healthy $2,750,000.00 (and growing) and has traditionally contributed significantly to our annual operating budget through the transfer of a percentage of the interest earned to the Church’s operating account.
The Community of Western Springs
The community of Western Springs is an exceptional place to call home. Located 18 miles west of Chicago, Western Springs has some 15,000 residents and is a picturesque mix of historic landmarks, beautiful parks and modern eateries. Western Springs has been named as one of the best places to raise children and the safest city in Illinois. In terms of schools, the village is primarily served by public schools. The original neighborhoods making up Western Springs are served by Western Springs School District 101 (3 elementary schools and one (1) middle school) while LaGrange Highlands School District 106 serves newer neighborhoods (one (1) elementary school and one (1) middle school). All elementary and middle schools in Western Springs feed into the Lyons Township High School District 204. Equally attractive and abutting Western Springs are the villages of LaGrange, LaGrange Park, and Indian Head Park. With additional elementary and middle schools, they, too, feed into Lyons Township High School District 204.
The History & Legacy of Our Senior Ministers
The congregation of the First Congregational Church of Western Springs has experienced long tenured and healthy ministerial leadership for many years. In fact, we have only had four (4) Senior Ministers in the past 80 years. Our soon-to-retire Senior Minister has faithfully served the congregation for 27 years, and his predecessor for 25 years. Three of the four retired from the position, and the 4th left to become President of Chicago Theological Seminary.
The congregation currently has eight (8) members who are retired UCC clergy, several of whom had served as Associate Ministers here. The predecessor to our current, retiring minister also returned as a member after the traditional 12-month period of disengagement from the church.
The Role of the Senior Minister
This is a time of growth and promise for our church. Calling a Senior Minister will be one of the great moments in our church’s life given the nature and tenure of the relationships we have enjoyed with all of our Senior Ministers. As a result, selecting the next person will be exciting and very impactful.
Reporting to the Executive Committee and Church Council, the Senior Minister serves as the senior spiritual leader for our Church providing ministerial support and direction to all members of both the congregation and staff. In conjunction with the Executive Committee and Church Council they will also oversee all elements (strategic and day-to-day), of the Church’s operations, business, human resources and financial affairs.
Critical elements of the Senior Minister’s responsibilities include the following activities and accountabilities and are roughly structured as follows:
Spiritual Leadership: 50%
- Leads all elements of spiritual growth, faith formation and welfare across our church community, helping the congregation determine where God is leading each one of us as peoples in Christ.
- Recognizes that all members of the congregation are on their own spiritual journey, and accordingly, encourages individual faith formation and vitality – through prayer, Bible study, and service and identifies helpful resources and opportunities for members to engage with and grow through.
- Exhibits the love of God and Christ by developing positive and encouraging relationships across the entire church community.
- Continually evaluates the effectiveness of worship, programs and ministries, recommending creative ideas for improvements as they are developed for and delivered to all stakeholders.
- Leads efforts alongside other church staff and lay leaders to develop and / or enhance the church’s programs and ministries. Particularly, in advancing effective programs targeting and supporting younger members, families, children and youth.
- Serves as the primary preacher and worship leader and administers the sacraments for Sunday and special services.
- Prepares for and conducts weddings and funerals, including counseling and preparation for couples and families as appropriate.
- Provides pastoral calls and visits, care, counseling and referrals to those with special needs.
- Spends time in personal study to expand relevant knowledge and keep current with latest trends in ministry through study, reading, conferences and seminars.
Organizational Leadership: 35%
- Provides supervisory oversight of and direction to staff, including weekly staff meetings and regular extended session planning events.
- Provides ongoing leadership development and spiritual oversight of church staff. Is personally involved in selection, supervision, goal setting, and evaluation of pastoral staff (today, one full-time Senior Associate Pastor, one interim pastor, and a Director of Children’s ministries), the Director of Music and the Director of Operations.
- Provides ongoing leadership on our Church’s efforts to expand and enhance our hybrid church service offerings.
- Maintains regular (daily) communication with team leaders and pastoral colleagues.
- Participates in monthly Executive, Finance and Church Council meetings, along with providing staff support directly to Executive, Finance and Endowment Committees.
- As the face of our congregation, plays a highly visible and engaged role in our broader community.
- Attends and provides additional leadership to the stewardship and development of the financial foundation of the church’s ministries.
Program Leadership and Support: 15%
- Enriches the faith life of the congregation by teaching in Adult Christian Exploration, Confirmation, New Member Orientation, Bible studies and outside speaking engagements.
- Supports, by attending as often as possible, the church’s various activities including ministry events and fellowship groups.
- Engages regularly with the Coordinator of New Members regarding all visitors to the church and follows up with these visitors as needed.
- Encourages the church to engage in mission by giving financial and physical support.
- Plays a leadership role and encourages congregation members to be active in our Church’s outreach and mission efforts on a local, national and global level.
Leadership Characteristics & Personal Attributes:
- Demonstrates experience with strategy development and visioning overall along with the communication and influence skills necessary to guide/advance and execute a compelling strategic plan / vision for the church.
- Demonstrates an ability to communicate and relate effectively with all members of the Congregation, and the Congregation along with inspirational preaching skills.
- Demonstrates experience supporting staff members in their execution of that strategic vision and plan and to expand the work of our church through the growth and effectiveness of its programs and ministries.
- Possesses a spirit of cooperation and fellowship within and across the congregation and Church community. Shows self-awareness and humility in seeking advice from and implementing the ideas of others in a collaborative manner when appropriate.
- Demonstrates a passionate, heartfelt love for our church community and a Christ-like concern for the congregation’s spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
- Possesses a “High Emotional Quotient.” Demonstrates an ability to be approachable and able to work with others through maturity, humbleness, and transparency, including the ability to draw people beyond their comfort zones and experience levels when working with our congregation and for our church.
- Possesses both the ability and desire to work with varied theological perspectives and diverse personality types.
Required Experience & Qualifications
The Senior Pastor…
- Is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, a reciprocal denomination as recognized by the United Church of Christ, or other progressive protestant denominations assuming they are willing to gain standing / status in the UCC.
- Possesses a Master of Divinity or beyond from an accredited seminary.
- Has at least 7 to 10 years’ pastoral experience overall with at least 3 years’ experience managing others, preferably in a large, multiple staff church.
- Possesses outstanding communication skills both written and oral along with an ability to relate effectively with all members of the Congregation, and the Congregation has an expectation that the selected candidate will have strong preaching skills.
- Has an awareness of the technological and spiritual challenges of leading a hybrid church while at the same time, having significant experience leading a traditional worship service (though able to be creative and adaptive within that setting).
- Possesses proven experience managing church financial and administrative activities.
- Demonstrates enthusiasm for advancement and fundraising and a willingness to be engaged at some level with both annual pledge efforts and longer-term capital campaigns.
For consideration or to inquire further, please click below to send an email to the Search Committee.