Student Ministry Director | Resurrection West UMC – Kansas City, MO

Resurrection, a United Methodist Church

24000 W. Valley Pkwy Olathe, Kansas

Are you ready to lead a vibrant student ministry nestled in the suburbs of Kansas City, 20 minutes southwest of downtown and 20 minutes east of Lawrence? Resurrection West, part of the multi-site Resurrection United Methodist Church, is seeking a passionate and dynamic leader to guide our student ministry—engaging over 120 students weekly.

This is a great opportunity, surrounded by four or five leading school districts in the state.  You’ll join a staff of ministry leaders already making a difference in suburban Kansas City.

Why Resurrection?

• We’re a thriving, nine-location church sharing resources to create excellent retreats, mission trips, and curriculum.
• You’ll collaborate with a student ministry team of 12 leaders across all locations who value innovation, excellence, and teamwork.
• Kansas City offers an unbeatable quality of life, with beloved sports teams, world-class barbeque, and rich cultural and civic opportunities.

If you’re excited to be part of a collaborative team while spearheading a dynamic student ministry, we invite you to apply today!

Job Summary  

The Student Ministry Director provides leadership, vision, program development and direction for the ministries and programs geared toward middle school and high school students at the West location.  As a member of the Student Ministries Team, the Director partners with the Lead Director, the Location Directors and the Student Ministries Team to develop a strategy for engaging all students in ministries and programs that support our purpose of building Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious students are becoming deeply committed Christians.

 

Essential Responsibilities and Expectations: 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Churchwide 

• Follow Jesus and engage in the “five essential practices” of the Christian life: worship, study, serve, give, and share.
• Support the church’s purpose of “building a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people become deeply committed Christians.”
• Exemplify the church’s values and support its theological direction as a United Methodist Church.

 

Student Ministry Specific

• Develop and maintain healthy and supportive relationships with students and families by communicating with them regularly in person and through a variety of mediums.
• Lead student ministry church-wide efforts by specifically leading and organizing the following:
• One retreat during the school year.
• One serve trip during the summer.
• One Discipleship Group Curriculum piece.
• Collaborate with other full-time location directors on Youth Group Curriculum and various other strategic directives.
• Other areas as determined by the student ministries team when developing strategic objectives.
• Provide and encourage leadership and direction for outreach and evangelism by maintaining an active and visible presence in the community and following up with students and families.
• Provide spiritual leadership, looking for opportunities to disciple and encourage students to grow in Christ.
• Prepare, rehearse and teach Scripture exegeted for the lives of students through multiple mediums and strategies.
• Care for students and their families regarding spiritual questions and concerns, directing them to further pastoral or professional care when necessary.
• Recruit, manage, motivate, and equip volunteers and students by building effective teams through identifying high-capacity leaders and equipping them for ministry.
• Develop, modify or participate in ministries, events, camps, retreats and programs to meet the needs, fulfill the potential, and accomplish the vision of the Church of the Resurrection.
• Collaborate with other areas of ministry to design and deliver programming including robust worship and service experiences.
• Provide direction to students through continual assessment and evaluation, holding ministry accountable to key metrics and benchmarks that not only track activity, but ultimately yield quantitative and qualitative spiritual growth, engagement and participation.
• Manage assigned budget.
• Participate in intergenerational church sponsored events, providing leadership where needed.
• Attend staff meetings and other scheduled meetings when needed.
• When able, partner with other like-minded organizations in the community to better serve students and families.
• Resolve conflicts and complex challenges.
• Tend to administrative duties as needed including keeping ministry areas neat.
• Provide reasonable and timely response to colleagues, supervisors, students, parents and volunteers including during non-working hours.
• Other duties as assigned

 

Position and Location Specific Expectations

• Communicate with parents and students weekly through emails and social media.
• Resource and coordinate three groups (Confirmation, Sunday School and youth group) for students that meet weekly for discipleship.
• Develop original content through reading, writing and recording.
• Engage students in all-church events in meaningful ways possibly including creating space for students in worship.
• Offer at least one event per month, whether coordinated with the other locations (ex. META and Cross-Location Serve events) or designed by this location.
• Visit, recruit and nurture students (contact time), families and volunteers on a regular basis (ex. school, club or sporting events, home visits, meals or coffee).
• Attend staff meetings and other church meetings as needed.
• Develop summer ministry, including mission opportunities with church wide support.
• Investigate a variety of organizations and places in the area near the church where students may be engaged or may share the same mission to serve students.
• Assist with worship leadership, teaching and care as a member of the location team.
• Supervise other employees as assigned.

 

Competencies

• Team Building – forms highly effective teams, whether supervised or informal, where individuals with diverse skills achieve ambitious goals.
• Developing Others – coaches, encourages and resources individuals and teams to discover their calling and meet career and church goals.
• Adapting – remains flexible and modifies behaviors quickly to help the church meet the dynamic needs of congregants and employees.
• Problem Solving – makes good decisions quickly, solves problems effectively to help move the church forward.
• Catalyzing Growth – overcomes inertia by discovering new solutions and casting vision for innovation that will elevate the church’s effectiveness.
• Collaborating – shares knowledge, builds partnerships and promotes a culture of thinking from the users’ perspective while working across divisions to meet shared goals and objectives.
• Communicating – develops and delivers clear communications (verbal and written) that meet the unique needs of different audiences.
• Community Partnering – understands the community in which we serve, establishes community relationships and represents the church in the broader community.

 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or a combination of equivalent education and experience.
• Preference for a minimum of five years of experience in student ministry.
• Proven Results in growing Student Ministry programs and implementing systems that engage children and families in spiritual formation and discipleship with clear entry points and pathways that lead them toward deep commitment.