Position Description: Youth Minister

Vision: St. Michael’s Strategic Plan includes an objective for Youth Ministry - front and center:

Become a magnet for our own and area youth.

• Re-design our existing junior and senior high youth program(s)
• Encourage voluntary vs. involuntary participation of the member youth
• Create an environment that promotes and encourages others to attend

This simple sentence encapsulates the vision we have for Youth Ministry that – once realized – will be integral to St. Michael’s living into its own vision:

“Lives being formed and changed…through a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ.”

Objective: The objective of this position of Youth Minister is to develop, coordinate and administer a comprehensive, effective and formative ministry to meet the needs of youth (7th through 12th grades), as well as college-aged adults of the church and surrounding community. In particular, the St. Michael’s Strategic Plan calls for a re-design of existing youth programs; a ministry that encourages voluntary vs. involuntary participation of the member youth; an environment that is created to promote and encourage others to attend; and a ministry which seeks to disciple youth rather than to merely entertain them. This ministry should reflect the liturgy and the sacraments of the Episcopal faith and create within the youth a desire to consider and contemplate the mystery of faith and true purpose and meaning in life.

St. Michael’s is uniquely positioned to launch an incredibly encouraging and diverse youth ministry. Currently, an average of 375 attend worship services each Sunday. The church’s neighborhood location within the Village of Barrington proffers ideal accessibility to local residents. Additionally, the central location of the community, itself, affords people from many surrounding communities an easy commute to church. Therefore, on any particular Sunday, a diverse group of youth from as many as eleven or twelve different schools and/or communities can come together as one body in Christ. Additionally, the physical plant of St. Michael’s is an attractive draw for youth. The youth ministry at St. Michael’s boasts its own house. Positive parental involvement is another outstanding asset of the youth ministry at St. Michael’s. A supportive and dynamic Youth Board is also in place. An operating budget in excess of $17,615 is clearly indicative of the importance St. Michael’s places on the youth ministry.

Qualifications:
o Organizational skills to plan events and manage the ministry.
o Knowledge and experience with small group leadership.
o Outstanding communication skills, both verbal and written.
o Understands the concept of religious formation. Extensive knowledge of the Bible and various approaches to prayer.
o Has a strong spirituality and continues to develop it.
o Demonstrated concern and i