DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT
Position Title:
Director of Engagement
Direct Supervisor of:
N/A
Department:
Grace Church Lake Highlands
Tier:
Classifications:
Full Time, Salary Exempt
Work Schedule:
Mon-Thurs, 9-4 in office; Sun, 8:30-11:30; other hours are flexible and as ministry events require
Reports to:
Discipleship Pastor
Date of this Description:
May 27, 2026
We can competitively compensate with salary and benefits (range based upon experience and available on request). To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jd.wilhelm@gracelh.church.
Purpose of This Position
As a family being transformed by grace, Grace Church Lake Highlands exists to help our friends and neighbors find and follow Jesus and to work for the flourishing of Lake Highlands. Grace Church Lake Highlands seeks to advance that vision by introducing or re-introducing our neighbors to Jesus, welcoming them into life-changing community, and tangibly working for the good of the people and places of Lake Highlands. The Director of Engagement ensures, through relational systems, events and communication, that those who find a church home at Grace build deep connections through community and service.
Desired Results/Impact of This Position
· Members and Visitors are warmly and clearly guided towards how to connect and serve
· Events facilitate meaningful connections and logistics for events run smoothly
· Communication is consistent, compelling, creative and multi-channeled
· Local Partners feel valued and supported and members are guided into how to serve with them
· Volunteers for Sunday teams are informed and well-resourced
· Database information is captured and well-organized to facilitate sticky connection
Key Responsibilities
- Assimilating Visitors and Members
o Follow up with visitors and connect them to areas of interest (serving, community groups, kids ministry, meeting with a pastor, etc.). This will ideally be done through an initial phone call, with email follow up.
o Look for new visitors on Sunday mornings and make connections with them
o Coordinate the Exploring Grace (membership) class logistics (offered 3x per year)
o Follow up after the Exploring Grace class to assimilate new members to service teams and community groups
· Planning Events to Foster Connections
o Plan and coordinate Men’s Ministry Events (3x/yr)
o Plan and coordinate quarterly Women’s Ministry Events (3x per year)
o Plan and coordinate and help execute All Church Events (new member receptions, quarterly lunches, Christmas party, 4th of July Gathering)
o Plan and coordinate opportunities for new members to connect with each other
· Facilitating Local Partnerships
o Serve as church liaison to our strategic partners in Lake Highlands (Network of Community Ministries, Forerunner Mentoring, Northlake Elementary School/Richardson ISD, Young Life Capernaum Ministry)
o Recruit and connect church members to volunteer with our strategic partners
· Supporting Sunday Volunteer Teams
o Support Sunday Serve Team Leaders including the leaders for the Start Here Team, Communion Team, Clean Team and Safety and Security Team
· Communicating with Consistency, Creativity and Excellence
o Manage church communications calendar
o Design, draft and send weekly all-church e-newsletter
o Gather and tell impact stories of church members whose lives are being transformed through Grace Church
o Post regularly on social media to inspire engagement with church events
o Ensure that the website is easily usable, visually appealing, and regularly updated with information
o Create visually appealing graphics for key church events (sermon series, announcements, digital communication, etc.)
o Create a visually appealing annual impact report, sharing stories and metrics of the church’s impact throughout the year
o Capture key church events with photo and video and/or hire contractors to do so
· Managing Databases
o Create and update profiles for new people within Planning Center
o Add new members to all internal church directories – Instant Church, Planning Center, Google Sheets
o Update MailChimp email groups (All Church, Community Groups, Kids) with new people
Opportunity for Advancement
Grace Church Lake Highlands is a rapidly growing church, with expanding needs, especially in church operations. This role has the potential to expand should there be mutual interest, capacity, aptitude, and alignment.
Compensation
Grace Church Lake Highlands compensates very competitively both in terms of salary and benefits. The range is based upon experience and is available upon request.
