Youth Ministry Job Description

Transcription

1 Youth Ministry Job Description The position of Youth Director exists to: Provide opportunities for faith growth for Senior High Youth Assist with Senior High Youth integrating into corporate worship, both as a participant and a leader. Create a safe space for Senior High Youth to ask and grapple with the hard questions including both faith and non-faith related inquiries. Provide mission and service opportunities Be a role model in faith, work and life Qualifications (taken from the 2007 description): Christian faith and the ability to communicate that faith clearly to others, especially youngpeople. Acceptance of and respect for a wide variety of perspectives within youth ministry and thegeneral population of the church. Excellent planning and communication skills; able to develop a communications strategy andwork with office staff to see it carried through. Ability and willingness to reach out to new, inactive, and excluded youth on the margins of ourministries. An understanding of the principles of Christian worship; capable of developing appropriate andmeaningful worship experiences for and with youth. Ability to relate to parents and other adults in youth ministry, encouraging their activeinvolvement in planning and ministries. Bachelor s degree in any field; coursework or certification in youth ministry strongly preferred. Essential Functions: Presence: An important part of the Youth Ministry is Presence. Sunday Morning Worship Attendance is an important part of modeling faithful worship Between services is an ideal time to: Connect with youth not attending Wednesdays Check in with Sr. High Sunday School class and teacher Recruit/communicate with volunteers Brainstorm ministry ideas with members of the congregation Tuesday Morning Staff Meetings Although much of what is discussed at Tuesday morning staff meetings does not directly pertain to youth ministry, being there provides the youth director with a much better perspective of the vision of the church and how to make youth ministry a cohesive part of that vision. Occasional Events Attending events in the lives of our youth concerts, plays, games, prom grand marches, 4H showings and parties, etc. as invited. Ministry doesn't always occur inside the church.

2 Programming Wednesday Nights Wednesday Nights are the primary programming night for for the Senior High Program. A combination of food, fellowship, faith-building, service and worship occur. Curriculum comes from a variety of sources. During the school year, youth meet Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30 pm. There is fellowship time from 6:00 6:30 with pizza most weeks. From 6:30-7:30, programming takes on a variety of formats, small group study, game nights, mission/service events. Sunday School Recruit, train and support teachers Provide curriculum Promote Sunday School Attendance Sunday School has struggled the last few years and has been on a hiatus this year, with more energy invested in placing the students in service opportunities on Sunday Mornings. Engaging Senior High Youth in Sunday morning worship and education is an ongoing challenge. Confirmation Youth Director Responsibilities related to the confirmation program are limited. Plan 2 joint Confirmation/Sr. High events per year. These occur during regular Wednesday night program time. Work with the Pastor and the Admin to establish the yearly Confirmation calendar. (Because there is so much shared space on a Wednesday night, being a part of this process helps for program planning purposes. Assist with the Confirmation Sunday Rehearsal Be present to answer any questions or troubleshoot on Confirmation Sunday Assist with the Saturday portion of the Confirmation Retreat, providing behind the scenes support and hospitality as well as be the church/retreat center liaison during the retreat. Worship BUMC values youth leadership in worship. To assist with that, the youth director: Plans the annual Hanging of the Greens Advent worship service that is youth led. This is an important tradition to our congregation. Music, speaking, reading and decorating provided by youth The Pastor may or may not preach this particular Sunday, depending on youth involvement and the worship series Mission Celebration There is a youth element to one of the Sundays following the summer youth mission trip. Youth involvement has ranged from a few students sharing short testimonies to an entirely led youth service. Helps youth find places to be involved in Sunday morning worship by connecting him/her to the right person. Youth could be involved in many areas including: Music Communion Scripture reading Tech

3 Support Children's message Ushering/Greeting Plans additional worship services with youth involvement, as needed and as interest dictates Assists with Confirmation Sunday in any way needed Camping Sunday: This has been everything from whole services devoted to camping promotion or celebration to short camping testimonies inserted into worship. Summer Mission Trips: Buffalo UMC Youth have a strong tradition of Summer Mission Experiences. Currently, there is a four year rotation in place that provides a different type of mission experience each summer: Rural Poverty (Kentucky) Urban Poverty (St. Louis, MO) Native American (Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota) Minnesota/Local (STORM Camp, Minnesota) The Youth Director plans the mission trip including: All necessary reservations Establishing a cost Providing fundraisers Pre-trip training Travel plans Recruiting chaperones/drivers Gathering forms and paperwork Managing money on the trip The Youth Director also leads the trip and helps to plan a celebration service upon the return. Volunteers: The Youth Ministry relies on a variety of Volunteers. The Youth Director recruits, trains, communicates with volunteers as well as ensuring all background checks are current. Volunteers are needed for: Wednesday Night Small Group Leaders Sunday Morning Sunday School Teachers (including Multi-generational Sunday School leaders as necessary) Drivers for off-site activities Game Helpers Mission Leaders for local mission events Mission Trip Chaperones Other Chaperones as needed Fundraiser Helpers Communication: The Youth Director is responsible for managing a variety of forms of communication. Monthly Newsletter mailed to each youth Monthly page in the church newsletter Social Media Presence (Facebook, twitter, instagram, etc) Quarterly letters to parents

4 Special Mailings Hanging of the Greens information Mission Trip information Letter to incoming freshman Reminders and Invitations Texts and s as necessary Notes of encouragement, missing you, hope to see you, etc. as necessary Posters and information in Bulletin Board format in the Youth Room Hall Monthly report to the Leadership Committee Finances: The Youth Director has three budget lines and an account of "in/out" money to manage. The budget lines are for curriculum, general supplies and scholarships. The "in/out" money is housed in a designated checking account at Wells Fargo. This money comes from a variety of sources: fundraisers pizza income and expenses the soda machine donations payments for an event or activity Some of the money is specific to certain youth: they have fundraised or made payments. This money is tracked by the youth director and Laurie using a points system and individual accounts. The Youth Director is also one of the primary contacts to review and provide scholarships for various events from various sources. Summer: Youth Ministry is less hectic in the summer. In years past, it has included various combinations of the following: Mission Trip prep, leadership and follow-up Volunteer recruitment for fall Meals on Wheels route with youth Planning for fall and beyond 4-6 week small group study ValleyFair Trip Assist with VBS, as needed One-on-one conversations over coffee or ice cream Graduation party attendance Camp outs Drive-in movie adventures Youth-Alumni events Preschool Service Night Other Duties: In addition, the Youth Director: Schedules, plans and leads (or recruits leadership for) fundraisers Acts as the Camp Ambassador, promoting summer camp opportunities.

5 Promotes faith growth opportunities including Conference events, Teens Encounter Christ retreats, community ecumenical events, camps and mission opportunities Helps youth with Spiritual gifts assessments and placements Plans and/or leads Bible studies and small group studies outside of regular Sunday and Wednesday times Connects youth with Meals on Wheels, Wesley meal, VBS volunteering, and similar activities Works with families to ensure that finances do not prevent a youth from being an active participant in youth activities Stocks the soda machine