Spiritual Formation Associate

Spiritual Formation Associate

Founded in 1873, Menlo Church has a rich history of serving the spiritual needs of our community and is a vibrant spiritual and social center in Menlo Park. Our journey has led us to expand across the Bay Area, with campuses in San Mateo, Mountain View, Menlo Park, and Saratoga.

Menlo's mission is to bring hope to everyone by living out our identity in Christ every day. As we navigate the unique challenges of today's culture, we are committed to being an endearing gospel presence in a region where many are skeptical. With a talented & dedicated staff, we envision a Bay Area that awakens to the freedom found in Christ, through meaningful and practical support.

Join us as we strive to equip our community to bring the gospel into every aspect of life. Together, we can make a lasting impact in the Bay Area and beyond.

Position Summary

The Spiritual Formation Associate is a key member of the Central Spiritual Formation Team, serving as the primary support and second-chair leader to the Pastor of Spiritual Formation. This role helps translate vision into execution by providing strong ministry execution, organizational clarity, and proactive coordination across Spiritual Formation department and For the Bay initiative at Menlo Church.

This role helps strengthen Menlo's formation pathway by collaborating with key stakeholders to deliver effective systems and meaningful events. You'll play an important role in shaping next steps that move people from simply attending to truly belonging, serving, and growing in Christ. In addition, you'll lead key "For the Bay" initiatives and select Spiritual Formation events, building volunteer-led ministry structures that are sustainable, scalable, and aligned across all campuses.

Working closely with the Pastor of Spiritual Formation, Associate Campus Pastors, campus teams, and ministry partners, this leader will help align vision with execution by coordinating logistics, follow-through, communication, and team alignment so that Menlo's Spiritual Formation environments and missional engagement are executed with excellence.

Spiritual Formation Leadership and Coordination

• Serve as a trusted second-chair leader to the Pastor of Spiritual Formation, helping carry execution, follow-through, and departmental integration.
• Support the vision, strategy, and operational health of Menlo's Spiritual Formation environments and pathway.
• Collaborate with Associate Campus Pastors and campus staff to strengthen alignment, communication, and ministry execution across campuses.
• Help organize and steward Spiritual Formation resources, tools, calendars, workflows, and documentation across shared platforms.
• Support ministry planning, cross-functional collaboration, and follow-up processes that increase clarity, accountability, and effectiveness.

For the Bay Leadership

For The Bay is the Mission & Outreach ministry of Menlo Church. We plan key events to endear ourselves to the community and partner with local and global organizations to meet real needs, serve sacrificially, and help our church live outwardly—not just gather on Sundays.

• Serve as the executor for key "For the Bay" initiatives, including but not limited to Rise Against Hunger, For the Bay 5K, Backpack Drive, and other outreach or engagement opportunities.
• Coordinate project plans, timelines, volunteer structures, communications, logistics, and cross-team alignment for For the Bay initiatives.
• Help build volunteer-led teams that can sustain and scale Menlo's outreach efforts across campuses.
• Support the Pastor of Spiritual Formation in organizing, stewarding, and advancing Menlo's local, regional, and global partner portfolio.
• Participate in partner meetings, planning conversations, and ministry development efforts related to missions and outreach.

Event Leadership and Ministry Execution

• Provide leadership and coordination for selected Spiritual Formation events and environments, including Volunteer Kickoff, Volunteer Appreciation, Group Connect, and other department initiatives as assigned.
• Ensure events are planned and executed with a high level of hospitality, clarity, readiness, and follow-through.
• Anticipate needs, solve problems proactively, and bring order to complex moving parts across ministries and teams.
• Work with staff and volunteers to improve systems and execution so ministry becomes less staff-dependent and more leader-driven.

Volunteer and Leader Development

• Identify, recruit, equip, and encourage volunteers and volunteer leaders who can take meaningful ownership of Spiritual Formation and For the Bay initiatives.
• Build healthy volunteer pathways in partnership with campus teams, helping people move from participation to leadership.
• Support the development of reproducible ministry structures that empower volunteers to lead with confidence and clarity.
• Encourage a culture of initiative, responsibility, and growth among staff and volunteer leaders.

Systems, Administration, and Communication

• Bring strong administrative leadership to the department through organization, planning, workflow management, documentation, and follow-up.
• Support and improve the use of ministry systems and tools, including Google Workspace, Asana, Planning Center, and other platforms that support engagement and execution.
• Help maintain accurate records, organized files, clear communications, and dependable systems that support the work of the department.
• Draft, organize, and coordinate internal documents, ministry resources, timelines, and communications as needed.
• Additional duties and special projects as assigned by the Pastor of Spiritual Formation

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelors Degree and/or minimum 3–5 years of experience in church, non-profit, or comparable work experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading ministry initiatives through volunteers and teams, not only through personal execution.
• Demonstrated strength in administration, organization, coordination, and implementation.
• Experience leading events, projects, or ministry environments with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience in discipleship, spiritual formation, missions, outreach, evangelism, or community engagement.
• Seminary degree or theological training preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong administrative and organizational ability with exceptional follow-through.
• High capacity for proactive planning, detail management, and execution.
• Ability to translate vision into clear plans, systems, timelines, and outcomes.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, maturity, and sound judgment.
• Able to lead with both warmth and clarity in a highly collaborative environment.
• Strong hospitality instincts and a desire to create excellent ministry experiences.
• Proficiency with common office and collaboration tools, including Google Workspace, Asana, Planning Center, and cloud-based platforms.
• Ability to organize complex information and maintain accessible, well-structured shared resources.
• A flexible, teachable, solutions-oriented mindset with eagerness to grow.

Work Conditions

• This job regularly operates onsite in a church setting with standard office equipment and may also require work in classrooms, event venues, stage, storage spaces, and outdoor ministry environments.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer equipment.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work.
• Lifting and moving up to 20 pounds may be required.
• Days and hours of work are Sunday through Thursday, with occasional evenings, weekends, and off-site responsibilities as needed.

Menlo Church Spiritual Requirements

• Live out their personal relationship with Jesus Christ by growing more in His likeness, eager to share and see others come to know true hope.
• Demonstrate active engagement as a member of Menlo Church by: Regularly attending and inviting others to services, connecting in community through groups, volunteering in a ministry, and committing to giving to the mission and vision of Menlo Church.
• Holds themself and others accountable to live and love others with integrity and diligence in light of their identity in Christ.
• Hold compatible theological beliefs in alignment with the essential tenets of ECO, as outlined on their website.

The position described in this posting represents the essential functions that a staff member must meet to perform this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions. All offers for employment