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Searching for jobs can be cumbersome and discouraging, we understand that. So we will try to make your decision making process as to whether or not to pursue this position as streamlined as possible.
To that end…
The Bad Parts:
(These are the things about the job you usually have to figure out on your own through internet sleuthing.)
- Our facilities are terrible.
This is not hyperbole. We meet in a storefront in a nondescript building in a nondescript area of Raleigh. There is a pole in the middle of our auditorium (not kidding). Our offices are in a separate suite of the office complex than our main church area. This means you have to walk outside from the auditorium just to get to the offices… and we use the offices as children’s space on Sunday mornings. The good news here is that we are in the process of building our very own building which will render our facilities very not terrible.
- Our youth group is not big.
We average about 20 kids grades 6-12 (25 on a good night).
The good news is we average 50+ kids age 0-10 on Sunday mornings and continue to grow consistently in the young families demographic. So the pipeline for future growth combined with the anticipation of being in new space should rectify this potential downside.
- Aaron Gibson is on staff.
He is a drag. But he is really talented and works hard so we keep him around. Maybe you’re a kind person and the two of you will get to be pals. Who knows?
That’s pretty much all the bad stuff.
The Good Parts:
- This is a very fun place to work. We try our best to take the serious things (loving Jesus and others, honoring God and his Word, serving the community well, being people who regard personal holiness extremely highly, and being ambassadors for Christ wherever we go) seriously and the not so serious things (like job posts) not so seriously.
This means one of the biggest things we will be looking for in a successful candidate is whether or not they’re a good hang.
We mean it. We have a great staff culture, so who we select to be a part of that culture and make it better is a big deal to us.
- The people of Grace are great.
We can’t say we are the best, because we probably aren’t, but our people love each other incredibly well and allow our staff to be humans. The community here is unusually tight-knit and supportive.
- Our Senior Pastor is pretty okay to work for.
Granted, this is ridiculous to say, since I’m the one writing this posting. But I’ve worked for senior pastors that were not fun to work for. I’ve gone through what felt like seasons with no support or encouragement. I’ve been micromanaged. I think I understand what can really stink about working in a church. So I try to not do those things.
I try to support, encourage, be fair and reasonable, and with this position in particular, I plan to invest a great deal of my time and energy over the next several years to grow you up in the ministry and prepare you for whatever God has next, whether that be at Grace or somewhere else. I do not believe in being greedy with God’s people. As part of the interview process, if you progress that far, you’ll go hang with the staff (even Aaron, sorry) without me around and they will tell you the good, bad, and ugly about working here.
- We try to be refreshingly honest.
Have you picked up on that so far?
- We hold theology with an open hand.
We do not have agreement on the staff and elder board on many secondary and tertiary issues of practice and theology. We do not insist upon it. In fact, we believe this tension is part of our strength. So we do not need your theological beliefs to align perfectly with ours, we just need you to be mature and gracious enough to not insist that the students you lead align with yours, either. We do have some non-negotiables, however. They can be found in our statement of faith, which I could link here, but if you’re serious about the opportunity, you’ll go find them anyways.
What We Think About Church:
Connecting people to Jesus. Connecting people to people.
This is our mission and everything we do is for that purpose. We deeply believe in every human’s desperate need for Jesus. We also believe that Christianity is, by its very nature, a communal exercise. So we relentlessly seek to connect people with their Savior and with others who love him.
America has lost faith in the American church.
We are optimistic enough to believe that we can be a small part of restoring people’s faith in what church can be. This starts with a whole-hearted pursuit of personal holiness evidenced by an authentic love for others. We are more interested in serving and loving others than we are in determining what value they bring to our church.
We consider ourselves a triage unit for people with church hurt.
We want Grace to be a place where people can come and heal. And in some instances reconstruct a broken down faith.
What The Job Entails:
All the normal student pastor stuff.
Weekly service/gathering/celebration - whatever super awesome name you want to give it. Plan trips and events. Train leaders. Recruit volunteers. All the things.
But what really excites us: just make disciples. Love the students, point them towards Christ. Lead a ministry that indelibly shapes their lives and the lives of their future children. Impact them for generations. Love them fiercely and show them Jesus.
Despite the casual nature of the post, this paragraph you just read is the most important thing. It’s one of those things we take very seriously, because its the whole reason we are here. And to do that, we believe you need to work hard. Not only should you work hard at your job, but you should work hard to get BETTER at your job. We need someone who is highly communicative with students and parents. Someone who shows up in the community. Someone who knows how to be a professional and knows how to be fun and knows the difference between those times.
Please Apply If These Things Are True Of You:
- You’ve read this far and maintained interest
- You have a 4 year degree in any field
You have 1 year or more of experience in leading a smaller youth group
OR
You have 1 year or more employed in a support role for a larger youth group
You have some combination of proficiency in communication, leadership, administration, and relationships.
Your life’s goal is to stand before the Father one day and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
*A note on pay. $42,000 is the starting point, based on experience. We would agree with the general premise that the more experience you have, the more you deserve to be compensated.
Okay, now it’s your turn. To apply, please email your resume, cover letter, and a one sentence reason you're interested in working at Grace, to us at jobs@graceraleigh.org.