Normal Place of Work: Parish of Finchampstead and California
Job Title: Youth Minister
Accountable to: Parish of Finchampstead and California
Reports to: The New Communities Minister (on behalf of the Rector of Finchampstead and California)
Salary (3-year post): £ 25,688
Hours of Work: Full time – 38 hours per week Saturday/Sunday services as required
Flexibility will be required
Overall purpose of the post:
We are looking for someone with energy and a passion for youth ministry. A person who can lead and grow our youth work and has a heart for outreach in the local community, schools, and the rest of our growing parish. We encourage you to contact us for an informal chat to get a better picture of who we are or to answers your initial queries.
Our Parish is at an exciting place of change as we deepen our understanding of what mission in the local community may look like post pandemic. We are a multigenerational community that seeks to live out the good news of the kingdom with and among the young people of the parish – churched and unchurched. It is our priority that youth work be at the core of and integrated into what we are as a church rather than a mere stream or sub-department of what we do. As we emerge into this new post-pandemic season of ministry we are building again, seeking to engage
more young people through outreach work, to meet them where they are. We require someone with the vision to reanimate, create, and lead thriving youth ministries across the parish. We have excellent links with a number of our local schools, both primary and secondary, and would like to develop our relationships with the other schools in the area. We also see great potential to better integrate youth work with children’s ministry, and so are looking for a person who can bring fresh thinking and ideas in this area. We want our youth ministry to be an integral part of the parish life. This key appointment will shape and lead the delivery of our strategy and engagement with young people and embody the vision and priorities of the parish. With the responsibility for leading our work with young people, we are seeking someone with a passion for, and skills in, reaching out to and engaging young people. You will share our heart and have experience in building relationships and shaping church with young people at the centre, helping them and their families encounter God and grow in relationship with Him. You will have the drive and creativity to enable the church to actively participate in this mission and live out our faith with young people. You will be a pioneer in both growing our existing networks into schools and community groups where connections with young people can be made. You will also lead in developing connections with other agencies across the parish and beyond to transform the lives of our young people.
The successful candidate will have to allocate their time flexibly but effectively between the more established parts of the parish and the newer Arborfield Green area. You will be joining a supportive parish with a passion to see our mission among young people develop. As the Youth Work Lead you will be embedded and supported by our staff team who all have a passion for reaching young people. We support all our staff to develop, with an annual budget to enhance your skills through training and development.
So, could you help connect to the youth in the area and grow a passionate and thriving ministry?
JOB PROFILE:
Principal duties:
- To develop and lead the ethos, vision, and strategy for the Parish of
- Finchampstead and California’s engagement with the young people in the parish in partnership with the Rector and the parish leadership.
- To oversee, lead, and develop outreach to young people in the parish, with age appropriate and engaging ways of introducing them to Jesus.
- To begin and grow the youth ministry of St Eligius church primarily focused on Arborfield Green, and also at St Mary & St John in California.
- To rethink the format and restart the youth ministry around St James Church in Finchampstead.
- To oversee, lead, and develop discipleship, growth, and development of young people across the three worship sites, including Sunday morning and mid-week programmes, trips, camps and other activities and in time to help them take their place as full serving members of the local church.
- To help the parish prayerfully discern what church will look like in the future, taking in potential pandemic disruptions.
- To provide pastoral care for the young people in the worship centres and parish, observing safeguarding best practice at all times.
- To raise, nurture and release volunteer youth leaders, keeping up to date with resources and initiatives to implement with the team.
- To equip, release, grow, and train adults to engage with young people.
- To oversee, support, supervise and train all others working with young people.
- To strengthen links between our church and local community and schools.
- To communicate and promote activities in the Church in ways that are clear, relevant, and accessible, including social media, and to the parish leadership.
- To advocate for and enable intergenerational and intercultural diversity within the youth work in the parish.
- To be responsible for the working environment making sure it is safe, clean, and ready for the session.
- To participate in training appropriate to job and personal development.
