custodian

promoter

high school teacher

elementary school teacher

substitute teacher

Crista-Ministries

CRISTA ministries has their heart in the right place- serving God by loving others.
Unfortunately, the reality is although many employees keep this focus, the daily demands of CRISTA jobs contribute to stresses that reflect many jobs both secular and spiritual.  This means the conflicts between employees, the poor communication from C-level to front line staff results in low morale and reduced productivity.  Also, pay limitations vs. hard working hourly laborers contribute to high turnover at the hourly level.
Some financial decisions from one department often affect opportunities in another, with little explanation or concern as to overall impact it has on providing service to its constituents.

I appreciated the people I served working with CRISTA, but felt I had to sacrifice serving others to serve the administration needs first.

CRISTA is a great place to look forward going to work each day, because most of the employees truly care.  The size of the organization and lack of effective communication during my tenure seemed to create obstacles that could have been avoided.

When good training is received, which is usually done by 1 person, the job can be easy enough over time with practice and also a very wholesome experience.  The atmosphere is peaceful there, you’ll quickly get to know the residents and should honestly help them as much as you can. They’re very sweet people so please don’t take advantage. The visitors are nice, the contractors are nice. I do wish that night/overnight shift was allowed to have some kind of free food during their shift like the evening and day shift is. Everyone is pretty much down to earth though and the history of the place itself is worthy. Overall it’s been my favorite place to work. Upper management will tend to listen to you and your concerns about any problems you may have with how things are, just be courteous and understanding when presenting these things - they’ll be much more inclined to listen and help out. Biggest tips on not getting fired - don’t use profanities , it’s a wholesome /pure establishment and that kind of behaviour is considered very distasteful. Also if your gonna show up late or not at all, let someone know as soon as you can. They need time to find someone to cover your shift. 

CRISTA is not what it claims to be. 
They value Christian beliefs and faith based work, but they do not live or manage to these standards. They use their faith as a means to pay employees poorly and treat them with disrespect. As a manager, I was not supported in decisions I made for my department. I was not defended when my employees were disrespectful to me. And I was not given the tools I needed to be a successful manager. I once worked a 12 day stretch, 12 hours each, simply because my previous boss had quit and I was forced to do the work. And no one cared that I had to do it and no one came to help me. The environment is decent within the department, but I really had to fight for the respect of the staff. Crista has standards for all employees but do not enforce them and when I tried to, I was a horrible person. I was told to just do my job and deal with everything, without the support I needed. I worked hard for 3+ years to provide for the residents and staff and I have been pushed out. I hope others who decide to work there understand what they are getting into. 


I was hired part-time but told I could have full-time hours if I chose to decline insurance benefits, due to budget restraints.  I took the deal because I needed the work.  In talking to an HR person at Crista months later, I learned my supervisor had no authority to offer that arrangement.  I always felt like the bottom line was the most important thing.  Other benefits like daily food/drink benefits changed to be much more limiting.  I felt it was a bit cheep.  There were young men working there that had to have the most expensive drinks and the policy changed right after they left, strange.  I was very thankful to work there however, I found it interesting that, for the most part, coworkers were much like working in a secular setting.  I was surprised.  I do consider my time there to be a blessing as the organization as a whole is stellar.

I can't say enough about this work-community. They invested in me and trusted me as a young adult to run amazing activities (paintball, dirt bikes, high ropes, archery, etc...) and taught me how to lead myself and others spiritually. I can't believe I got paid to run such amazing activities, tell people about Jesus, and make friends. My manager poured into me, asked me good questions, and extended a lot of grace to me. It is a lot of work, but we were always pushing each other and reminding each other why we do it. They have an incredible heart for their local Military Community - several free events every year for Military Families! Their staff share daily devotionals and throughout the summer they have worship and prayer nights - not to mention dance parties, skit nights, and trips into town. They encourage and love one another in a way that makes you feel like you are really a part of advancing the Kingdom. I grew so much in my multiple summers at CRISTA Camps and I miss it a ton!

Since the new CEO took over in 2019 CRISTA has devolved into a cult like atmosphere. Previously, they were tolerant of the variety of different rules and idiosyncrasies amongst different churches, as long as Jesus was at the center. Now it's a far right bastion of homophobia and smug superiority. They have off loaded their best ministries (SUA and CVM) but kept the cash cows of the echo chamber that is King's and senior living. Weekly departmental devotions were painfully awkward--never share a prayer request as it will bite you later.  On the plus side the work was interesting professionally and my direct coworkers were a good team. The benefits were mediocre and did not cover my birth control method of choice (I used FSA and then quit, so really they did). It looks as though they are raising pay to match current market conditions as well as raised the King's discount.

I did a number of different positions at CRISTA.
- KKC After School Attendant
- Housekeeper and Laundry service
- Camp Counselor for King's Summer Camp
- Preschool Assistant Teacher
- Recess Supervisor at King's Elementary

The sense of belonging and it feels more like a family rather than an organization. The way that management works with you based on your own unique circumstances is wonderful and makes me want to stay here because of all the work and effort they put in for their employees and the people they serve. 
I have felt welcome and supported by the staff around me. 

This company has NO respect for it's employees.  The management staff is one way;if you are not a "yes-man" you will not fit in.  The Director of management team is two faced and a dishonest.  CRISTA Shores management is very poor and has no real direction and no leadership; especially at the (CRISTA Shores) top management.  I worked here for over two years and poured my heart into my work and was never respected by management.  However, they will promote you and give you pay raise if you complain long enough (proven).  HR is also badly managed and the payroll system is NEVER working right therefore pay and time off is always screwed up.  If you like dictatorship and no personal life, you'll fit in.  If you are a hard worker and love people, this place is not for you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people!  Sometimes working for a security agency you get people that are not friendly all the time. I found it the opposite at Crista everyone I worked with was so kind.  I love the campus it's beautiful. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sometimes overnight shifts were difficult but not because of the job itself.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It's a Christian campus that has from preschool age to over 90 at the rehab center. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Patrol the campus and help the community in anyway possible.

CRISTA Ministries is a tough organization to work for. The people you work with are really the best part. The “customers” in question are mostly nice, but many of them can be very rude and stoop as low as insulting staff personally, swearing at staff, and touching staff in weird ways (many of which were minors). Upper management is absent and it often felt like there was no support from them. Hiring people was a challenge and many people often worked the jobs of 2-3 people and compensation doesn’t reflect that. The pay is disgustingly low for the people that do the hardest work. You’re told “we’re working for God” and that’s used to justify poor pay. HR sides with employees that don’t care about their jobs resulting in the loss of good employees. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Custodian 2 salaries reported	$18.85 per hour
Promoter 3 salaries reported	$17.25 per hour
High school teacher 7 salaries reported	$64,783 per year
Elementary school teacher 1 salary reported	$28.25 per hour
Substitute teacher 1 salary reported	$28.25 per hour

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