Family Pastor

Leaf River Church is a conservative, Bible-believing church located in rural Northern Illinois with a mission: To KNOW Christ, GROW in faith, and GO make Him known. We are seeking a Family Pastor who feels genuinely called by God to disciple the next generation and invest in families within both the church and the surrounding community.

Our Family Pastor will oversee ministries from birth through high school graduation while helping equip parents to disciple their children at home. Because our rural community has very limited opportunities for teens and children outside of school activities, this role offers a unique opportunity to build meaningful relationships with students and create ministry opportunities that reach beyond the walls of the church. We are looking for someone who is relational, energetic, approachable, and excited to engage with youth in the community.

The ideal candidate will have a heart for biblical discipleship, strong communication skills, and the ability to lead and develop volunteers. This individual will teach youth Sunday School, help develop regular youth ministry gatherings or worship opportunities, provide support and training for children’s ministry volunteers and teachers, and assist in modernizing ministry systems such as registration and check-in procedures. They will also maintain a visible and encouraging presence within the overall church body and serve alongside the Lead Pastor as part of the church staff team.

We are looking for someone who is spiritually mature, teachable, and passionate about helping children, teens, and families grow in Christ. Experience in youth or children’s ministry is valued, whether vocationally or through volunteer leadership. Some Bible college education—or a desire to pursue further ministry training—is preferred.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Teaching and discipling children and youth
• Developing and overseeing youth ministry opportunities
• Recruiting, training, and encouraging volunteers
• Supporting and resourcing parents
• Creating safe and organized ministry systems
• Building relationships with youth in the community
• Participating in weekly staff meetings and church leadership

Qualities & Skills Needed:

• A growing relationship with Jesus Christ
• Agreement with the church’s statement of faith
• Strong biblical teaching and communication skills
• A heart for children, teens, and families
• Relational and community-minded personality
• Ability to recruit and lead volunteers
• Familiarity with technology and digital communication tools
• Teachable spirit and willingness to grow in ministry leadership

Together we are a community of believers. What does that mean, the word community? We believe that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another. The Bible speaks about iron sharpening iron. We believe that together we grow stronger. We are a community of believers. 

We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to reach the lost and the broken. It is there that the lost will be found. Most churches find it is comfortable to stay within the walls, but we make it an effort to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our community transformed.

We highly value our relationships with one another. We look to grow through fellowship and ultimately growing closer to God. We value the word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We look to extend grace to all of the lost and broken and lead those with no hope to the hope of Jesus Christ.