Church Planter - (Fixed Term 12 months)

Cultivate a healthy, multiplying, disciple-making church that actively reaches the Mornington Peninsula and surrounding communities with the Gospel.....

CityLife Church is seeking an energetic and passionate individual to join our team as the Church Planter who will provide spiritual and organisational leadership for a new CityLife Church congregation in Mornington as part of CityLife’s multi-site expression of one church in many locations.

The purpose of the role is to cultivate a healthy, multiplying, disciple-making church that actively reaches the Mornington Peninsula and surrounding communities with the Gospel. This includes identifying, developing, and empowering leaders to establish new Life Groups, building and mobilising effective ministry teams, and implementing the systems and structures required to enable healthy, sustainable ministry growth.

This role requires entrepreneurial spiritual leadership to gather and shepherd people, foster a strong culture of discipleship, provide pastoral care, and ensure effective connection and follow-up of those engaging with the church. It also carries responsibility for overseeing the launch and ongoing development of the congregation in alignment with CityLife Church’s vision, culture, and values.

This is a fixed-term role with the intention to transition to ongoing permanent full-time employment following the successful establishment of the Mornington congregation.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Working closely with the multisite leadership team representative (Lead Pastor - Casey), set the direction, goals and strategic plan for the Mornington congregation, ensuring alignment with CityLife Church's vision, values, strategic priorities and agreed milestones.
• Lead the establishment of the Mornington congregation by developing, implementing and regularly reviewing the strategic church planting plan.
• Provide day-to-day leadership to the Mornington leadership team, ministries and congregation in pursuit of the vision and goals for the Mornington congregation.
• Prayerfully build, inspire and develop a committed team that embraces the vision of CityLife Church by fostering a culture of ownership, unity, prayer and mission.
• Recruit, train, empower, coach and pastor volunteer leaders and ministry teams, creating a culture where people discover their gifts, serve effectively, develop as disciple-makers and strengthen the long-term health of the congregation.
• Raise, equip, coach and support Life Group Leaders and Co-Leaders, establishing and multiplying healthy mid-week discipleship gatherings that foster spiritual growth, pastoral care, authentic relationships, evangelism and healthy leadership multiplication.
• Lead the planning, coordination, delivery and ongoing evaluation of monthly weekend services, ensuring they are engaging, well organised, mission-focused, aligned with CityLife's ministry standards, build momentum, engage the local community and ensure the successful establishment of regular weekly weekend services.
• Ensure weekend services align with relevant planned series, major events, themed weekends, etc.
• Vision-cast and lead the congregation to grow weekend service attendance and progressively establish ministries that support the growth and health of the congregation.
• Develop local partnerships and other key relevant stakeholders that strengthen CityLife's presence, witness and impact across the Mornington Peninsula.
• Take responsibility for the forward planning and coordination of the congregation's ministry calendar, including venue bookings, key events, ministry scheduling, volunteer planning and operational readiness to support the successful establishment and ongoing growth of the congregation.

The successful applicant will have:

• Proven years of experiences and fruitfulness in ministry and leadership.
• Theological or pastoral qualification(s) - Certificate IV or higher in Ministry/Theology (Degree in Ministry/Theology preferred)
• Sound understanding of Biblical knowledge and Christian doctrine
• Strong leadership, management and communication/teaching skills.
• Strategy, planning and budget management
• Effective Staff supervision capabilities
• Demonstrated confidence and maturity in spiritual gifts and ministry leadership.
• Excellent verbal and written communication - including public speaking, weekend message construction, congregational emails and report writing/presentation.
• Demonstrated experience in gathering, recruiting and developing/motivating leaders and staff
• Experience in Life Group coaching and pastoral care - giving and receiving feedback, prayer and commitment to growth and healing
• An understanding of CityLife Church’s history, CityLife Church’s Values and Pentecostal practice and is able to interpret this within the multi-site congregational context.
• Demonstrated skills as a Self-starter who is motivated in achieving outcomes within a timely manner.
• ITC - competence in Microsoft Office Suite, My CityLife database, Canva, video meetings and social media platforms i.e. Instagram and Facebook.
• Police Check - Mandatory before commencement
• Working with Children Check (Employee) - Mandatory before commencement
• CityLife training in child protection and family violence - mandatory on commencement.

Thank you for considering employment at CityLife Church or CityLife Community Care. All applicants should understand that to join the staff of either of these entities you must be fully supportive of, and committed to, the values, mission and philosophies of these entities. Some roles will require regular attendance at weekend services and other mid-week meetings. If you feel you are suited to any advertised position, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, please review the detailed Position Description and forward your resume and cover letter to Justine Fung via the 'Apply to this Job' button below.

Please note that we are only able to accept applications from those who have Australian citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency, or a current visa with full working rights for Australia.

Applications close on 25 September 2026. Interviews may commence prior to the closing date, and an appointment may be made prior to the closing date if a suitable applicant is found.

Child Safety Commitment

CityLife Church is committed to the safety, protection and wellbeing of all children and young people across all our congregations and worksites. CityLife Church has implemented a range of child safety measures including a Child Protection Policy and Code of Conduct. We advise applicants that CityLife’s standards of rigorous screening and ongoing supervision/accountability reflect this commitment. Our staff and volunteers are required to have a current Working with Children Check and undergo Police Checks where applicable. A copy of CityLife’s Child Protection Policy and Code of Conduct are available on request.