First Christian Church is seeking a caring, experienced, and collaborative Youth Ministry Educator to join our Children & Youth Ministry team.
The Youth Ministry Educator will work alongside the Director of Children & Youth Ministries to provide developmentally appropriate, engaging, and supportive ministry experiences for middle and high school students. This position is particularly suited for an educator, youth-development professional, or experienced youth worker who understands adolescent development and can create an environment where young people feel safe, welcomed, respected, challenged, and valued.
The Youth Ministry Educator will serve as both an educational partner and relational support within the ministry. The individual in this position will help plan and deliver instruction, co-teach Wednesday night programming, support students during less-structured portions of ministry, participate in youth events, and help establish consistent positive behavior expectations.
The ideal candidate will bring professional experience working with adolescents and a strong understanding of positive, proactive behavior management. Experience supporting students with special educational, behavioral, or learning needs is highly desirable.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES1. Youth Education & Instruction
- Collaborate with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries to plan and deliver engaging lessons and activities for middle and high school students.
- Serve as a collaborative teacher who can effectively co-teach with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries.
- Help adapt lessons and activities to meet the diverse developmental, educational, behavioral, and learning needs of students.
- Use a variety of instructional strategies to engage students with different learning styles, abilities, and levels of participation.
- Help create a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions, explore their faith, and participate without fear of embarrassment or judgment.
- Assist with preparation of lesson materials, activities, supplies, and learning environments.
- Provide additional instructional support to individual students or small groups when needed.
2. Wednesday Night TGIW Programming
The Youth Ministry Educator will play an active role in TGIW (Wednesday night programming).
Responsibilities may include:
- Co-teaching with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries.
- Supporting students during instructional and less-structured portions of the evening.
- Helping maintain a safe, organized, and welcoming environment.
- Supporting transitions between activities and locations.
- Assisting with meals, recreation, and other components of Wednesday evening programming.
- Helping reinforce consistent positive behavior expectations.
- Building relationships with students through regular presence and participation.
The Youth Ministry Educator should be comfortable working with a broad range of ages and abilities, including students whose needs may require additional structure, redirection, or support.
3. Youth Relationship & Development
- Develop positive, appropriate, and trusting relationships with middle and high school students.
- Serve as a consistent and encouraging adult presence in the lives of young people.
- Encourage students to participate, take appropriate risks, ask questions, and develop confidence.
- Recognize that adolescents are at different stages of social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development.
- Help create a ministry culture in which students understand that they belong here and have an important place within the church.
- Encourage students to develop healthy relationships with peers and adults.
- Model patience, respect, empathy, appropriate boundaries, and Christian hospitality.
4. Positive Behavior Support
The Youth Ministry Educator will help the Children & Youth Ministry establish and maintain positive, proactive, and consistent behavior expectations.
Responsibilities include:
- Use positive behavior-management strategies rather than relying primarily on punishment or confrontation.
- Clearly communicate expectations before activities begin.
- Reinforce appropriate behavior through encouragement and positive feedback.
- Redirect inappropriate behavior calmly and respectfully.
- Help students understand the impact of their choices on themselves and the larger group.
- Support restorative approaches when appropriate.
- Maintain appropriate boundaries while responding to challenging behavior.
- Communicate significant behavioral concerns to the Director of Children & Youth Ministries.
- Help create an environment that is structured enough to support students while still allowing them to experience joy, freedom, curiosity, and community.
The Youth Ministry Educator should understand that challenging behavior may communicate an unmet need and should be able to respond with both compassion and appropriate boundaries.
5. Support for Diverse Learners
First Christian Church seeks to create ministry environments in which all children and youth can participate meaningfully.
The Youth Ministry Educator will:
- Help identify barriers that may prevent students from participating successfully.
- Support students with learning differences, attention needs, behavioral needs, developmental differences, or other educational needs.
- Assist in adapting activities and instruction when appropriate.
- Use strategies that promote student engagement and independence.
- Collaborate with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries regarding appropriate supports.
- Treat every student with dignity and respect.
Experience working with students receiving special education services, IEPs, 504 plans, ADHD, learning differences, or behavioral supports is a significant plus.
6. Youth Events & Activities
The Youth Ministry Educator will participate in selected youth events outside regular weekly programming.
The position is expected to participate in approximately two youth events per month, depending on the church calendar and scheduling needs.
These events may include:
- Youth group activities
- Service projects
- Retreats
- Social activities
- Church-wide events
- Community activities
- Special youth programs
- Seasonal events
- Other activities designed to build relationships and community among youth
The employee will help provide appropriate supervision, encouragement, and positive behavior support during these events.
7. Curriculum & Program Development
- Collaborate with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries in developing and improving youth programming.
- Assist in evaluating whether lessons and activities are meeting the developmental needs of participating youth.
- Suggest activities, teaching strategies, resources, and approaches based on professional experience.
- Help prepare materials in advance of programming.
- Provide constructive feedback regarding lessons, student engagement, behavior, and program effectiveness.
- Bring current educational knowledge and adolescent-development practices into the church's ministry setting.
