Part three in a five-part series about church leadership structures (read the introduction and the biblical principles).

In the “Architecting the Church” series so far, we’ve established the need for church leadership structure and some of the biblical principles that are to inform it. Today’s post offers a practical explanation of how our church is organized under the leadership of Jesus and the authority of the Bible.

Mars Hill Church has roughly one hundred people on staff. These individuals are organized by ministry/leadership teams, including the following:

Board of Directors – Men selected and approved from within the Full Council of Elders to oversee and govern the affairs of Mars Hill Church. At present, the “Full Council” consists of about thirty-two pastors, and eleven serve on the Board of Directors. Every non-profit organization needs to have a Board that provides a covering of accountability and governance for senior leadership. Not all of these men are paid staff.

Executive Elders – A sub-team of the Board of Directors who serve as the leadership team of Mars Hill. The Executive Elders are responsible for the day-to-day leadership, management, and oversight of Mars Hill. At present, the Executive Elders are: Jamie Munson, Mark Driscoll, Scott Thomas, Bubba Jennings, and Tim Beltz (read more about them here).

Campus Teams - Each of our locations has a team of pastors and deacons who oversee their respective campus’s local mission and ministry efforts. The campus teams are led by a campus pastor who is ultimately responsible for the mission and the well being of the people of the campus.

Branches – The mission of Mars Hill Church is divided into four major areas of ministry which we use to align our staff, leadership, and resources. Each branch is led by an Executive Elder:

• The Preaching and Theology branch (led by Pastor Mark Driscoll) encompasses our most visible and far-reaching ministry efforts: the proclamation of God’s truth to our local campuses and global audience through preaching and writing.
• The Campuses branch (led by Pastor Bubba Jennings) leads our discipleship effort, developing healthy campuses, cultivating mature Christians, and launching new campuses for the forward progress of the gospel.
• The Central Operations branch (led by Pastor Tim Beltz) works behind the scenes to provide the technology and administrative systems and organization that help MHC run smoothly. These resources and services are shared by all of our campuses. By centralizing things like websites, technology, HR, and accounting we save time and money and prevent the campuses from getting bogged down with too much administrative work.
• The Church Planting branch (led by Pastor Scott Thomas) embodies our desire to partner with many different churches in many different countries for the greater glory of Jesus and the salvation of many. The Acts 29 Network and our burgeoning Church Leadership Center are housed within the Church Planting branch.

Departments – Within our branches and some of our larger campuses, we have departments that oversee particular ministries such as music, pastoral care, youth, and community groups.

In the past year, we have made significant improvements to our leadership structure. As ambassadors for Jesus and brothers and sisters in him, accountability and personal care play an integral role in this system. We believe it is vital for every person on staff to be connected to a team, and within that team to meet with their overseer on a regular basis for prayer, accountability, encouragement, and planning.

Every leader at Mars Hill—every staff member—needs regular, holistic attention to ensure that their personal and vocational lives align with their ministry, and that they are being challenged to grow and mature. Isolation is detrimental because accountability, unity, and a shared vision create a far more effective, stable, and vibrant ministry. We minister out of who we are and how we live our lives, so we work hard to ensure that nobody is isolated or compartmentalized.

This commitment to personal development and spiritual maturity can be time consuming and labor intensive, but we feel quite strongly that a big church is worthless if its leaders are not well cared for. So as a church—starting with the leaders—we spur each other on towards a more vibrant, honest relationship with Jesus.

Tomorrow: why multi-site?