Director of Children’s Mission and Ministry

Topeka First United Methodist Church

Elementary age children’s ministry and mission is intensely relational. A successful Director of Children’s Mission and Ministry will have the strong desire and spiritual gifting to befriend and mentor children birth through sixth grade while understanding that the primary role is equip lay people and parents to do the same. He or she will structure innovative programming that captures the attention and imagination of child and their parents in a God-honoring way.  But further, a successful Director of Children’s Mission and Ministry will be sufficiently mature to interact positively with the church body as a whole, especially parents who are the primary spiritual caregivers in a child’s life. A Director of Children’s Mission and Ministry will understand the challenges parents face in spiritually equipping their children and will envision, design, implement and refine programs, activities and approaches to help equip parents to fulfill that role.

The Director of Children’s Mission and Ministry(Children’s Minister) shall be a person who demonstrates passion for children’s mission and ministry. This person shall have a genuine and deepening Christian character, of emotional, mental, and physical stamina, and a loyal participant of a ministry team, able to work well and cultivate trust with other people in a growing congregation. The Children’s Minister is responsible for all facets of our children’s mission and ministry covering programming for children birth through 6^th grade as well as programming that strengthens a child’s home and equips parents to be the primary spiritual caregivers of their children. In addition, the Children’s Minister will work to develop and deploy a comprehensive mission-evangelism outreach to unchurched children and their families in the Topeka region.

Leadership and Administration: The Children’s Minister is responsible for all facets of a growing program of mission and ministry to children.  The Children’s Minister will partner with the Senior Pastor and the Children’s Mission and Ministry Team to give ongoing leadership in discerning and carrying out God’s will and vision for children’s mission and ministry at First United Methodist Church. Special emphasis will be given to equip parents to be the spiritual caregivers of their children, recruiting and equipping volunteers for children’s mission and ministry and reaching out to unchurched families in our region with the vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

We describe our discipleship process at Topeka First United Methodist Church using three words. The position description for the Minister of Children’s Mission and Ministry is organized around those three words:

Connect—finding your place.                      Build—learning to love.        Thrive—living to serve.

Connect: Be the catalyst in cultivating Christian community in our birth through elementary age children’s mission and ministry work by modeling a balanced program for children, families, and volunteers. As such a catalyst, the Children’s Minister will be expected to be actively engaged in any mission and ministry work that involves kids and/or their parents. This includes all current programming involving ministry and outreach involving children as well as programing yet to be developed.

Build: Create an engaging and comprehensive plan of discipleship and outreach that helps the church partner with parents in helping children, in the language of our baptismal covenant, to accept God's grace for themselves, profess their faith openly and lead a Christian life. This includes building on current programming as well as the creation of new programs of mission and ministry.

Thrive: Work to create a dynamic atmosphere in our children’s mission and ministry by discerning and envisioning new ways to reach and serve children and their parents in the Topeka area for Christ, equip children, families, and volunteers to share their faith among their friends, and seek to maximize the redemptive potential of all children’s mission and ministry work.

 

All full time exempt staff members will receive four weeks of annual paid vacation.

Full-time exempt employees earn one (1) day of sick leave with pay for each month of employment.

Full-time employees, at their option, may participate in our pension plan as part of their total salary/benefits package.           

Full-time employees, at their option, may enroll in our health insurance program as part of their total salary/benefits package.

Continued professional development is expected of every church employee.  The Senior Pastor will administer a reasonable and equitable program for the professional development of all employees which is proportional to their full- or part- time status.  There has been money left in a memorial fund to be used for the education of Children’s staff.  This is limited to $1000/year.

To apply:  Please email or mail a cover letter describing your recent experience and qualifications along with your résumé to:    

The Search Committee