This is an opportunity for a Children’s Minister with a passion for enabling children from a variety of backgrounds to encounter, explore and share God’s love in Christ. They will enjoy the active support of a leadership team committed to doing what it takes to invest in children and younger generations, including adapting and changing where necessary. They will work with dedicated volunteers, and will minister in a prayer-fuelled, faith-filled environment in which holy experimentation and fun is not only welcomed but encouraged and nurtured.
This role will suit someone who has a heart for ministering in multi-cultural communities, and who is excited by the opportunity to pioneer excellent children’s work within this setting, including our Farsi-speaking community.
Job Purpose:
The purpose of this role is to work as part of the Church leadership team to build on firm foundations to lead brilliant children’s ministry at Christ Church.
We enjoy the commitment of a team of volunteers, including a Time for God intern, who lead Sunday groups and support weekday provision and we are grateful for a regular community of children and young people who form a valued part of our congregation. Our Ministry Assistant has a particular focus on youth work and leads our Sunday youth group as well as a weeknight youth group.
We are now excited to be seeking to recruit a leader to join our staff team and bring vision and oversight to our children’s ministry. This includes Sundays and weekdays, with church families and the wider community. As the Psalmist writes, “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4) - we want to join in with this vision at Christ Church.
The role of a Children’s Minister is to lead work with children from 0-11, equipping, encouraging, and nurturing volunteers across our groups on Sundays and throughout the week. This role will also line manage our Ministry Assistant in their youth work, thus having an oversight role across all our children’s and young people’s provision from 0-18.
As part of our ministry with the Farsi-speaking community (including many in the asylum system), we have the distinct and joyful privilege of holding a monthly Farsi fellowship. This meets at 4pm on the third Sunday of the month and is a service followed by a (delicious!) meal, and on occasion, a disco. We long to see a fun, happy, safe and faith-building space for the small number of children at this fellowship. Envisioning and resourcing a space like this will take prayerful discernment, great listening skills, imagination, flexibility and creativity, as well as a confident grasp of good safeguarding practices.
A leader with experience of, or a heart to grow in working with children who have English as a second language, and/or who are very new to church life, will find this a rich, challenging, and rewarding environment in which to pioneer.
You will work alongside the Vicar, Pastoral Minister and Youth Worker to encourage the volunteer team and raise others with a passion to nurture younger generations to love Jesus.
Within this area of great opportunity, we are seeking someone who will go at God’s pace, seeking to discern not just what we could do, but what God is calling us to do in this season. The successful candidate will be supported to grow sustainable children’s ministry, and encouraged to discern, prioritise and develop healthy rhythms of work and rest.
Key Responsibilities:
The role covers a wide range of responsibilities and tasks, which fall into the areas outlined below.
Leadership and Delivery
● To work with the Vicar to have a coherent and compelling vision for the discipleship of children and families, leading and overseeing a team of volunteers in order to implement that vision.
● Prepare for and lead children’s sessions on Sundays, including developing curriculum, planning activities and nurturing the volunteer team.
● Develop and pioneer a dedicated children’s space at our monthly Farsi fellowship.
● Help facilitate Playpen, our toddler group, exploring opportunities to develop this space.
● Explore opportunities to develop new weekday children’s activities, especially those which reach children not yet connected with Christ Church.
● Work with the vicar and others to lead regular all-age services that are contemporary, Jesus-focussed and fun.
● To line-manage our Ministry Assistant (Youth).
Volunteer training and management
● Identify, recruit, train, monitor and nurture volunteer team and leaders.
● Administrate the running of team, including creating/ updating rotas for volunteer teams.
Safeguarding
● Ensure that safeguarding policies are followed and that robust safeguarding practice is fully embedded in all aspects of the children’s ministry.
● Work with others to maintain an up-to-date register of volunteers training and DBS administration.
● Risk management, including preparing risk assessments for activities and events.
● Plan for and integrate children with additional needs.
Admin and General
● Oversee a budget and be responsible for the management of resources
● Communicate effectively and regularly with parents/ guardians/ schools and community leaders
Staff team
● Attend both regular and occasional staff meetings, retreats, conferences etc.
ABOUT YOU
Person specification:
You will be someone who is committed to discipleship to Jesus, with a desire to see children grow up in faith, love and hope as the Spirit is at work, and to see the church reaching out to be an agent of God’s blessing in the neighbourhood.
You will be motivated to enable children of all backgrounds to encounter God in Christ, with a particular heart for serving in multi-cultural community settings. You will be ready to pray faithfully, love openly, discern wisely and throw yourself into what God is doing at Christ Church in this season.
You will be someone who is creative and practical, ambitious for what can be done over the long term, confident in taking the initiative – and underpinned by a prayerful love and warmth for other people both inside and outside the church.
Finally, you will be a cheerful team player who can build and nurture a team, raise new leaders, making room for the gifts and talents of others but who is also confident in bringing their own God-given contributions to the life of the church.
Essential
● A servant-hearted Christian wanting to grow in Christlikeness and to play a part in growing and discipling God’s Kingdom.
● Experience working or volunteering with children.
● Self-starter able to work on own initiative.
● A good team builder, pointing out gifts and talents in people and enabling them to develop as leaders.
● A good teacher, able to spark curiosity about faith and teach children and families about the love of Jesus.
● Excellent communication skills – with children and adults of all ages
● Ability to plan and communicate events and activities with children, volunteers, parents and carers
● Ability to recruit, lead and train a range of volunteer teams.
● Experience in safeguarding and how to manage risk
● Good organisational skills, and ability to work to targets and meet deadlines
● A heart for ministering in multi-cultural contexts
● Computer literate with Microsoft Office and Google Suite packages.
Desirable
● Training in theology and/ or children’s/families ministry
● Line management experience.
● Practical experience working in a church context
● Practical experience working with children who have English as a second language, and/or asylum-seeking/refugee backgrounds.
● Budget management experience.
We expect that the successful candidate will be or become an active, committed member of Christ Church.
The role requires applicants to demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults of all cultural backgrounds and have a good awareness of relevant policies and procedures, statutory legislation and guidance. Candidates will be required to submit a self-disclosure check at interview and the role will be subject to a DBS check.
This post is subject to an occupational requirement that the postholder be a practising Christian under part 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
www.gipsyhill.org.uk/welcome/jobs