HPF Female Care Team Job Description (Draft)
Character
Meets the Biblical requirements for a mature believer and a shepherd of others: hospitable, dignified, sober-minded, Scripturally wise, gentle, truthful, not a recent convert, and has a good reputation with outsiders. She has experienced the Lord’s grace in the challenges of her own life and is able to articulate His steadfast faithfulness to others.
Vibrant prayer life
Actively sharing her faith with unbelievers
Available to know and be known by her fellow female shepherds and, to a lesser extent, by our congregation
Requirements
Attend Sunday worship unless God stops you
Attend 80% of monthly Shepherding meetings
This team will function as an advisory to the session. They will meet with all the leadership teams at the monthly gathering, but will only meet further with the session if there is need.
Attend 75% of full-church gatherings (picnics, service, outreach, etc)
Attend 3 Prayer meetings per semester
Sacrificially giving to the church financially
Serve a 4-year term after which a sabbatical year is offered. She may return to another term of service after her sabbatical.
Ministry
To walk alongside a woman in crisis or distress
To minister in Word to hurting women.
To serve with the pastors, elders and deacons upon request as they fulfill their responsibilities to provide pastoral, preventative and remedial care to the women and families of HPF
To minister alongside elders in situations where the absence of a woman is awkward, disadvantageous, or even grievous and where the counsel and help needed requires the perspective of a woman
To be an advocate for the woman to the Session and an advocate for the Session to the woman
To provide short term help with the goal of transitioning the woman into the ongoing ministries of our church that will provide sustaining support and care.
These women will advise the session at their regular meetings, as Scripture has instructed and our denomination commended (I Tim 5.10, Rom 16.1-2, Phil 4.2-3, Titus 2.3-4, I Cor 11.5). They are not ordained and will not have a vote on the session (I Tim 3.1-7).