Ministry Job Opportunities
We are actively seeking a Director of Children’s Ministry
Job Posting:
POSITION: Director of Children’s Ministry at Newton Presbyterian Church [40 hours/week]
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:
Newton Presbyterian Church (NPC) is the largest Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in the Presbytery of Boston. The church was established in 1846 by Nova Scotian immigrants, and moved to its current location in the 1950’s. Today, a diverse group of over 400 members and attendees commute from over a hundred different zip codes to worship on Sunday mornings. Our members are a dynamic mix of young and old. Many are third or fourth generation members of the church while others are transplants from outside Massachusetts, drawn to the Boston area because of academic or job opportunities. Many also hail from outside the US, including —Nigeria, India, Taiwan, Holland, Japan, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Scotland, England, among other places. NPC has a significant commitment to local and global missions and is dedicated to hands-on service.
Our vision is to Transform Lives by Living the Truth of Jesus Christ. Our mission is to live the truth of Jesus Christ by:
- Glorifying God
- Gathering in community
- Growing as disciples
- Giving of ourselves
- Going into all the world with the Gospel
Children’s Ministry at NPC
Our vision is to create a fun and loving community where children are irresistibly drawn to know Christ, where empowered volunteers are using their God-given gifts to serve with great passion and delight, and where the church invests in the faith of the next generation. Our goals are:
To come alongside parents as they seek to make their homes the primary source for discipleship and spiritual nurture for their children.
To seek to develop in children a Biblical understanding (worldview) of reality and to give them tools to recognize it.
To present children with opportunities to commit to a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
To foster relationships between children, parents and teachers so that we experience authentic community whenever we gather in Jesus’ name.
NPC is moving toward a vision of making the home the primary place of influence for faith development. The focus is not simply on creating quality programs for children and/or youth ministry but rather to focus on the home as the center for discipleship. NPC seeks to align all ministries for this purpose, and to create environments where children, youth and adults desire to grow together in Christ.
We recognize that Children’s Ministry has a strategic place in the development of a Home- Based Discipleship model of being the church. We acknowledge that an effective way to reach many adults is through their children. We seek to make our Children’s programs a place where they discover that the teachings of the Bible are relevant to our daily lives and decision-making. Our intended result is engaged children whose enthusiasm for a growing faith will carry over into their homes.
About the Position:
The Children’s Ministry at Newton Presbyterian Church is at a unique junction. We have an established set of successful programs, with a stable base of families and willing volunteers. But we believe there is much more that we can do to both deepen the impact of our current programs for our existing families, better support and equip our families to raise faithful children and, importantly, use Children’s Ministry as an explicit outreach tool to grow the membership of the church. We are looking for a Children’s Ministry Director who is excited and capable of both executing current programs and has vision and enthusiasm to greatly expand this ministry.
The Children’s Ministry Director will manage all aspects of programming for children ages infant through grade 5 including, but not limited to:
Design and execution of Children’s Program (including Sunday School program and Vacation Bible School)
Development and delivery of resources and support for families related to children
Identification and cultivation of outreach opportunities in the greater Boston area
Coordination with other related NPC ministries (i.e., family, youth and women’s ministries)
This position reports to the Associate Pastor for Family and Community Life. The Children’s Ministry Team consists of 5-8 volunteers serving three year terms to support execution. In addition, numerous other volunteers participate in specific activities (e.g., Sunday School teachers).
Responsibilities of the role are as follows:
Design and Execution of Children’s Programming
Sunday School – select curriculum and design overall structure; recruit, train and equip teachers; publicize program; assimilate families; oversee team of volunteers; supervise Sunday morning activities
Music – work with Director of Music Ministries to design and implement music program for pre-K through grade 5
Vacation Bible School – select curriculum and develop program for one week camp (typically in late June), market the event in the community; make strategic use of VBS as an outreach tool; provide supervision
Special events – plan, organize, conduct and supervise various existing events related to current families (eg., Rally Day, Easter Program); identify and execute new events as needed
Interface with other ministries – Women’s Ministries, Nursery School
Create programs and events that build community
Development and Delivery of Resources and Support to Families
Develop relationships with all families with children; understand needs and make connections where appropriate
Reach out to new families to ensure seamless integration into programming
Establish regular communication channels to keep families current on curriculum and provide support resources (e.g., weekly email on curriculum, relevant childrearing articles)
Identification and Cultivation of Outreach Opportunities
Develop a plan to better reach families and children in the surrounding communities, in the NPC Nursery School, and from connected programs (e.g.., Mom’s Connection); explicitly use Children’s Ministry to bring more families into the NPC community
Coordination with Other NPC Ministries
Ensure comprehensive and seamless service to our families through coordination and joint program with related NPC ministries (e.g., family, women, youth , Missions)
Representation of the Children’s Ministry team to Church staff and members
Participation in weekly staff meetings
Regular briefings to Session
Coordination with worship planning
Establishing handbook and policies for Children’s Ministry
Vision casting, articulation of values and goals
Long-range planning
Candidate Requirements:
Personal qualities:
Strong commitment to Christian faith and the mission of Children’s Ministry
Ability to lead and inspire a team of volunteers
Ability to work in a team context as with other ministries
Strong communication skills
Demonstrated desire and personal qualities (e.g. empathy, warmth) required to work with children
Strong personal initiative
Ability to build strong relationships with staff and families
Strong capacity for organization, managing conflicts and problem solving
Experience
Minimum two years experience relating to Children’s Ministry
Experience with design and execution of children’s programming
Background in child development or education desired