Youth Pastor

Calvary Community Church is a growing, Bible-centered church in Lincoln, Nebraska, committed to reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and helping believers become fully devoted followers of Christ.

We are seeking a Youth Pastor who has a genuine love for Jesus, a passion for students, a commitment to biblical truth, and the leadership ability to build a healthy and growing ministry to middle and high school students.

We are looking for more than someone who can organize youth activities. We are seeking a pastor, teacher, disciple-maker, and leader who will invest in students, partner with parents, develop leaders, and create a ministry where teenagers can know Christ, grow spiritually, build meaningful relationships, and reach their friends with the Gospel.

The Position

The Youth Pastor will provide spiritual, pastoral, and organizational leadership for Calvary's ministry to students in 6th–12th grade.

The Youth Pastor will be responsible for developing a vibrant student ministry that combines biblical teaching, discipleship, worship, relationships, outreach, service, and fun while remaining aligned with the mission, doctrine, philosophy, and leadership of Calvary Community Church.

Spiritual Qualifications

The successful candidate should:

• Have a clear testimony of personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and demonstrate a growing relationship with Him.
• Demonstrate a consistent life of prayer, Bible study, worship, and personal spiritual discipline.
• Meet the biblical character qualifications for spiritual leadership described in passages such as 1 Timothy 3:1–7, Titus 1:6–9, and 1 Peter 5:1–4.
• Demonstrate spiritual maturity, humility, integrity, teachability, and personal accountability.
• Maintain high standards of personal morality and Christian conduct.
• Have a genuine love for teenagers and a desire to see them come to know Christ and mature in their faith.
• Be committed to the authority, truth, and practical teaching of Scripture.
• Demonstrate a heart for evangelism and reaching students who are disconnected from Christ and the church.
• Be able to enthusiastically support the doctrine, mission, values, and ministry philosophy of Calvary Community Church.
• Demonstrate a servant's heart and the ability to work under and alongside church leadership.
• Maintain healthy relationships with family, church staff, volunteers, parents, and students.

Primary Responsibilities

Biblical Teaching & Discipleship

The Youth Pastor will develop and deliver engaging, biblically faithful teaching that helps students understand Scripture and apply it to everyday life.

The Youth Pastor will intentionally develop a discipleship strategy that helps students move from simply attending youth activities to becoming spiritually mature followers of Jesus.

This includes helping students develop habits of Bible study, prayer, worship, service, evangelism, generosity, and involvement in the life of the church.

Weekly Youth Ministry

Plan and lead excellent weekly student ministry gatherings that students are excited to attend and invite their friends to.

Weekly programming should incorporate biblical teaching, worship, small groups, relationship building, games and activities, and intentional opportunities for students to respond spiritually.

The Youth Pastor should continually evaluate programming to ensure that it is accomplishing the spiritual and ministry goals of Calvary rather than simply maintaining a schedule of activities.

Evangelism & Growth

Develop an outward-focused culture in which students are encouraged and equipped to invite friends, share their faith, and reach other students.

Build relationships within the community and look for appropriate opportunities to connect with students through schools, athletic events, community activities, and other environments where teenagers gather.

Develop strategies for reaching new students and effectively connecting them into the life of the youth ministry and the larger church.

Relationships With Students

Be actively involved in the lives of students.

The Youth Pastor should know students personally, understand the challenges they face, celebrate important moments in their lives, and provide biblical encouragement and pastoral care when needed.

Ministry should extend beyond the church building whenever appropriate through attendance at school events, athletic events, concerts, graduations, and other significant activities.

All interaction with students must follow Calvary's established safety and accountability policies.

Parent Partnership

Recognize that parents are the primary spiritual influence in the lives of their children and develop a ministry that intentionally supports and partners with them.

Communicate regularly and clearly with parents regarding ministry direction, schedules, events, expectations, and opportunities.

Develop trust with parents and provide resources and encouragement that help them disciple their teenagers.

Volunteer Leadership

Recruit, train, encourage, and develop a strong team of adult youth leaders.

Clearly communicate expectations and provide volunteers with the training and resources necessary to minister effectively.

Create meaningful opportunities for volunteers to build relationships with students, lead small groups, disciple teenagers, and take ownership of areas of ministry.

The Youth Pastor should be a leader who develops other leaders, rather than attempting to personally perform every aspect of the ministry.

Student Leadership

Identify students who demonstrate spiritual maturity and leadership potential and provide opportunities for them to grow as leaders.

Develop student leaders who can serve in areas such as worship, welcoming new students, prayer, small groups, outreach, service projects, and ministry events.

Events, Camps & Activities

Plan and oversee camps, retreats, mission opportunities, outreach events, service projects, special activities, and other experiences that support the spiritual goals of the ministry.

Events should have clear ministry purposes and should complement rather than replace the ongoing discipleship of students.

Leadership Expectations

Calvary desires a Youth Pastor who is both pastoral and proactive.

The ideal candidate will be someone who can connect naturally with teenagers while also providing mature leadership to adults. This individual should be comfortable teaching Scripture, casting vision, developing systems, recruiting volunteers, communicating with parents, solving problems, and building a ministry team.

We value a leader who asks not only, "What are we doing?" but also "Is what we are doing actually helping students become followers of Jesus?"

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience leading or serving in a healthy student ministry.
• Minimum of 3 years youth ministry experience
• Strong biblical teaching and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit and develop volunteers.
• Experience organizing youth events, camps, retreats, or mission opportunities.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Ability to use technology, social media, and digital communication effectively and appropriately in student ministry.
• Ability to relate effectively to both teenagers and adults.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully as part of a ministry team.