Student Pastor (Middle School)

About Heartland

Heartland was born in 1986 out of the desire to reach those in our community who most churches did not reach. For decades, God has used Heartland to ignite faith in a new generation by creating welcoming environments for people to bring their questions, doubts, and desires to God. In 2021, the church restructured its leadership model from a traditional “Senior Pastor Led” model to a “Team Lead” model, and the church and staff have been experiencing the benefits of this change. Having navigated the choppy waters of leadership transition, mission creep, and a worldwide pandemic, today Heartland’s vision for the future is strong and thriving. The congregation has grown back to a healthy core of roughly 900 people, and the time is once again ripe to build a church that makes a difference in Kansas City.

About this Opportunity

This staff role leads two ministries for students in 5th - 8th grades. MiX, our newest ministry, launched in 2024 with 4th and 5th graders in mind. MOVE serves 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students, feeding into our high school ministry, MVMT. (It’s a lot of m’s, we know). This person will serve alongside Heartland’s Student Pastor (High School) as they lead their ministries while assisting one another in the other ministries. This team is led by Heartland’s Family Movements Pastor, who provides guidance and vision for Heartland’s ministry to students and their families. This opportunity is ideal for someone with a strong passion for younger students and experience leading a growing ministry that effectively disciples them.

The Student Pastor (Middle School) should have a strong passion and ability to invite, recruit, develop, and empower volunteers to lead within the ministry. In addition to this love of students and passion to develop leaders, they should have a vision for growth that helps influence the student culture of Kansas City and the places these students go afterward.

Key Responsibilities

• Recruit and develop a leadership team that can champion the vision of preteen ministry and invest and lead students toward a Jesus-first life.
• Create and lead key annual initiatives and quarterly goals that foster holistic and healthy growth for preteen students.
• Recruit, equip, and unleash leaders in various roles such as small group leaders (both adults and high school students serve in this critical role), event preparation, greeting teams, etc.)
• Connect with parents, communicate clearly and regularly, build relationships to encourage and partner with them, and help them in their roles as the primary faith shapers in their students’ lives.
• Design weekly programs that help students grow in community with one another toward Jesus-first lives, including planning teaching, scheduling volunteers, developing leaders, designing small group activities/discussions, and tracking ministry progress.
• Create and lead events that develop relationships among students between one another and leaders.
• Plan trips (camps, retreats, missions, outreach) that catalyze relationships and inspire students to grow in their faith.
• Identify and implement local school and community initiatives. Seek out and connect with parents and offer resources and relationships.
• As part of the Student Ministry and Community + Discipleship Teams, support and lead out community and discipleship initiatives that help all at Heartland connect with others and grow as Jesus-first disciples.

Successful Candidate Will Look Like:

• Passionate follower of Jesus with a strong sense of call to ministry.
• Commitment to Heartland’s mission, vision, and core values.
• Competent in student culture and how to effectively engage students in and outside of the church.
• Desire to mentor and grow next-generation leaders.
• Self-motivated and self-managed yet loves to do life as a team.
• Strong communicator and leader who loves developing others in these areas.
• Proven track record of leading a successfully growing student ministry.
• Possibility-oriented and growth-minded in healthy ways.

How To Apply

This is a full-time role with a salary and full benefits. The salary range is determined by the candidate’s experience and educational background, along with local MinistryPay benchmarks. To apply, visit heartlandchurch.org/studentpastor.