Children, Youth & Families Minister, Worcester

St John Baptist, Claines, Saint George’s, Barbourne, and St Stephen’s, Barbourne are recruiting a Children, Youth and Families' Minister.

This role is supported by the Diocese of Worcester Healthier Churches Fund, and is offered by the parishes of St John Baptist, Claines, Saint George’s, Barbourne, and St Stephen’s, Barbourne (“the Churches”) working in collaboration.

The Diocese is growing its network of employed youth and children’s Ministers seeking to empower, envision and equip churches to disciple children and young people. Our aim is to significantly increase the number of under-18s actively involved in local churches, so that children and young people grow and flourish as disciples.

You would be joining a group of employed youth and children’s Ministers throughout the Diocese and would therefore benefit from:

• Regular team meetings offering prayerful support, the sharing of resources and ideas, and training to inspire your ministry
• An annual, 24-hour retreat
• Supervision with the diocesan Children and Youth Adviser
• Subscription to Youth and Children’s work magazine online for resources and ideas.

Job Summary

The aim of the role is to support the Churches as we seek to:

1. Ensure the sustainability of the role by identifying and exploring new funding opportunities and where appropriate, project manage relevant grants and fundraising opportunities. This could include working with the families, children and young people from the Churches, to host various fundraising events, sponsorship campaigns and other opportunities that result in income generation.
2. To expand the current volunteer base and to build the confidence and skills of those volunteers to secure the longevity of this ministry after the project horizon.
3. Attract more families, young people and children to faith, to worship and to our church communities. This is likely to include introducing further new forms of worship specifically designed to facilitate this whilst drawing on and developing work already in progress.
4. Grow our involvement with and outreach to children and families in the wider community, through schools work, community activities and groups and new initiatives.

Working Hours

Working hours will need to be flexible but certain specific times are essential and will be considered core to the job.

• 2 days off per week to be taken flexibly as best suits other than on Sundays.
• Supervision with both Priests in Charge – 1.5 hours monthly – and with the Joint Oversight Committee – up to 2 hours every other month.
• Time for ongoing Diocesan and other training and development.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The role will need to be flexible, to allow for development and evolution as opportunities are identified and progressed, but the following elements are likely to feature:

• Develop a strategy for growing engagement, involvement and action for children, youth and families across the Churches which:
  • Creates a good fit with the existing ministry and mission with children and families, enabling them to follow Jesus Christ in ways appropriate to their age and development.
  • Integrates the children’s and families work into the wider life of the Churches, including working as part of the leadership/ministry teams to shape and lead acts of worship accessible for all;
  • Balances activities for individual churches with opportunities for collaborative outreach involving all the Churches.
• Actively seek opportunities for fundraising in partnership with various colleagues to submit grant and funding applications that result in income generation to ensure the sustainability of the role and ministry.
• Develop the groups which already disciple young people and children in the Churches, support and empower volunteers who enable this ministry and continue to ensure that there is good teaching, fun and creativity in our work with children and young people.
• Ensure an understanding of best practice in children’s and family ministry and model good practice to others including adoption of Diocesan and Parish Safeguarding policies.
• Build on existing outreach opportunities making the most of existing links in the community by for example:
  • Supporting the current outreach work to local schools, leading acts of collective worship and school assemblies.
  • Evaluating, developing, and delivering new outreach opportunities (for example holiday clubs etc)
  • Developing contacts with baptismal/christening families to invite them to festival events
  • Exploring new ways to connect with church families on an on-going basis
• In conjunction with the Joint Oversight Committee, co-ordinate and have strategic oversight for work on children, youth and families across the Churches.
• Review the success of outreach and ministry, documenting the evidence via regular and timely reports to the Joint Oversight Committee, respective PCCs and clergy.
• Undertake training and development relevant to your role. You will also be encouraged and supported to engage in your own spiritual development.

We take Safeguarding very seriously and the Churches will adhere to the Church of England Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance  for this appointment.

Our Commitment to the Postholder

We acknowledge that support from each church for the postholder is essential.

With time, help, guidance and encouragement we hope to secure a foundation which we can work together to achieve and succeed.

We will work together, sharing resources where practical whilst providing opportunities for ongoing growth.

• A period of induction and an initial work-place assessment
• Training
• Jointly agreeing objectives
• Regular reviews of targets

Person Specification

We require a Children’s, Youth and Families Minister with the following skills and experience:

Essential

• A committed practising Christian, lay or ordained, and an active communicant member in good standing within the Church of England or of a Church which is in communion with the Church of England.
• A person who fully endorses and embraces a fully inclusive theology
• A ‘people person’ with an ability to develop and maintain good relationships with a wide range of people, particularly parents and carers.
• Knowledge and experience of working with children, young people and families, including being able to keep abreast of developments and best practice in youth and children’s ministry
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to enthuse volunteers and congregations about the work being done, connecting with children and families, interacting with the church family and reaching out to the community.
• A team player, able to effectively work with others, with an ability to lead, motivate and empower a volunteer team, as well as building the team further
• A person of vision who is task/ goal orientated and flexible
• Good administration and IT skills
• A ‘self-starter’, able to motivate yourself, to be able to work without excessive supervision, and knowing when to seek support
• Compliance with current legislation on GDPR

Desirable

• Ideally, the candidate will also hold a nationally recognised qualification in youth work/children and family ministry/general ministry/theology at degree or equivalent level.

Contact us for an informal conversation

• The Revd Sarah Carwardine: 07895 599216
• The Revd Lindsey Coulthard: 07879 366294.

Visit our parish websites: 

• claineschurch.co.uk
• saintgeorgesworcester.org.uk
• st-stephens-church-worcester.org.uk

Apply online: https://forms.office.com/e/L8ny856hip