Pastor to Youth and Young Adults: Full-Time
Interested individuals should include a resume to office@bethlehemcov.org
Bethlehem Covenant Church-August 2022
Pastor to Youth and Young Adults: Full-Time
Bethlehem Covenant Church loves its students and young adults. We’ve made intergenerational ministry and the Christian formation of the next generation a high priority. One of the most distinctive characteristics of Bethlehem Covenant is its warm “family” culture where people are loved, included, and connected. To that end, we are seeking an individual that will love our students and young adults well and lead a ministry to them that will bless the lives of individual students, the church, and community as a whole.
Bethlehem is a thriving, growing church in South Minneapolis (since 1922). We have a team of pastors that are committed to working and growing together as we seek to lead in a healthy, discipleship-focused, and missional way. Our youth ministry encompasses both middle school and high school ministry as well as a confirmation program. Wednesday night is a key time for relationships in youth ministry. Middle School has consistently had 6-8 students and Senior High has had 15-20 in weekly attendance with a variety of friends and neighbors, a large contingent from the nearby Minnehaha Academy, joining the group. Our ministry to young adults at this point is largely informal. The desire of the church is to foster community and opportunities to deepen in faith while connecting with area colleges and universities.
Guiding Principles for Youth Ministry
- Provide a safe place for students to encounter God
- Foster Christian friendships and fellowship among students
- Help students grow in faith and faithfulness
- Possess maturity to engage in challenging and real-life conversation with students in a way that promotes Christ-like discipleship
- Equip students for service to Christ in the world
Guiding Principles for Young Adult Ministry
- Foster a supportive community that involves intergenerational relationships
- Participate in the broader life of the church, including weekly worship services
- Create constructive opportunities to ask questions and deepen in discipleship through exploration of Scripture, conversation, and service
- Value meeting young adults where they are present: the workplace, the home, the campus, and then community.
- Possess a collaborative spirit that desires to partner with young adults as they grow in faith and practice.
Qualifications and Job Requirements
- Exhibit a personal and growing relationship with God, a teachable spirit, and an emotionally healthy life
- Possess a minimum bachelor’s degree in a related field, experience in middle school and senior high ministry, and basic administrative skills
- Ability to create and execute a long-term vision for Bethlehem’s ministry to youth and young adults
- Is gifted and called to youth ministry, loves young people, and has a passion for evangelism and outreach, both personally and at the ministry level
- An engaging communicator with a thoughtful biblical and theological approach and is in alignment with Bethlehem Covenant’s Core Values and the affirmations of the Evangelical Covenant Church
- A self-motivated leader, capable of casting and imparting vision for ministry, possessing relational skills with students, parents, and staff
Roles and Responsibilities
- Lead and organize programming for youth and young adults reflecting our core practice (Up: Whole-life Worship, In: Relationships/Community, Out: Mission/Service)
- Provide Pastoral counseling and spiritual care to youth and young adults on an individual basis, making use of pastoral team and community resources as needed
- Exhibit strong communication skills by maintaining contact with students and parents as best as possible, keeping them informed of ongoing activities, and informing and casting vision for ministry strategies in a way that encourages partnership and involvement
- Practice a “ministry of presence” by attending student and young adult sporting events, concerts, performances, and other opportunities for connecting and growing relationship with students and young adults
- Utilize administrative skills to develop and provide oversight for youth and young adults budget, management of student fees and fundraising for events
- Assist pastoral team with involvement of students and young adults in churchwide activities, intergenerational events, and Sunday morning worship
- Assist in Sunday morning worship, occasionally preaching as assigned
Expectations
- Design and execute youth ministry and young adult events that are thoughtful and
- well prepared, including the work of recruiting a strong team of volunteers
- Grow Bethlehem Covenant Youth Ministry and Young Adult connections through
- participation in worship, service, and engagement in discipling relationships
- Attend worship services, council meetings, and other congregational events as directed
- Participate in weekly staff meetings along with regular updates to the Lead Pastor, Pastor of Worship and Discipleship, and Family Ministry Pastor
- Lead alongside of the Youth and Family Ministry Commissions
- Participate in personal and professional development made available through the Covenant denomination and the Northwest Conference (the regional area of our denomination)
- Youth and Young Adult Pastor reports to the Lead Pastor
Bethlehem’s Core Values
Christ-Centered Community: Wholehearted worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the soul of our Church life together. All our ministry and fellowship flow from our salvation in Christ Jesus.
The Centrality of Scripture: We cherish and rely on the Old and New Testaments as the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.
Teaching & Learning: We ask tough questions with humble hearts, to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus.
Intergenerational Ministry: Church is a family, not a club. So young and old worship side-by-side as we seek to pass along the faith for generations to come.
Hospitality & Inclusion: The Spirit calls us to friendships across boundaries of culture and background. We welcome all with warmth and kindness.
Reaching Out: Because the good news is so good, we aim to see more people know Jesus.
Justice & Mercy: Loving our neighbor requires us to serve and advocate for vulnerable people, both near and far, both inter-personally and socially.
If interested, please send your resume to office@bethlehemcov.org.