Saddleback Church – Worship Pastor

Saddleback Church is searching for a Worship Pastor to lead the worship culture and weekend worship experience of the church across all 19 campuses. This is one of the most influential roles on the staff. The person in this seat helps shape how tens of thousands of people encounter God every weekend, leads the worship teams across the broadcast campus and the regional and international campuses, and partners closely with the Lead Pastor and Executive Pastor to carry the spiritual and creative vision of the house.

Saddleback is looking for a leader who is, first and foremost, a worshiper — someone whose private life with God is deeper than their platform, whose ministry overflows from time in the secret place, and who carries a real anointing to lead people into God’s presence. They are looking for a pastor who shepherds people, develops leaders, and builds healthy systems across a complex multi-site environment. And Saddleback is looking for someone in it for the long road — a builder of teams and culture.

 

Key Responsibilities:

 

Weekend Worship Experience

• Lead worship for weekend services at our Lake Forest broadcast campus, setting the tone, sound, and spiritual posture that flows out to all 19 campuses.
• Shape the arc of every weekend worship moment — song selection, arrangement, flow, transitions, and pastoral moments on the mic — in close partnership with the Executive Pastor and Lead Pastor.
  Lead with both range and discernment: comfortable in upbeat, faith-filled celebration and in slower, contemplative moments where the room lingers in God’s presence.
• Create accessible worship environments where believers go deeper and people far from God can sense His presence and take a step toward Jesus.
• Lead deeper-intensity environments (such as our Return Gathering and Weekly Prayer) with the same authority and pastoral instinct.

 

Worship Across the Campuses

• Build and oversee the worship strategy across all 19 campuses, creating both consistency in identity and contextual flexibility for each campus.
• Develop tiered set design (full-band, mid-tier, acoustic-tier versions of every set) so campuses can adapt Lake Forest sets to their context and team capacity.
• Partner with our Campus Worship coach to care for campus worship leaders — monthly gatherings, providing relational support, and shared standards of excellence.
• Build systems, not just stages — cultivating a culture of worship and a pipeline of leaders that scale beyond any one location.

 

Team Leadership and Development

• Pastor and shepherd the worship team — staff, contracted musicians, and volunteers — with warmth, clarity, and care.
• Identify, coach, and raise up worship leaders and musicians. Invest in people spiritually, relationally, and skillfully so that more leaders are flourishing five years from now than today.
• Build a culture of feedback, growth, and unity. Clear conflict directly. Lead a team people genuinely enjoy being on.
• Partner with our Worship Operations Manager and production team to ensure rehearsals, services, and special moments are executed with excellence.

 

Strategic Partnership

• Partner closely with the Lead Pastor and Executive Pastor to translate the vision and message of each series into the worship culture of the church. Sit on the Campus and Weekend Ministry leadership team alongside Production, Communications, Guest Experience, and Engagement leaders to lead a unified weekend experience.
• Help carry the broader narrative of prayer and presence, Stronger Homes, the multiplication of leaders and our identity as a Good News church into the worship life of Saddleback.
• Steward budget, staffing, and creative resources with wisdom — thinking like a builder of scalable systems, not a consumer of resources.

Requirements

• High Relational Aptitude: Someone who can access situations and lead and pastor well in all types of situations.
•  Presence Driven Worship Leader: Someone who is able to sense the flow and move of the Holy Spirit without being restricted by a previous plan.
• Dynamic Platform Leadership and Musicality: Someone who has the musicality and the ability to engage any size room and lead people into the presence of God.
• Complex Organizational Leadership: Someone who can step into and lead at a high level in a complex organization.
• People Developer: Someone who is able to recruit and develop people spiritually, musically and as a leader.

Why We Love This Opportunity

I love this opportunity because it gives someone the opportunity to lead at a high level at one of the most influential churches in America. This person will impact the worship culture at all campuses, while having direct oversight of multiple staff. This is a great opportunity for someone who is looking to make a substantial impact on a church and around the world.

About Saddleback Church

Saddleback Church began in 1980 when Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay moved to Orange County with a vision to build a church that would help ordinary people find hope and purpose through Jesus. Starting with a small Bible study and the church’s very first public service held in a high school gym, Saddleback quickly grew into one of the most influential churches in America. Over the decades, the church became known for its commitment to Biblical teaching, worship, small groups, leadership development, global missions, and helping people take practical next steps in their faith. What began as a local church plant eventually grew into a global movement impacting millions of people through church planting, PEACE initiatives, discipleship resources, and leadership influence around the world.

Today, Saddleback is a thriving multisite church with campuses across Southern California and internationally, led by Pastor Andy Wood and Stacie Wood. While the church carries a rich legacy, there is also a deep sense that God is writing a new chapter. Saddleback is passionately focused on helping people encounter the presence of God, experience authentic community, and live out their God-given purpose. The culture is fast-paced, mission-driven, creative, and deeply collaborative, with a strong emphasis on reaching people far from God while building healthy disciples and leaders. Across every campus, the heartbeat remains the same: to be a “Good News” church where people from every background can find hope, healing, and transformation through Jesus.

At the center of life at Saddleback is a commitment to prayer, worship, evangelism, leadership multiplication, and creating environments where people can genuinely encounter God. The church values innovation and excellence, but ultimately believes life change happens through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Whether through weekend services, small groups, local outreach, global ministry partnerships, or next-generation leadership development, Saddleback exists to help people take their next step with Jesus and to bring hope to Orange County and beyond.

About Lake Forest

Living in Orange County offers a unique blend of beautiful coastal living, vibrant culture, and strong family-oriented communities. From world-class beaches and year-round sunshine to thriving restaurants, outdoor activities, and excellent schools, Orange County is a place where people love to live, raise families, and build community. It’s also one of the most influential and diverse regions in the country, creating incredible opportunities for ministry and outreach.

Life here moves fast, values excellence, and attracts people from all walks of life—making it an exciting and strategic place to serve at Saddleback Church and help people find hope, purpose, and connection in Jesus.