Richfield Community Church Pastor of Student Ministries - Information Packet

Position Description

At RCC, we are passionate about ensuring our Students develop an age-appropriate understanding of God, Jesus, Sin, and Faith so that they can have a healthy life-long relationship with Jesus. We are striving to be the antidote to the drove of students who walk away from faith after they graduate high school.

Position Vision

We believe that modeling our passion for treasuring Jesus is the most compelling way to share God’s glory. So, our vision for our Pastor of Students is someone who loves to help awaken affections for God in the lives of students by modeling it. We have 3 core pieces to accomplishing this vision: model for students by building a healthy culture of belonging and learning, model for the student leadership community by discipling and equipping them, and model for parents through partnering with them in this process.

Primary Responsibilities:

? With Students

• Develop student ministry systems, events, programs that are rooted in building meaningful, lasting relationships. • Encourage all students to actively ask questions about God, faith, and life. • Nurture a community that is welcoming to, but not always affirming of, students who come from varying backgrounds and lifestyles.

? With Leaders

• Develop and continue to build a unified, passionate leadership team. • Continually equip and disciple leaders (via scripture and prayer life) to confidently live out their faith and our vision for awakening students’ affections for God. • Model and teach our conviction that the health of the ministry is rooted in the health of our leaders.

? With Parents

• Prioritize active, consistent communication. • Create opportunities for families to build relationships together. • Design ways to equip and invest in our parents as they navigate the culture their students are living in.

This pastor will meet the following general requirements:

• Works, on average, 40 – 50 hours per week, to accomplish the vision above. • Holds, or plans to complete, a post-graduate degree in theological studies.

Fit To Church Organization & Strategy:

This position is part of the pastoral team and is accountable to the Lead Pastor with relationship to ministry direction and employment. The position is designed to support the achievement of RCC’s mission and vision. It is a peer to other pastoral staff members. The position may have subordinate paid pastoral staff or lay leaders for which it is accountable. About half the effort of this position engages the execution of the functional elements of student ministries. The other half invests in the development of a leadership community around student ministries.

Candidate Profile

Here is key background information for who would be a good match:

1. In in a leadership role in their church now, or recently, either lay or professionally.  2. A capable teacher and comfortable in one-on-one settings.  3. A natural leader who people (especially students and leaders) desire to follow.  4. Has demonstrated a trustworthy character and work ethic in previous teams and roles.  5. Embraces the potential for technology as a key means of ministry.

Because Students are walking away from church at a high clip, here are three key areas we believe are needed in order to succeed in this role:

1. They are Passionate for Church Being Done Well:

I. Have a long-term focus on faith, salvation isn’t a sprint to a finish line.

II. Believe God designed parents to be the central voices in their kid’s understanding of faith

III. Are willing to think outside the box to accomplish our vision.

IV. Understand the weight of a leader’s investment.

2. They are Passionate for Discipleship Being the Central Part of Ministry and Life:

I. See people/relationships as the end goal and focus of programs.

II. Are convicted that lives are transformed in relationships centered on Jesus.

III. Model a life of happily sharing their love for God, partnership in the gospel with other believers, and heart for those yet to believe in Jesus.

IV. Understand the “ripple effect” of leadership. As the spiritual health of our leadership (and teams) increases, the spiritual health of our Student Ministry increases.

V. Love to help teach students how to read the Bible and think more deeply about God.

3. They are Confident, yet Open-Minded, for Solving Various Complications in Ministry:

I. Lovingly, gently helps address the root of the problem at hand (often spiritual challenges expressed as feelings) for the sake of restoration, forgiveness, and health.

II. Isn’t afraid to ask Lead Pastor and other staff members for advice.

III. Knows their limitations. Surrounds themselves with strong team and delegates when appropriate.

IV. Their security in Jesus allows them to learn from complicated factors in ministry, including failures, and move forward alongside others.

V. Lovingly direct and uses words carefully in addressing relational conflict.

About RCC: Vision & Values

Richfield Community Church is growing in its appreciation for what is possible when people come together, begin to shape a vision for their individual lives in God’s Kingdom, and then move forward into what He is doing. The following is a summary of the themes which are beginning to permeate RCC’s ministry structures and activities.

Our Vision:

To build joy-filled communities of faith whose very existence inspires every individual to live R3... • r1: A deepening relationship with God. • r2: A life-changing relationship with other believers. • r3: An engaging relationship with those yet to believe.

Our Mission:

To encourage people to enjoy god together.

Our Values:

• We find our greatest joy in Jesus

God designed us to be happy and nothing makes us happier than a loving relationship with Jesus, now and forever.

• What we think about God matters

How we view God says everything about us. When we see Him for who He is and us for who we are, lives are transformed. There’s nothing more important than getting this as right as we can and the Bible is our guide to getting there.

• We help people help people

We find so much joy in pursuing Jesus that we can’t help but give it away to others and help those people give away that same joy. It’s the same system that Jesus used.

• We celebrate questions

We believe God gave us these wonderful brains to think about big things like the Trinity, eternity, and “why me?” – all to draw us closer to Him. Encouraging and celebrating questions makes God happy and should make us happy too.

• We embrace inevitable tensions

The moments we realize God is both understandable and, because of our finite thinking, incomprehensible, we find ourselves filled with awe and hungry for more.

• This is for life

Too many people walk away from faith because they don’t get a picture of Jesus that meets them where they are. That’s why no matter how young or old, we want everyone to keep growing closer to Jesus no matter what part of life they are in.

If you see yourself as a candidate for this role, contact our front desk at frontdesk@richfieldcc.org or call 714.524.1744 to submit your interest.