About the Organization
Founded in 2001, Heaven’s Family is a disciple-making, relief and development ministry with a mission to advance Jesus’ Kingdom. Over the past 18 years we’ve grown from a small, family-run organization to a ministry that employs 20 people with an annual budget of $3 million. We have 20 focused ministries that target specific demographics and issues, and we work in more than 40 countries.
Heaven’s Family’s staff has all worked from home, from five states, since 2014. We are, however, transitioning to a centralized location in west central Pennsylvania. The ministry is led by a three-person management team: Stephen Servant (VP of International Ministry), Jody Walker (VP of Investor Relations), and founder David Servant (President). Revenues for FY2020 were $3.30 million, with 86% of expenses going to Programs.
History
During his third pastorate, and spurred by reading Jesus’ messages to the seven churches in Asia found in Revelation 2-3, David Servant sought to know God’s opinion of his church and ministry. Although he assumed that his ministry was enjoying God’s stamp of approval, he learned otherwise after he felt that the Lord directed him to read Matthew 25:31-46, provoking him to ponder: “If everyone in your church died today and stood at the judgment of the sheep and the goats, how many would be sheep, and how many would be goats?”
David not only had to admit that most of his congregants would be in the “goat” category, but he also realized that he had been failing to make disciples, teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded (as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19-20). His awakening resulted in his repentance and a transformation in his ministry. David began focusing his congregation towards making sacrifices to serve those whom Jesus described as the “least of these,” the desperately poor and persecuted members of the body of Christ (primarily outside North America).
David ultimately resigned from his pastorate, and in 2002 he launched a ministry called Shepherd Serve, initially to train pastors in developing countries on discipleship. The ministry was incorporated in July of 2003, and the name was legally changed in November of 2005 to Heaven’s Family in order to better reflect the ministry’s growing emphasis on serving the “least of these” and providing opportunities for Christians from the West to become involved in that work too.
Five Core Values
Embracing our five core values is essential for every member of our staff.
God Glorified
- We earnestly desire to have Christ change and work through us so that every word and deed bears eternal fruit and brings glory to God.
- We will conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of Christ’s sacrifice.
- We will do everything in the name of Jesus and in such a way as to further His kingdom.
Holistic Discipleship
- Heaven’s Family is a disciple-making ministry.
- We are called and committed to holistic discipleship—the reconciliation and transformation of people’s relationships with God, with themselves, with others, and with creation.
- We will uphold and pour into the spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual and social well-being of ourselves, fellow staff, donors, and beneficiaries.
Intentional Excellence
- As His purposefully-designed creation and blood-bought bride, Jesus Christ deserves our absolute best and nothing less.
- We want to fulfill every fiber of our God-given capacities by growing together through daily personal development and lifelong learning.
- We will never settle for less than our best in helping, not hurting, our beneficiaries.
- We will offer our donors the finest nonprofit services: stewarding every penny with the utmost integrity and effectiveness while providing timely, accurate, and outstanding reporting and communications.
Generous Serving
- Serving at Heaven’s Family is a calling, not a job. Although workers are worthy of their wages, the ultimate reward is to hear our Master say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant!” Serving Jesus is done by generously serving the least of these, and this requires sacrifice. What’s important is the mission. Because the mission is so important, there is simply no room for egos.
- As a staff, we will go above and beyond the call of duty to serve each other—and the organization—in grace and humility.
- We will serve our donors well, treating them as more important than ourselves and as fellow laborers in God’s plan of reconciliation and transformation.
- We believe our beneficiaries are made in the image of God and partakers in His divine nature and we will serve them accordingly.
Loving Family
- Love is our motivation and the supernatural glue that binds us together with our beneficiaries and donors; apart from love, Heaven’s Family ceases to exist.
- Every staff member is a brother or sister in Christ, and as such, we will be lovingly devoted to God’s best in each other, as iron sharpens iron.
- Our donors and beneficiaries are our family, and we will treat them as fellow disciples and participants in God’s plan of reconciling all things to Himself.
The Vision for 2025
Heaven’s Family has always been a disciple-making ministry. Since discovering and exploring disciple-multiplication movements (DMMs), our president has had it on his heart to renew a primary emphasis on this area. The organization has started a 5-year transition to focus on starting, supporting, and supplementing disciple-multiplication movements, including support through relief and development projects.
To accomplish this refocus, Heaven’s Family is undergoing organizational and structural changes. Specifically, we are shifting from being a virtual organization to one that is centrally located for improved and increased collaboration. We’re also looking to bring new skills into the organization.
A great foundation has been laid for this ministry. Heaven’s Family has a $3-million dollar organizational capacity, 18 years of experience, a strong and committed donor base, established web presence, a wide network of international partners, proven fundraising strategies, robust internal systems and technologies, and a trusted brand.
All this creates the opportunity for this new position. The Director of International Development will be involved at this early stage of re-visioning the organization and will be a part of this restructuring and growth going forward. He or she will play an important role in evaluating and improving current programs, building new programs, scaling them, and building a team to support this growth. This person will be involved in bringing the Gospel to where it hasn’t been before, strengthening families, and enabling the “least of these” to experience all that God’s Kingdom has to offer.
