Children's Ministry Director

Summary

The Children’s Ministry Director will lead all aspects of the Children’s Ministry for St. Andrew Methodist Church (SAMC) through a focus on equipping staff and volunteers to accomplish the vision of the ministry and the church.

Essential Functions

General Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, and develop the Children's Ministry team through regular staff meetings, ongoing communication, performance feedback, and spiritual encouragement. Coordinate and lead all Children’s Staff meetings.
• Keep current with existing resources, materials, educational approaches, etc., through attending continuing education events and seminars.
• Work closely with the Family Ministry Project Manager to develop, manage, and steward the annual Children's Ministry budget, ensuring responsible use of resources and alignment with ministry priorities.
• Work with our Communications and Marketing Departments to keep our social media presence strong
• Comply with church policies and procedures regarding children’s programs and events.
• Create a steady path of development for preschool, elementary, and pre-teen ministers.
• Build strong relationships with parents, volunteers, and church leadership, cultivating an environment where children are known, loved, and encouraged to grow in their faith.
• Collaborate closely with the Family Ministry Project Manager to ensure all weekend programming, special events, registrations, volunteer scheduling, communications, room reservations, database management, and operational logistics are planned, coordinated, and executed with excellence.

Children’s Small Groups/Large Group

• Provide a loving, nurturing environment in which children can grow in God’s grace (from newborn to 6^th grade).
• Collaborate and work closely with Facilities Team to provide a safe environment in the classrooms and large group rooms.
• Communicate regularly with the parents about children’s programs and events via various communication vehicles.
• Work with staff to ensure classes are staffed with volunteers and that materials/supplies are ready for each age/room for Sunday mornings.
• Work with staff to ensure the large group time is engaging and bringing children into a deeper relationship with God.
• Ensure that Sunday morning programming runs smoothly to ensure adequate time for worship, large group, and small groups.
• Review current programs for effectiveness and make recommendations to ensure the children are being taught and developed.
• Be available on Sunday mornings to check classrooms, lead a class for a teacher who is tardy or absent, locate parents of an ill or unhappy child, get supplies for teachers, and handle other necessary tasks.

Children’s Annual Programs

Oversee the excellent execution of all annual programs, such as:

• Palm Sunday
• VBS
• Ash Wednesday/Holy Week
• Advent Celebration
• Christmas Nativity Service

All Church Events & Projects                                                                                                              

• Along with the Family Ministry Pastor and Project Manager, collaborate with all church departments to ensure that church-wide events include excellent and engaging components for our children and families.
• Coordinate with the Missions department to ensure the successful execution of Kids on Mission

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

• Build relationships with existing and potential volunteers
• Along with the Children’s Ministry Volunteer Coordinator,

o  Ensure that all volunteers are background checked and have completed Ministry Safe

o  Ensure that all volunteers have the training and support needed to fulfill their roles well

o  Ensure that volunteers are appreciated and given opportunities to grow in their roles

• Continually build the corps of volunteers actively serving in Children’s Ministry

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of experience.
• Religious degree and credentialing and/or experience in being a pastor preferred, but not required
• Background in education / child development preferred, but not required

Competencies

• A deep personal faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to Wesleyan theology and Methodist traditions
• Love for seeing children have a real and authentic relationship with Jesus
• Have a heart for St. Andrew and support the vision and mission of the church
• Strong speaking and presentation skills
• Good active listening and willingness to help
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong leadership skills
• Strong communication skills both verbal and written
• Work well within a team setting
• Confidentiality
• Organized
• Flexible

Supervisory Responsibility

This position will supervise preteen, elementary, and preschool ministers

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a ministerial exempt full-time position at 36.5 hours per week. Weekly expectations include consistent presence in staff meetings and on campus, Sunday through Thursday. PTO on Sundays are limited to the number of weeks of vacation (example, 6 weeks of vacation = 6 Sundays).

St Andrew is a community of people seeking to live more like Jesus every day and to learn in deeper ways what it means to follow His teachings, live in community, and serve the world. You will find a group of people united in Christ. You will find pastors and a congregation confident in the Word of God, who interpret the Scriptures through reason, experience, and tradition, and seek to apply them to a life of following Jesus. The modern world can be challenging and often seems designed to move us away from Christ, but we believe when we come together as a community united by an earnest desire to live more like Jesus, we can create change. In seeking Christ together, there is joy – a tangible expression of the work of the Holy Spirit in our community. And we

believe that joy foretells of the day we will eat and drink at His table in the Kingdom of Heaven. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, we invite you to discover the truly transformative role faith can play. We welcome you to a community ready to embrace a faith in Christ that is real, practical, and life changing.