Education, Experience, Skill, Ability Requirements
· Experience:
o Proven experience working in roles requiring strong people skills and emotional intelligence
o Proven experience producing and managing effective communications
o Prior experience working within a church or non-profit is preferred
· Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
o Strong people skills and the ability to forge relationships
o Ability to communicate warmly and graciously
o Ability to clearly communicate via speaking and writing
o High level of personal organization
o Able to recruit effectively
o Ability to plan and manage large events including organizing vendors and volunteers
o Comfortable using and learning administrative technology tools
o Comfortable with social media, Mailchimp, Adobe, and other communications platforms
o Able to work independently
Workplace Expectations
· Committed to making Grace your church home and faith community
· Embodies the mission of the church through a lifestyle of hospitality and evangelism
· Acts as an advocate of the culture and vision of Grace Church Lake Highlands
· Christian Faith aligned with the beliefs of Grace Church Lake Highlands and the ECO denomination
· Commits to and exhibits the Core Values of Grace LH
o Jesus-centered
o Mission-Driven
o Neighborhood-Focused
o Family-Connected
GRACE CHURCH LAKE HIGHLANDS PROFILE
Our Vision
We believe the church is not primarily a place, but a people called to share the hope of Jesus with our neighbors. Located in the heart of Lake Highlands at the intersection of Walnut Hill and Ferndale, we love our neighborhood and long to see it flourish in all the ways God intends. We aspire to be a church for both the convinced and the unconvinced, where all can discover and rediscover the intellectually compelling and personally satisfying grace of Jesus Christ. You can read more about our Vision and the values that shape how we pursue it by visiting the “Who We Are” page on our website (www.gracelh.church).
Lake Highlands — Dallas, TX
As a neighborhood-focused church, more than half of our members live in Lake Highlands and nearly 75% within 10 minutes of the church. The Lake Highlands neighborhood is home to roughly 90,000 people and is made unique by its small feel while still being located in the city of Dallas. With rolling hills and close proximity to White Rock Lake, it’s one of the more naturally beautiful areas in the city. Zoned for Richardson ISD, it’s a sought-after neighborhood for those raising school-aged children, with 11 elementary schools feeding into 2 middle schools and 1 high school. While a community with affluence and many single-family homes, Lake Highlands also has pockets of poverty evidenced by 57% of its public-school students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. It is also an ethnically diverse community with hundreds of bilingual students, who speak at least 70 different languages and dialects.
Family of Churches and Our Denomination
In our shared love for Jesus, we are pursuing the flourishing of our city alongside Highland Park Presbyterian Church, our planting congregation; Peak Street Church in Old East Dallas; Good Shepherd Oak Cliff; All Nations, a fellowship for African immigrants; and the Mandarin Chinese Church. In June 2025, we became a self-sustaining, fully chartered congregation within our Presbyterian denomination called ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, and the beliefs of our church leadership are grounded in the ECO Essential Tenets.
Our Story
In January of 2020, Highland Park Presbyterian announced its intention to start a new neighborhood church in Lake Highlands, led by its then Teaching Pastor, Dr. Charlie Dunn. A launch team of about 50 people left Highland Park Presbyterian to become the original nucleus of the church. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our launch team spent the fall of 2020 meeting in backyards of homes and honing our vision. Then, in January of 2021, we began worshipping weekly on Sunday mornings in a rented space in Northwest Lake Highlands.
In January 2022, we moved to our current location at 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, the former home of a Lutheran church. Because of the kingdom-mindedness of the former congregation and the generosity of our members and supportive friends, we were able to purchase this property, debt-free, and have completed campus-wide renovations. We’re amazed by God’s provision to allow us to plant our roots deeply in Lake Highlands.
Since moving to this more central and visible location, our congregation has continued to grow as a multi-generational church family. Here are a few numbers, which reflect the current makeup and engagement within our church family.
· 365 average Sunday worship attendance, including an average of 100+ children under age 10
· 316 adult covenant partners with 160 children. 75% of these members were not previously affiliated with Highland Park Presbyterian.
· 261 adults engaged in 15 community groups
· 239 adults serving across 15 volunteer teams
· $1.4M budget with fully funded reserves from a very generous congregation
· 7 staff positions – 6 full time, 1 part time
God has also provided an opportunity for us to partner closely with the pre-school which meets on our campus. This school has operated for 38 years and provides part-time early childhood education to 120+ children ages 18 months to 5 years. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the school operates under the new name of “Grace Day School” and is governed by a Board made up of Grace Church Lake Highlands members.