The Director of International Development will be a man or woman of spiritual substance and vision who loves the Lord, is called to full-time ministry, is passionate about advancing Jesus’ kingdom, and is driven by love. He or she may currently be serving at another nonprofit ministry—particularly one focused on international development or relief. Wherever this person comes from, he or she will have a proven history of growing success. Terms such as collaborator, team builder, steward, optimizer, learner, communicator, wise, engaging, a “visionary within the vision,” trustworthy, humble, fun and strategic should apply to this person. We are seeking someone who can make the tough calls, but with compassion and grace.
General Job Description
Title: Director of International Development
Type: Full-time and salaried
Location: Punxsutawney, PA
Reports to: VP of International Ministry
Role Summary
The mission of the Director of International Development is to introduce international development expertise and practices into Heaven’s Family. This person will play an important role in refining and executing the vision for advancing Jesus’ Kingdom, specifically through supporting disciple-making movements with development and relief practices. Initially, this staff member will direct our programs for orphan care, refugees, disaster relief, education, and persecuted Christians before expanding to our other programs. They will ensure we are achieving our goals and are successful in our mission and vision.
Role and Responsibilities
The Director of International Development will play an important role in refining and executing the vision. He or she will evaluate and improve current programs, build new programs, and grow and scale programs, along with leading and building a team to support the programs. Specific responsibilities include:
- Learn and evaluate Heaven’s Family’s current strategy, programs, projects, and partners with regards to disciple-multiplication, development, and relief
- Within first six months with the management team, develop a multi-year plan with measurable goals and outcomes to increase the fruitfulness of our efforts in development and relief
- Collaborate closely with the Director of Disciple Multiplication to support disciple-multiplication efforts through development and relief practices and projects
- Work with the Accounting Department to manage the overall operational, budgetary, and financial responsibilities and activities of the ministry group
- Collaborate with the Advancement Department in planning, organizing, executing, and evaluating fundraising strategies
- Serve as a knowledgeable resource to the organization’s management team
- Perform other duties and responsibilities, as assigned and needed
Requirements
The Director of International Development will be an exceptionally talented and passionate leader with a calling to full-time ministry work and evident commitment to personal godliness. He or she will be visionary and entrepreneurial yet detail-oriented and will excel in both administration and operations.
Education
- Master’s degree or higher in International Development (preferably from a Christian university or school) or a related field, or equivalent experience
Experience
- At least five (5) years of international development/ministry experience including work in a developing country
Skills and Abilities
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, including storytelling
- Technologically competent
- Proficient in photography
- Strong project management skills
- Strong managerial and team-building skills
- Willingness and ability to travel internationally
- Able to work from home in the Punxsutawney area and regularly meet with other staff in various places until we eventually acquire office space
Compensation
Salary range: Please send salary requirements
Benefits package: Health care stipend for employee and family; retirement plan matches employee payroll deductions, up to 3% of income
Vacation: Twenty (20) days annually
Relocation: Allowance is negotiable
Other: Nine (9) paid holidays annually
Location
Why Punxsutawney?
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania may not compete with suburbia in terms of population or convenience, but it has much more to offer.
As the founding staff members of Heaven’s Family started migrating to the Punxsy area to escape the rat race of suburban living, it soon became evident that this would be the new home for Heaven’s Family’s base of operations.
It doesn’t take long to fall in love with the rolling hills and serene landscape of western Pennsylvania. Residents are blessed to enjoy the year-round beauty of all four seasons, ranging from mild snowy winters to the breathtaking foliage of autumn. You can’t help but feel closer to God here.
If you have young children, what better place to raise a family than in the country? Where boys can be boys and girls can be girls—innocent, free and without a care in the world.
A unique aspect of the Punxsy region is its cross-cultural experience. Punxsutawney is surrounded by multiple Old Order Amish communities (complete with horse-and-buggy travel and 1800s lifestyles) as well as international students from many parts of the world studying at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
A major benefit our staff have experienced as they’ve migrated from Pittsburgh to Punxsy is the financial freedom it offers. You can live much larger—and simpler—on much less. You can buy (or build!) a house and own land for a fraction of the cost than in many other parts of the U.S., especially urban areas.
If God is calling you to join the Heaven’s Family community of world-changers, then we believe that Punxsy is calling your name—and you won’t regret it!
A few additional fun facts about the region:
The borough of Punxsutawney (population 5,700) is home to the world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who resides in the local library for children to enjoy. He makes his annual public appearance on February 2 for Groundhog Day. As a result, Punxsutawney is known as the “Weather Capital of the World.”
The Punxsutawney Area School District and two private Christian schools provide K-12 education for the surrounding area for K-12 education. The Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), 30 miles south in Indiana, maintains a satellite branch in Punxsutawney. There are also a handful of Christian homeschool co-ops in the area.
Contact
Ready to take the next step?
For additional information about Heaven’s Family, please explore our website. If, after prayerfully reviewing this information, you sense that this role and opportunity could be a good fit for you, please submit a cover letter, resumé and salary requirements to:
Stephen Servant | [email protected]
To download this job description, click here.
