Since planting, Common Ground Northeast’s youth population has continued to grow--most notably in the middle school age, but now expanding into high school as well. And with a growing elementary population, we anticipate the size of this group will continue
to expand from its current size of 25-30 youth. We have previously utilized a part time director role to lead this important formation area in our church. As our pastoral & staffing needs continue to grow, we have developed 2 alternate staffing scenarios:
- Expand this youth pastor role into a full-time role with approximately half of the hours spent focusing on youth spiritual formation and the other half spent focusing on other needs within our growing church. This might include adult spiritual formation,
communication, administration or other areas in which the successful applicant is gifted. The job description will be finalized upon identification of the right candidate.
- Maintain the role as part-time to fit the desire of the successful candidate who prefers to not have a full-time role at this time. In this scenario, the role would be primarily focused on youth spiritual formation, but would occasionally be expanded into
other ministry areas as needs required.
The goal of the Youth Ministry portion of the role is to shape vision and implement activities & relationship in line with the three spiritual formation pillars of our church: community (life with each other), devotion (life with God) and mission (life in
the world).
Qualifications/Relevant Experience
- Agreement with Common Ground's mission, vision, and philosophy of ministry
- A four-year degree from an accredited college or university
- At least 2-3 years ministry experience in some form (campus, church, etc)
- Experience identifying, developing, encouraging and leading volunteers
- Experience in pursuing reconciliation across races, gender & socio-economic backgrounds
- Desire & ability to utilize other skills & abilities in church work (communications, ministry to adults, etc)
Required knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- A gracious, Christ-like demeanor in demanding situations
- Self-motivated; takes initiative and demonstrates perseverance
- Able to engage well with kids—balancing activity & relationships
- Teachable, with a passion to grow in their faith and abilities; committed to expanding knowledge through reading and experience
- Understands and is committed to "contemplative" and "family-based" youth ministry philosophy
- Has a passion for youth ministry, understanding youth culture today
Youth Spiritual Formation Duties/Responsibilities
- Shape the spiritual formation approach for youth-aged kids (6th-12th grade), using small and large group interactions, retreats, service opportunities and other vehicles
- Express a personal interest in the lives of the youth and create consistent "touch points" to relationally engage the youth so they know you and you know them
- Recruit, Train and Coach volunteers (small and large group mentors) & meet with volunteers on a regular basis to understand issues, concerns, and upcoming needs and plans
- Envision different ways to utilize parents, small group mentors, staff, and wider congregation to minister to youth
- Communicate well with the youth & their parents, create schedules for youth ministry programming & engagement
- Develop and oversee ministry budget
The following sections are examples of areas of responsibility that could be added to the role, depending on the gifting of the person identified. Note that one or the other could be added to the role, not both.
Communication Duties/Responsibilities (should this become part of the role)
- Manage social media accounts: including posting regular content, gathering and updating appropriate content to be shared
- Investigate “advertising” opportunities—utilizing traditional or social media based avenues
- Manage the web site—keeping it up to date and relevant, linking to key events and announcements
- Publish a regular (bi-weekly?) newsletter with relevant articles on coming events and also “static” information like volunteer needs
- Manage Announcements: strategically plan announcements utilizing the many tools available—those listed above plus internal TV screens, posters, etc
- Help develop strategies to effectively engage with a church population that is generally (country-wide) is de-prioritizing the traditional Sunday morning gathering
Adult Spiritual Formation (should this become part of the role)
- Engage with house churches, missional communities and ministry teams to equip leaders and provide content & training; regularly engage with leader to provide encouragement and accountability for ministry and to be aware of formation needs
- Continue to develop a spirit of reconciliation across racial, gender and socio-economic lines, creating opportunities to stretch the congregation’s comfort zones
- Actively work with volunteers to create a welcoming, hospitable space for both new and regular attendees
- Engage in the Sunday gathering as needed, including becoming a regular (4-6 times a year) part of the preaching rotation
- Engage with pastoral care needs, including counseling and follow-up with congregants as requested
- Identify opportunities to engage in the community and to develop practices of reconciliation within our congregation and within our community
- Engage with the planning and leading of events such as marriage retreats, training and equipping classes, Bible studies and other opportunities for spiritual formation
In addition to a resume, interested candidates should submit a cover letter that discusses the following:
- Summary of spiritual journey and current relationship with Jesus
- Overview of spiritual & professional gifts
- Summary of experience with reconciliation in the church, focused on socio-economic & multi-ethnic reconciliation with youth