- To ensure the service actively promotes equal opportunities.
- To share responsibility for health and safety and security of all participants.
- To seek out funding for youth-related activities
General:
- To be a part of the regular worshipping community.
- To be available to assist the Rector and the Ministry Team if necessary, including preaching and leading, especially Family Services.
- To support other ministries in the life of the church where necessary, including school assemblies and the Children and Families’ activities.
- To undertake such other tasks as may reasonably be required of this post holder.
- To live in the area:
- Being visible, accessible, and open to approach by both young people and their parents
- Available to young people in the village outside of normal youth group sessions in emergency situations
The wider Church family undertakes:
- To pray for and support you as a part of our community
- To support you in developing your giftings within the wider mission of our parish
- To reimburse the expenses to fulfil your duties
- To give one clear day off per week
- To give you time to attend Diocesan Youth Worker days and other opportunities to nurture, develop and support you.
Person Specification:
- A mature prayerful Christian faith – open to the leading of the Holy Spirit
- An understanding of the ethos, mission, and organisation of the Church of England.
- History of working with youth workers and young people would be desirable.
- Ability to lead youth groups in a church setting (desirable) – Ability to plan, organise, and lead teaching and activities for young people which are engaging, enjoyable and Christ centred.
- Ability to think strategically, plan and organise
- Have a caring and compassionate nature – pastorally sensitive in ministering to young people and their families
- Be a good listener – highly relational and approachable to all age groups
- Pro-active in safeguarding.
- Maintains life-giving patterns of prayer, worship, bible study and church fellowship.
- Self-motivated – A self-starter, able to motivate themselves and others
- A strong collaborative team player – able to work well in a team and lead others
- Ability to organise, build and coordinate a team
- Ability to identify, encourage, and harness the gifts of others
- Creative, imaginative, and resourceful
- Good communication skills – capable of presenting ideas and messages confidently and effectively to groups, parents, volunteers, and the whole church family
- Good IT skills – Proficiency in social media applications
- Demonstrable ability to take school assemblies
- Have a flexible approach
- A passion for mission, God, and people.
- Committed to their own spiritual and personal development through appropriate training, retreats, spiritual disciplines and reading
Desirable:
- Youth work qualification and theology or experience equivalent
- Driving licence
- Worship leader
An Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) will be required for the post-holder.
NOTE – THIS JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT FORM PART OF YOUR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
The Parish
The Parish of Finchampstead and California is in Berkshire and the Deanery of Sonning. The nearest town is Wokingham, equidistant from the M3 and M4 motorways, with a mainline train service to London Waterloo. Wokingham has a good selection of shops, restaurants, cafés and branches of all the major supermarkets. The
town has regularly been listed as one of the top five places to live in England. There are 2 large NHS hospitals about 10 miles away.
The Village
The historic village centre of Finchampstead is in the south of the parish. At the top of the hill is St James’ Church with its recently extended churchyard, and the Manor House that’s used as the Church Centre; also a village pub and a few houses. The area is surrounded by fields, farmland, and pleasant walking routes. A short walk down the hill is The Rectory, a large Memorial Park with a Sports Club, C of E Primary School, a Village Hall, a pub/restaurant, and further housing.
California
St Mary and St John’s (SMSJ) sits within the north of the parish in an area known as California. Two of our primary schools are situated in this area alongside a private school, and the popular California Country Park with lake, play area, and café. (There is no Anglican Church building in this part of the parish and services are held in Gorse Ride Junior School.) This more densely populated area of the parish includes social housing which is undergoing major redevelopment.
Arborfield Green
On the western edge of the parish is the major ongoing new Arborfield Green development on the former Arborfield Garrison site and adjacent farmland. There will be about 4,000 houses when it is complete. The only dedicated church in the area is St Eligius’ Church, sited in the centre of the development. There is a recently built secondary school (Bohunt Wokingham) and a primary school, with plans to build a further primary school and a District Centre.
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