JOB TITLE: Junior High Student Ministry Director DEPARTMENT: Student Ministry
REPORTS TO: Associate Pastor REVISION DATE: 02/24
MINISTRY PURPOSE: The Junior High Ministry Director is responsible to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the junior high students and families of the church and community. The goal of this job is to help young people take steps toward becoming fully committed followers of Christ. The Junior High Student Ministry Director does this by coordinating a balance of activities, Christian fellowship, discipleship, worship, small groups, Confirmation, CHAOS and various other opportunities for the junior high student population.
The Junior High Ministry Director adheres to NELC’s performance expectations as outlined in the NELC Employee Handbook and performs all defined services and other related duties in accordance with the Confession of Faith and with the mission, vision, and values of the church described in the NELC By-Laws.
PREREQUISITE QUALIFICATIONS:
A. Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required.
B. Experience: Minimum one-year experience working with youth. Prefer previous student ministry experience.
C. Commitment: We are looking for a candidate who can see themselves committed to at least 3 years in this role.
SPIRITUAL QUALIFICATIONS:
● Seek to be a role model in attitude, speech, and actions in a consistent daily walk with Jesus Christ.
● Strive to show by example the importance of the spiritual disciplines of worship, Scripture memorization, Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and Christian fellowship.
● Understand and agree with NELC’s Confession of Faith, Speaking the Truth in Love document, and mission.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
● Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
● Be committed to furthering NELC’s mission as a faith-based ministry.
● Agree to uphold the Confession of Faith as described in the NELC By-Laws.
● Be willing to submit to and honor the standards and expectations outlined in the NELC Employee Handbook.
DUTIES, TASKS, RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Coordinates programs and activities that effectively help students take steps towards Christ.
● Point person for confirmation
● Works in partnership with the Junior High School Ministry team at Orchard Hill Church (OHC) to provide leadership for CHAOS which is the primary outreach ministry into the larger community for junior high school ministry at NELC and OHC.
● Potentially be point person for CHAOS, Ski & Shop
● Provides balance of work programs, activities, trips, worship, discipleship, fellowship and outreach.
● Attends Student Ministry trips. (ex. Ski & Shop)
● Communicates opportunities and events for students by using relevant strategies (ex. Social media, church website and newsletter, etc.)
● Recruits, trains, disciples and supervises volunteer leaders to support and expand student ministry.
● Must be a self-starter and take the initiative to see a need and meet a need, to do whatever is required to accomplish the mission and goals.
● Plan and execute events outside of Wednesday night large group (ex. leader hangs, bible studies, Ninja U, etc)
● Works with High School and College teams to effectively coach potentially shared leaders. (ex. Not having the college student meeting with three different staff members for coaching).
- Engaging students and building relationships to launch them into a lifetime pursuit of Christ.
● Able to clearly communicate the Gospel individually and in groups.
● Passion to be around Junior High School Students, help them feel known and desire to share Jesus with them.
● Makes appointments with students to build relationships, listen and encourage.
● Accessible to meet with students when they need someone which means being interruptible.
● Must be available and present on Sunday mornings at Nazareth Lutheran Church in order to engage students in Sunday worship, educational and service opportunities.
● Works with Pastors and other staff to facilitate our confirmation ministry involving 7th, 8th and 9th grade students.
● Must be an intentional inviter. Always inviting to events, take next steps, worship services, etc.
● Maintains confidential information.
● Maintains composure under stressful situations
● Leads small groups and encourages participation in small groups.
● Involves themselves in local and surrounding schools and communities (ex. Denver, Waverly, Grundy Center, etc.).
● Attends student events to encourage and support students and develop relationships with parents.
● Develops relationships and ministry initiatives with outside partner church (OHC), organizations, schools and ministries.
● Needs to be comfortable speaking in front of large group settings to facilitate programs and/or teach.
● Seeks to build the bridge back to the local church, helping students become and stay connected with the body of Christ.
● Utilizing self-relational accountability sheet to make sure there is a balance and a focus on meeting with new students.
● Engage 5th/6th grade students at KidzRock on Sunday mornings
● Facilitate discipline practices as needed in order to create a positive and safe environment that fosters learning.
- Discipleship & Leadership Development
● Helps junior high school students take next steps in their spiritual life with Christ.
● Ability to be mature enough to discipline when necessary, develop relationships, and be able to hold students accountable while also having tough conversations.
● Coach and disciple confirmation and CHAOS leaders, meeting with them on a regular basis.
● Provide supervision and coaching of any paid interns.
● Provides strong administrative skills.
● Must have effective time management skills.
● Maintains record of activities and progress and communicates appropriately with supervisor.
● Establishes, implements and monitors the junior high ministry budget.
● Understands and works within student ministry program policies and guidelines.
● Expect to learn a wide array of skills and programs (ex. Production: video, audio, lighting, design, ProPresenter, Canva, etc.)
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS:
● Keeps supervisor informed of programs, problems and procedures.
● Understands this job doesn’t have a set schedule and that nights and weekends are expected based on the team schedule that is created for the year.
● Resolves problems independently as appropriate.
● Ability to problem solve quickly in the moment.
● Communicates to staff all relevant information, especially sharing stories of God at work!
● Attend regularly scheduled meetings for Naz and student ministry. (weekly Naz staff, weekly staff planning for CHAOS, monthly student ministry meeting, bi-weekly joint ministry team meetings, confirmation team meetings, etc.)
● Serves as a resource and expert to others concerning junior high ministry.
SAFETY:
● Adhere to all safety policies and procedures.
● Maintain a safe working environment and practice safe working habits.
● Know and can demonstrate emergency procedures for fire disaster, tornado, and other emergency situations.
NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $40,000.00 - $44,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Ability to Relocate:
- Cedar Falls, IA 50613: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person