The Youth Ministry Educator is encouraged to contribute professional expertise and ideas, not simply follow directions.
8. Team Collaboration
The Youth Ministry Educator will work as a member of the Children & Youth Ministry team.
The position requires the ability to:
- Communicate effectively with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries.
- Prepare collaboratively rather than working independently from the larger ministry plan.
- Communicate concerns promptly and appropriately.
- Receive feedback professionally.
- Contribute ideas and solutions.
- Maintain consistency with ministry expectations and procedures.
- Work cooperatively with church staff, volunteers, teachers, parents, and other ministry leaders.
- Help create consistency across children's and youth programming.
9. Child & Youth Safety
The safety and well-being of children and youth is a fundamental responsibility of this position.
All employees working with children and youth must:
- Successfully complete a criminal background check.
- Review and sign the church's Child Protection Policy.
- Follow all church child-safety policies and procedures.
- Maintain appropriate adult/youth boundaries.
- Follow church expectations regarding supervision, communication, transportation, physical contact, and interactions with children and youth.
- Report concerns according to church policy and applicable requirements.
- Maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive information about children, youth, and families.
Failure to comply with child-safety policies may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
10. Professional Conduct
The Youth Ministry Educator is expected to:
- Represent First Christian Church in a positive and professional manner.
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries with children, youth, parents, volunteers, and staff.
- Demonstrate reliability and punctuality.
- Arrive prepared for scheduled responsibilities.
- Communicate schedule conflicts as early as possible.
- Maintain confidentiality.
- Treat students, families, volunteers, and coworkers with dignity and respect.
- Model the kind of behavior and communication expected from the young people in our ministry.
Required Qualifications
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Experience working with middle school and/or high school students.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to establish positive relationships with adolescents.
- Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.
- Ability to use positive and proactive behavior-management strategies.
- Reliability and dependability.
- Ability to maintain appropriate boundaries with children and youth.
- Willingness to work within the ministry practices and expectations of First Christian Church.
- Successful completion of a criminal background check.
- Willingness to review and sign the church's Child Protection Policy.
Preferred Qualifications
Preference may be given to candidates who have:
- A bachelor's degree in education, youth development, child development, psychology, social work, or a related field.
- Current or previous certification as a teacher.
- Three or more years of classroom teaching experience.
- Experience teaching middle or high school.
- Experience working with students receiving special education services for ADHD, learning differences, behavioral needs, or other disabilities.
- Experience using positive behavioral interventions and supports.
- Experience with youth ministry, children's ministry, camp, mentoring, or other youth-development programs.
- Experience developing or adapting curriculum.
- Experience working in a collaborative teaching environment.
Equivalent experience may be considered in place of specific educational credentials.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal Youth Ministry Educator is someone who understands that good youth ministry requires both relationships and structure.
This person is:
- Warm and approachable.
- Patient and emotionally mature.
- Comfortable working with adolescents.
- Confident without being authoritative.
- Able to set boundaries while maintaining relationships.
- Creative and engaging as an educator.
- Comfortable adapting when plans change.
- Able to recognize and support different learning needs.
- A positive role model.
- Comfortable working with students who may demonstrate challenging behaviors.
- Willing to laugh, participate, and have fun with young people.
- Comfortable teaching and discussing Biblical Scripture with children and youth in developmentally appropriate ways.
- Comfortable talking openly and respectfully about their Christian faith and how faith shapes their own life.
- Able to create an environment where young people can ask honest questions about God, faith, Scripture, church, and their own experiences without fear of judgment.
- Committed to helping children and youth develop their own relationship with God and discover what it means for them to follow Jesus and live as disciples.
- Able to recognize that faith development is a journey and willing to guide young people as they explore their beliefs, ask questions, make connections between Scripture and their lives, and discover their own gifts and sense of purpose.
- Respectful of the different places young people may be on their faith journey and able to encourage spiritual growth without relying on shame, fear, or pressure.
- Committed to helping young people discover that they belong in the church and have something valuable to contribute.
HOURS & SCHEDULING
This is a part-time position averaging approximately 10 hours per week.
Hours will be scheduled around the needs of the Children & Youth Ministry and may include:
- Wednesday evening TGIW programming 4:30PM-7PM
- Sunday mornings 8:45AM - 12PM
- Preparation and collaboration time Wednesday Afternoon 3:30-4:30
- Youth events, generally approximately twice per month.
- Other scheduled youth ministry responsibilities.
Because youth ministry programming sometimes occurs outside traditional weekday hours, candidates must have reasonable availability for scheduled Wednesday evening programming and occasional youth events.
Specific scheduling will be established in collaboration with the Director of Children & Youth Ministries.
COMPENSATION
Starting pay: $18.00 per hour
This is a part-time hourly position averaging approximately 10 hours per week. Additional hours must be approved in advance.
SUPERVISION
The Youth Ministry Educator reports directly to the Director of Children & Youth Ministries and works collaboratively with church staff, volunteers, teachers, and other ministry leader
Pay: $18.00 - $20.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- Are you able to work Sunday morning from 9:00-12:00?
Work Location: In person
