Spiritual Qualifications

1.     Exhibits the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

2.     Has a teachable spirit (Proverbs 9:9)

3.     Delights in God’s word (Psalm 1:1-3)

4.     Actively growing in Biblical maturity (Colossians 3:12-17)

5.     Conscientious about setting an example of godliness (1 Timothy 4:12)

6.     Regularly pray with and for our youth, their families, and their youth leaders. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Character and Competence Qualifications

1.     A call to minister God’s truth and love to young people. While we realize that most “youth pastors” will go on to pastoral work with adults, we do not desire someone who sees the position as simply a steppingstone to “real” ministry – it is real ministry.

2.     A spiritually mature individual who is proficient in creatively teaching God’s Word to young people and is evangelistically minded.

3.     A strong love for and ability to engage with students of varying academic levels, athletic cultures, personalities, and maturity levels. 

4.     Passionate and heartfelt concern for both churched, under-churched, and unchurched students and families.

5.     Must be able to build a strong, healthy team, by recruiting, training, inspiring, motivating, and evaluating volunteers and staff; drawing them into the mission developed by the student ministries ministry team and session.

6.     Strong interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal).

7.     A hard-working individual who is committed to getting the job done.

8.     Practical problem-solver who solicits advice and input from other staff and team members.

9.     Demonstrable ability to creatively envision and execute programs and events that encourage parents and students to commit themselves to Gather to worship God, Grow in their faith, Give of their time and resources in and for God’s kingdom, and Go into all the world, proclaiming the gospel in word and deed.

10.  Self-motivated learner; committed to personal and professional development under the guidance of senior staff.

11.  Team player who strengthens staff cohesion and effectiveness.

12.  An absolute commitment to excellence, professionalism, and safety.

13.  A strong administrator with solid time management skills and organizational abilities; ability to coordinate several activities at once and to quickly analyze and resolve specific problems.

14.  A high degree of flexibility and self-control in stressful situations and environments.

15.  Classroom management skills and the ability to address behavioral concerns.

16.  Understand how to use a variety of computer, electronic, and organizational platforms.

17.  Ability to work efficiently and effectively in team situations, as well as the ability to work independently and not require a lot of daily coaching.

Job Description: (Note: these responsibilities are shared with the female youth ministry associate and we realize that there will be some areas of greater strength than others in both).

We have broken the job description down under five broad headings. We acknowledge that there is much overlap between the categories, and that some items could perhaps be placed in two or three categories.

Teaching and Discipleship

1.     Primary leader, teacher, and shepherd for 5^th-12 grade youth. 

2.     Lead weekly youth events, including Wednesday evening activities.

3.     Work on putting a system in place for discipling our youth.

4.     In conjunction with the Student Ministry Discipleship Ministry Team (SMDMT) develop and/or select curriculum.

5.     Engage and motivate the youth and their families to prioritize church participation in a busy culture.

6.     Maintain a presence at WCA through teaching and/or organizing weekly Bible studies.

Relationship Building

1.     Spend time with youth (often outside of normal working hours) at school, sporting events, concerts, etc.

2.     Set aside intentional, unstructured time for student interaction.

3.     Counsel individual youth as appropriate and needed (referring to professionals as appropriate).

4.     Develop connections with youth families in a variety of school and family contexts.

5.     Communicate with parents and students through emails, text, social media, newsletters, mailings and other means weekly.

6.     Work with the Student Ministry Discipleship Ministry Team and the Adult Discipleship Ministry Team to partner with and equip parents (through feedback meetings, dedicated Sunday school classes, seminars, conferences, etc.) to raise their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in the culture where God has placed them.

7.     Recruit, develop, maintain, and support adult volunteers to assist in all ministry aspects and assist in the development of new youth volunteers. 

8.     Maintain confidentiality as appropriate.

Activities and Trips

1.     Plan, recruit, and attend student retreats (perhaps two per year – winter and summer). 

2.     Be actively involved in ROOTS (Providence Presbytery Youth Retreat) planning.

3.     Plan and Recruit during fall for Middle School (currently Ridge Haven service camp), High School (currently Reformed Youth Ministry) summer trips.

Missions and Outreach

1.     Conduct no less than two local service projects per year.

2.     Work in partnership with the WPC Missions Ministry Team to encourage youth involvement in yearly mission trips (local, domestic or international).

Administration

1.     Develop the SMDMT and strategize with them at least eight times a year.

2.     Work in conjunction with the female youth ministry associate.

3.     When applicable, assist in the recruitment, instruction and supervision of summer interns.

4.     Knowledge of budgeting and managing budgets well.

5.     Pursue youth ministry professional development (such as Youth Leadership Training which secures early Reformed Youth Ministry camp registration).

6.     Prepare and provide monthly youth ministry updates to Session and/or Youth Leadership team.

7.     Collaborate with and work under the supervision of the pastoral staff and the lay leadership.

8.     Attend Session meetings regularly.

9.     If ordained, preach in the Sunday Evening preaching rotation (approx. 6 times per year) and help lead in morning worship.

10.  Other duties as assigned by Session or supervisor.

Compensation

Compensation is commensurate with experience. Salary package includes 4-weeks of vacation, health and life insurance, and retirement contributions equal to 10% of your base salary. Other benefits include professional development, personal ministry fund, General Assembly expenses (if ordained), and more.

Important Requirements

·       Elementary-aged and older children of an the Pastor or Director of Student Ministries are required to attend our church school, Westminster Christian Academy (WCA) at the church’s expense. This may be waived if the Student Ministries Pastor and the WCA staff agree that a child’s educational needs cannot be met by WCA. 

·       Interested candidates must be or become a member of our church or Providence presbytery (if ordained) and subscribe to its constitution (the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the Book of Church Order).

·       Must support our overall church vision and philosophy of worship as well as WPC’s Student Ministry Mission Statement (these can be found at www.wpc-hsv.org). This includes regular attendance at morning and evening worship, Sunday School and Wednesday evenings (and this includes your family).

·       Must pass a background check in accordance with child protection policies.

·       Must agree with…

-     The “Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Human Sexuality” received at the 48^th General Assembly (https://www.pcahistory.org/pca/digest/studies/2021_human_sexuality_report.pdf) – especially with the Twelve Statements on pages 6-13.

-     The Dallas “The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel” (https://statementonsocialjustice.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SSJG-FINAL.pdf).