PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Student Pastor is a member of the St Aldates Ministry Leads with leadership of a large team of student leaders. You will be part of the St Aldates Vision to be a church for all nations at the heart of Oxford. You will participate fully in the prayer life and general calling of St Aldates Church.
Your primary role is to help lead and develop St Aldates’ vision ‘to invite people to encounter Jesus, to equip people to be disciples and inspire people to transform their contexts’ at both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. Our vision for students is that they will be “formed by Jesus for a life of purpose” recognising that investment during student years can influence the whole of their people’s lives.
You will gather students, under God, into community. You will help lead events, one-to-one meetings, missionary and evangelistic activity. You will coach leaders. You will help to shape, lead and preach at Student Night, the main weekly student event. As Student Pastor you are also responsible for the spiritual welfare, mentoring and discipleship of some student interns, small group leaders and voluntary student team members. You will raise the profile of the Christian faith and St Aldates at both universities.
KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITES:
Leadership
• With the other Student Pastors to shape the student ministry of St Aldates
• To help lead and develop Student Night - a weekly meeting with worship, teaching, and ministry
• To lead Student Prayer and Worship on Wednesday lunchtimes
• To manage and support volunteer teams in delivering the goals of the student ministry
• To raise up and invest in new student leaders
Building Christian Community
• To be a focal point for students at Sunday services, being on hand for a minimum of two services each week—with the availability to attend 3 during heavier student influx times (i.e. start of academic year and before student balls, mission, and weekend away).
• To create social contexts for gathering students, integrating them into the fabric of the church and creating friendships and community and opportunities such as ministry team membership
• To innovate, organise, attend and host special events in addition to normal weekly student activities (e.g. Balls, Leavers events, etc). This includes efficient administration and budgeting
• Attend St Aldates prayer events, APCMs, vision nights, occasional staff retreats and Church Conferences
Outreach
• To provide presence and support on site at both Universities including Freshers’ Fair and support of the Christian Unions, including their mission weeks and follow-on courses
• Be involved with Student Alpha table throughout the year
• To organise and lead a mission trip for the students outside Oxford
• To cooperate and meet informally and formally with other Christian churches and organisations and if possible, ensure clear dialogue with other faith groups
Pastoral Support
• To provide support to students faith through bible study and mentoring
• Alongside the Pastoral Lead, provide particular assistance for female students struggling with mental health
• To be aware of the support services offered by the universities (counselling, medical, financial aid, societies) and to develop good relationships with, and make good use of, these service providers and local authorities
PERSON DESCRIPTION
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
• Recent experience working with undergraduate students
• Experience of leading teams and growing groups
• Experience of leading groups, events or meetings in a church context
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• A gifted pastor with excellent interpersonal skills, able to gather people into community
• A confident leader, comfortable in leading large meetings and small discussion groups
• A natural teacher, able to relate Scripture to the lives of students
• An effective evangelist, passionate to see people come to Christ and able to clearly communicate the Gospel in formal settings and 1-1 meetings
• Able to communicate and engage with students through email, social media.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, including use of MS Office
• Theological depth – a good understanding of God, His Scriptures and the Gospel
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ROLE
• There is a Genuine Occupational Requirement for the post holder to be a practicing Christian.
• This role does not require the applicant to be ordained.
• The post will be subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check
• Due to the nature of the role, Sunday and evening working is required.
• The post holder must be comfortable and able to flourish spiritually worshipping in St Aldates i.e. in a charismatic, evangelical context and committed to the vision and aims of St Aldates.
• Employment will be by St Aldates PCC.
• Commitment to Vision and Aims of St Aldates
Role Profile
How to apply for the job
To apply: please send
• this form
• a covering letter explaining why you feel called to this role and explaining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role as set out in the Job Description. Please also indicate when you would be available to commence work.
• Details of Ministry Experience - including links to any relevant material, videos or recordings
• Your CV which should include your full employment history with dates and an explanation of any gaps, any relevant voluntary experience and your education history, qualifications and training with dates. Please note that for safeguarding purposes we require your full CV with chronology not selected highlights.
Apply to recruitment@staldates.org.uk
St Aldates
Our vision is to invite people to encounter Jesus, equip people to follow Jesus in every area of their lives, and envision people to transform their communities.
We are excited about what God is doing in our midst. We are seeing people come to faith in Jesus on a weekly basis, and we are pioneering new ways of discipling people to make a difference in every area of their lives. As a city-centre church with a congregation of 1200+, we have a large number of volunteer leaders and teams across our ministries, leading Aldates Groups, Alpha, student ministry, Aldates Kids and Youth. We have four services every Sunday, one of which is broadcast live. We are passionate about connecting with and supporting people who are street homeless and those in or leaving local prisons through our ACT ministry.
St Aldates has three main buildings: the Church, the Church Centre (which provides offices for most of the Staff team and a variety of meeting rooms) and the Catacombs (housing a youth centre and the Oxford Prayer Room).
As a city centre church, working alongside people who are poor or marginalised is a key part of our ministry and is carried out largely through Aldates Community Transformation Initiatives (ACT). This is an innovative charity which builds a community. where the homeless, prisoners, prison-leavers and others in need experience acceptance, support and opportunities and where people are transformed and set free to become all they were intended to be.
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