Director for Evangelical Mission, Southeastern Synod

Description

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

The Lutheran Center (national office) is located in Chicago, Illinois. A staff of approximately 400, under the leadership of the Presiding Bishop, serve as administrators, advisors, conveners, partners, and resource people for the ELCA and its ministries. Staff lead the work of national, domestic, and global ministries and programs including Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA World Hunger, Service & Justice, Christian Community and Leadership, and Innovation. We are also home to five of our separately incorporated ministries: The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, Women of the ELCA, Lutheran Men in Mission, the ELCA Foundation and the ELCA Federal Credit Union.

About the position

Grounded in our purpose and priorities, the Christian Community and Leadership unit (CCL) helps the ELCA reach and engage new people reflecting the diversity of communities, welcoming them into the Christian faith. To this end, we will energize and engage our core membership and work with the whole of the ELCA to recruit, develop and deploy the leadership, both lay and rostered, that the church needs to fulfill its purpose of spreading the gospel and building the church. 

The Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) represents the ELCA through the Christian Community and Leadership Unit (CCL) in the Southeastern Synod and is responsible for the development of tools to support congregational vitality, which we define as, “Communities of Jesus that nurture new life-changing relationships with God, one another and the world.” The position also reflects the purposes, principles and commitments of the synod, CCL and the ELCA as a whole. 

The (DEM) will collaborate and coordinate with Churchwide, synod and congregational leaders to develop strategies designed to help congregations engage their communities so that more people know the way of Jesus and discover community, justice and love. 

The person in this position is expected to fully participate in the life and ministry of the synod on the synod staff with synod initiatives and is responsible for implementing and building upon ELCA commitments to ministries among diverse cultures and communities, people with disabilities, and the young-adult population, as well as people and communities experiencing poverty. The DEM participates in resourcing the synod mission strategy with an emphasis on congregational vitality, evangelism, and leadership. 

About the synod

 The Southeastern Synod is made up of 150 congregations and new starts across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.  As one of 65 synods in the ELCA, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the communities that we serve.  Together we extend our ministry and our reach around the country and around the world.  

A synod is not just the synod office and its staff which is co-located with St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, GA.  The Southeastern Synod is everyone in all of our congregations.  We embrace what ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has said about who we are:  We are church.  We are Lutheran.  We are church together.  We are church for the sake of the world.

The Southeastern Synod's highest legislative body is its annual Synod Assembly.  Between assemblies it is governed by the Synod Council.  The synod is served by Bishop Kevin L. Strickland and a synod staff. Bishop Strickland was re-elected to his second term as bishop in May of 2025.

Beyond the work of these bodies and the synod staff, our ministry is carried out by numerous committees and task forces and in cooperation with our many ministry partners.  We are grateful for our ministry partnerships and for the countless volunteers who share their time and their resources.  We could not be church without deep relationships. 

Our shared ministry is funded through mission support (als