University Pastor and Executive Director of Spiritual and Religious Life

Job Description

Job Description

The University Pastor and Executive Director of Spiritual and Religious Life will provide leadership for the spiritual and religious life of Capital University and serve as a visible pastoral presence across the institution. This leader will guide the University in deepening its Lutheran identity, strengthening its communal and worship life, supporting students in spiritual growth and vocational discernment, and cultivating an environment in which all members of the community can feel seen, supported, and welcomed.

This role extends beyond the administration of campus ministry programs. The next leader will be asked to help Capital interpret and embody its mission in a rapidly changing higher education and religious landscape; to foster spaces of reflection, dialogue, and belonging; to represent the University with ecclesial and community partners; and to serve as a trusted partner to senior leadership in helping the University remain grounded in faith, purpose, and hope. The next University Pastor is expected to be a bridge-builder, an interpreter of mission, an advocate for belonging, and a compassionate presence in times of change and complexity.

Leadership Agenda

Advance a compelling vision for spiritual and religious life

The next University Pastor will help Capital articulate and advance a clear, contemporary, and compelling vision for spiritual and religious life. This will include strengthening the role of worship, pastoral care, faith formation, discernment, service, and theological reflection within the broader student experience and within the life of the University as a whole.

This leader should be able to communicate how Capital's Lutheran identity informs the University's commitments to dignity, community, service, vocation, justice, intellectual life, and care for the whole person.

Lead worship, ritual, and sacred traditions with creativity and depth

The University Pastor will steward the public worship life of the University in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, seminary leaders, and community partners. This includes weekly University worship, weekly Seminary worship, Baccalaureate, and other major services and ceremonies, along with prayers, blessings, and devotional leadership at institutional gatherings. These responsibilities are foundational in the current role and should remain central in the daily pastoral work of Capital University.

The next leader should bring imagination and pastoral sensitivity to this work, honoring cherished traditions while also developing forms of worship and reflection that speak meaningfully to the lives of today's students. This person should help the University's sacred rhythms feel both deeply rooted and genuinely alive.

Provide compassionate pastoral care and strengthen the University's capacity for care The University Pastor will be a visible and trusted source of pastoral care, spiritual counseling, and compassionate presence for students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and others connected to the University. The role includes confidential support through the Title IX process, care in times of crisis and transition, and spiritual support across the broader campus community.

The next leader will also be expected to strengthen the University's broader capacity for spiritual and pastoral care by nurturing relationships, equipping partners, and helping cultivate a network of care across the institution. In this way, the University Pastor will not serve as the sole provider of such support, but as a leader who helps ensure that Capital's culture is marked by compassion, accompaniment, and shared responsibility for the well-being of its people.

Foster belonging across religious difference and spiritual diversity

The next University Pastor will engage with a spiritually diverse community through interfaith programming, religious programming for all on-campus faith communities, and practical support for religious observance. They will craft a culture in which Lutheran students, Christian students from other traditions, students from other faiths, and students with no religious affiliation are all invited into spaces of meaning, reflection, and belonging. This work is increasingly central in higher education settings shaped by religious diversity, lower religious literacy, and a growing number of students who do not identify with a formal faith tradition.

Strengthen Capital's relationships with church and ecclesial partners

The next University Pastor should serve as a thoughtful and active representative of Capital University with the ELCA, the Southern Ohio Synod, local and regional clergy, ecumenical partners, and the broader church. This includes helping others understand the value of an education rooted in the Lutheran scholarly tradition, strengthening trust and partnership with congregations and church leaders, and ensuring that Capital is present and engaged in the life of the church.

Deepen outreach to congregations, Lutheran schools, and camps

• Building Lutheran connections| This reimagined role should intentionally engage the wider network of Lutheran congregations, K–12 educational ministries, and church-related camps. This is not incidental work; it is part of Capital's witness, relationship-building, and long-term institutional vitality. The next leader should be comfortable visiting congregations, preaching when invited, speaking at gatherings, building relationships with clergy and lay leaders, and helping foster stronger connections between Capital and the communities that care deeply about Lutheran education and the formation of young people.
• Support vocation, service, and whole-person formation | The next University Pastor should help all students connect faith, purpose, calling, service, learning, and life beyond graduation. This leader should see the work of spiritual development not as separate from the educational mission, but as essential to the formation of students prepared to lead lives of impact, integrity, and service.
• Partner in advancement, friend-raising, and mission storytelling | The next University Pastor should be a gifted storyteller and relationship-builder who can work with the President, Advancement, Seminary leadership, and Student Experience colleagues to cultivate support for the spiritual, formational, and mission-centered work of Capital. This may include engagement with donors, alumni, pastors, congregations, foundations, and friends of the University who care about faith formation, student flourishing, and the future of Lutheran higher education.
• Serve as a trusted spiritual thought-partner to institutional leadership | The dotted-line relationship to the President should be purposeful. The next leader should be able to offer spiritual reflection, theological grounding, prayerful support, and wise pastoral counsel to the President and other senior leaders. The value of having a strong spiritual and missional voice connected to the highest levels of institutional decision-making is central to Capital's tradition and helps ensure that the University Pastor is not viewed merely as a student-facing professional but as a trusted institutional partner with a broad pulse on the community.

