PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Children’s Pastor is responsible, with the Rector, for leading, growing and developing the Aldates Kids Ministry (ages 0-11) at St Aldates. Our children’s work is well-established so we are now looking for someone who can help build on these foundations by bringing fresh vision and develop exciting learning plans to this age group.
We believe that Aldates Kids needs to be of the highest quality. We have a children’s coordinator on staff, and a large team of volunteer leaders and helpers who support this ministry, and so a vital aspect of this role is to build the team i.e. to recruit, inspire, train and support those volunteers ensuring that safeguarding training and DBS checks are completed as required. You will also be responsible for developing the teaching programme alongside support from the SLT, for children aged 2 - 11 (end of primary school); for encouraging fresh, imaginative ways for the children to encounter God in prayer, worship and through the Bible; and for encouraging prayer for the Children’s work within the wider church.
ABOUT ST ALDATES
Our vision is to invite people to encounter Jesus, equip people to follow Jesus in every area of their lives, and envision people to transform their communities.
We are excited about what God is doing in our midst. We are seeing people come to faith in Jesus on a weekly basis, and we are pioneering new ways of discipling people to make a difference in every area of their lives. As a city-centre church with a congregation of 1300+, we have a large number of volunteer leaders and teams across our ministries, leading Aldates Groups, Alpha, student ministry, Aldates Kids and Youth. We have four services every Sunday, one of which is broadcast live. Our staff team consists of 25+ Ministry and Operations leaders. In addition, the School of Ministry recruits 10-12 Interns annually who work alongside ministry leaders.
We operate out of three main buildings. The Church seats around 550 people and was extensively re-ordered 30 years ago. It provides a wonderful space for worship and is regularly used for special events such as Youth gatherings, Student Balls, conferences and other meetings. The Church Centre (40 Pembroke Street) holds the offices of most of the Staff team along with various meeting rooms. The Catacombs Building (a few hundred metres away on Littlegate Street) has space that is used as a Youth centre and the basement has been dedicated as the Oxford Prayer Room.
For more information about St Aldates, please visit www.staldates.org.uk.
ALDATES KIDS
We have a strong Children’s Ministry, with over 130 children regularly attending groups each Sunday during the morning (10am) service. Our current pattern is to meet as a single congregation to share a short time of worship. The children then move to the Parish Centre where they meet as 6 separate groups. Starting with crèche and then 5 groups for 2–11-year-olds (split up into ages and school year groups). We also provide children’s ministry during our Mums’ Bible study on Wednesday mornings.
A highlight of the year is the annual Holiday Club with teaching, worship, craft, fun and activities, held in the school summer holidays. Other socials are run throughout the year as well as seasonal parties like the Light Party at Halloween.
KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITES
· To be the focal point for all Children’s activities in the church and to encourage awareness of and prayer for the children’s work.
· To develop and deliver the teaching themes for each group and to assist leaders in delivery of materials.
· To occasionally lead groups and speak in Sunday services
· To organise significant one-off events such as Christingle service, fun days and holiday clubs.
· To keep abreast of new initiatives in children’s work and identify appropriate ideas that could be used to develop the work and outreach at St Aldates
PERSON Specification
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
· Good knowledge of the Bible coupled with a pastoral concern for and understanding of children
· At least 3-years’ experience of working with children and some of this within a church context
· Demonstrable experience of building, growing and developing teams (especially volunteer teams)
· Experienced in developing and delivering vision and values for an organisation
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
· A pro-active, confident, completer-finisher able to manage teams of staff and volunteers
· An excellent communicator at all levels, but specifically for children and parents, bringing the Bible to life for St Aldates Kids
· A creative thinker willing to try out new ideas
· An excellent organiser with strong administration skills including MS office/Word/Excel/PowerPoint and Church Suite (desirable)
· You must have the confidence and ability to lead from the front in both the Sunday services and children’s groups
· Skills in music, art/craft, drama would be an advantage.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ROLE
· There is a Genuine Occupational Requirement for the post holder to be a practising Christian.
· The post will be subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred list check
· This role does not require the applicant to be ordained
· The post holder must be comfortable and able to flourish spiritually worshipping in St Aldates i.e. in a charismatic, evangelical context
· You will have to have a good sense of humour and the ability to work creatively
· You will need to be happy to undertake routine work and be a reliable member of staff
EMPLOYMENT DETAILS
Employer: St Aldates Parochial Church Council
Remuneration: £27,000 - £30,000 per annum, subject to experience
Pension: NEST Corporation pension scheme, currently 3% EC, 5% employee
Hours Full-time: 44 hours per week (Sunday as a normal day)
Annual leave: 30 days, plus Bank Holidays.
Place of work: St Aldates Parish Centre, 40 Pembroke Street, Oxford, OX1 1BP
Due to the nature of the role, Sunday and evening working is required. The contracted hours are 44 per week with 6 weeks Holiday. The role requires that Sunday is a normal working and a day off in lieu is taken in the week.
For further information or to request an application form, please contact
We are aware that minority ethnic groups are not well represented on our staff team, so particularly welcome applications from these groups.