Key Responsibilities

• The University Pastor and Executive Director of Spiritual and Religious Life will be expected to:
• Provide visionary leadership and strategic direction for spiritual and religious life across Capital University, aligning initiatives with the University's mission, values, and developing institutional priorities.
• Lead and coordinate the public worship life of the University, including weekly worships in the undergraduate college and Seminary, Baccalaureate, and other special services and ceremonial occasions.
• Offer compassionate pastoral care and spiritual counseling to students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and other members of the broader Capital community, including service as a confidential support person through Title IX processes when acting in a pastoral capacity.
• Cultivate student leadership in worship, faith-based organizations, and opportunities for spiritual exploration, discernment, and service.
• Design and promote interfaith and multi-faith engagement, support the religious life of students from varied traditions, and maintain awareness of major religious observances and practices.
• Collaborate closely with Trinity Lutheran Seminary, including support for seminary worship and special events and regular participation in the Seminary community.
• Partner with the Vice President for Student Experience and colleagues across Student Experience, Academic Affairs, Enrollment, Advancement, the Center for Faith and Learning, and student-facing offices to ensure spiritual and religious life is integrated into the wider student experience.
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with the Southern Ohio Synod, ELCA Region 6 synods, the broader ELCA, local and regional clergy, ecumenical partners, and church-connected communities.
• Serve as the University's representative for initiatives such as NetVUE and pursue grant opportunities that support spiritual development, faith exploration, and professional growth.
• Administer operating and endowed funds associated with spiritual and religious life and steward resources with accountability and vision.
• Represent the University with grace and credibility in internal and external settings and contribute to the broader visibility, vitality, and mission of Capital University.

Candidate Profile

Capital University seeks a leader who is at once pastor, educator, bridge-builder, spiritual guide, public representative, and institutional partner.

The strongest candidates will bring theological depth, pastoral wisdom, visible joy in ministry, and a genuine ability to connect with students and colleagues across difference. They will understand that this role involves both ministry of presence and leadership of consequence. They will be comfortable moving between worship planning and executive conversation, between student discernment and church relations, between sacred ritual and institutional strategy.

Preferred candidates will demonstrate:

• A Master of Divinity (M.Div.) required, with additional advanced study welcomed.
• Status as an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA, in good standing, and the ability to serve at Capital University with approval of the Southern Ohio Synod.
• At least three to five years of related experience, preferably in university ministry, congregational ministry with a strong young adult focus, or another setting requiring both relational depth and organizational leadership.
• A proven ability as a creative and compelling worship leader and public communicator.
• Experience supporting students in spiritual development, vocational discernment, and faith exploration, especially in diverse and evolving campus environments.
• A clear commitment to ecumenical engagement and religious diversity, with demonstrated ability to work across faith traditions and with individuals who do not identify with a religious tradition.
• A dedicated commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming community that embraces difference and reflects the best of the University's mission and values.
• Excellent written, oral, relational, and organizational skills, along with the capacity to collaborate effectively with students, faculty, staff, alumni, clergy, donors, and community partners.
• An appreciation for the traditions and values of Lutheran higher education and the ability to represent that tradition publicly with clarity, warmth, and conviction.
• Capacity for visible and sustained engagement in the formal and informal life of the campus and a willingness to serve as a trusted and steady presence in times of complexity, change, and community need. The supporting materials emphasize that leaders in these roles often function as bridge-builders, trusted messengers, and calming presences with a broad pulse on the institution.

Compensation

Compensation: Salary is commensurate with background and experience and aligned with the current Southern Ohio Synod compensation guidance for rostered ELCA pastors serving in positions with parsonage provided. University housing is included as part of the compensation package, along with benefits in accordance with University policy and any applicable ELCA benefits

Why This Role Matters

Capital University is seeking more than a caretaker of inherited responsibilities. It is seeking a leader who can help the University live more fully into its mission; who can accompany students and colleagues with compassion and wisdom; who can lead worship that gathers the community with authenticity and hope; who can strengthen the University's ties to church and community; and who can help ensure that spiritual and religious life remains a vital, visible, and animating part of the Capital experience.

For the right leader, this is an opportunity to help shape a university community where faith and learning, reflection and action, belonging and calling, tradition and imagination all meet in meaningful and transformative ways.

Capital University is currently unable to sponsor employment Visas or consider candidates who will require Visa sponsorship.

For more information on Capital University, visit our website at .

Capital University offers a rich benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, retirement, family education benefits, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance and free parking.

Capital University is an equal opportunity employer. Capital University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion, sex, gender, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by the law.