Ministry Assistant (Children and Families minister)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Ministry Assistant (Children and Families minister)
Trinity Community Church LEP, Accrington
www.trinitycc.org.uk
Post Title: Ministry Assistant (Children and Families minister)
Post Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Pay: £26000 - £30000 per annum
Location: The post holder will mainly be based at Trinity Community Church, Christ Church Square, Accrington, BB52NX, with some flexibility.
Responsible to: the vicar and ECC (Ecumenical church council)
Responsible for: Overseeing all our children and families work.
Background: Trinity Community Church is a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP), made up of two Baptist churches and an Anglican parish. We exist to glorify the Lord Jesus and make known the new life He brings to all who believe and trust in Him, to the 4500 people living in our parish.
Our mission state is ‘Life with Jesus. Life Together. Life for All.’ We are a church seeking to love the Lord our God more deeply, grow in our love for one another, and to go and share the love of Christ with those around us.
Children and families’ ministry is a key part of our ministry and mission in Accrington, as we long to see Christ’s Kingdom grow.
We are seeking a godly believer in Christ, who has a heart for the hard places, for the least, the last, and the lost, coming to know Jesus as Saviour and King, and can journey alongside people, with pastoral care.
This new role forms part of Blackburn Diocese’s Ignite Project (https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/igniteproject-2/), funded in partnership with the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and Diocesan Board of Education (DBE), helping parishes invest in sustainable, long-term children’s, youth and family ministry and includes the offer of a fully-funded, University-validated qualification in Children’s, Youth, and Family Ministry provided in partnership with Emmanuel Theological College.
Job purpose: We are seeking a gifted, committed and loving person to oversee our children and families ministry. Trinity is a growing church and we want to the keep that momentum going. Since covid, we have seen a growth in children and families and long to see more and more come to know Jesus as Saviour and King.
The role will support and enable our current and new volunteers to continue to develop the amazing work they are doing. The children and families minister will grow and develop our Dot to Tot and Beyond Sunday School ministry, mid-week Toddler group, annual holiday Bible club, and other community events.
Our parish demographics include 12.5% lone-parent families and 11.4% cohabiting couple households. The role will focus on reaching these families with the gospel, using opportunities like evening clubs and reestablishing ‘Messy Church’ to offer something for the whole family.
We rank in the bottom 300 on the Church Urban deprivation score chart. While our resources are limited, we are part of the 'Hope 4 Accrington' programme and aim to use that work to further develop. Food poverty is a major concern; providing food at events successfully attracts families, so we hope to install a kitchen to enable this.
Patience and love with genuine effort is what is needed from whoever takes up this role.
Main duties and responsibilities:
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To oversee and coordinate our children and families ministry.
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Walk with children and families to help them grow in their faith in Christ, to learn more about Him and His word, and to live and worship within the Christian community, building upon our current ministries.
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Provide more children and families with the opportunity to hear the good news of Christ, through new clubs and ministry events.
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Build relationships with our local primary school and nursery.
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Support, encourage and equip our current team of volunteers who serve in our children and families ministry.
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Use social media to better promote the children and families ministry at Trinity.
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Revise our baptism preparation process and make changes in conjunction with the vicar.
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Maintain high standards of good safeguarding practice, and compassionate pastoral support.
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Work with the Parish Safeguarding Officer to ensure safeguarding standards are met and administered, and proper records are kept.
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Attend leadership team meetings as agreed.
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Be an example of a life lived out in faith in Christ.
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Be an active member of the worshipping community at Trinity.
Person specification:
| Criteria | How this will be assessed?Application (A), Interview (1),Presentation (P), Exercise (E) |
| Training and qualifications | |
| Essential | |
| Maths and English to GCSE Grade 'C' or above / equivalent | A |
| Desirable | |
| Qualification or relevant training in childcare/early years/children's work. | A |
| Experience | |
| Essential | |
| Previous experience of working with children and families in a church setting | A&1 |
| An ability to connect and communicate with children and families | A&1 |
| Desirable | |
| Experience of working within a local church context | A |
LIFE WITH JESUS. LIFE TOGETHER. LIFE FOR ALL.
| Skills and competencies | |
| Essential | |
| Passionate about sharing the Christian faith with children and families, andseeing them come to faith in Christ | A＆1 |
| Strong planning skills, with the ability to work independently and part of a team | A&1 |
| Self-motivated and enthusiastic with the ability to work on own initiative indeveloping creative ideas | A＆1 |
| Able to develop and maintain appropriate boundaries, demonstrating integrityand a commitment to and understanding of confidentiality | A＆1 |
| Confident IT skills (Microsoft office, google etc) | A |
| Ability to creatively provide relevant Biblical teaching in a range of settings | A&1 |
| A strong understanding of best safeguarding practice | A&!&E |
| Experience of leading or supporting a children and families ministry | A&1 |
| Desirable | |
| Experience of balancing demands of an office | A&1 |
| Able to set and work to goals without direct supervision | A&1 |
| Personal attributes | |
| Essential | |
| Strong communication and people skills to connect and communicate withchildren and families | A&1 |
| Excellent teamwork skills, flexible, co-operative, supportive and able tocontribute to team goals | A&1 |
| A committed and practising Christian, able to demonstrate a faith consistentwith the doctrines and practices of the Church of England | A |
| Able to share the Christian faith in a way children and families can relate to | A&1&P |
| Able to take initiative | A&1 |
| A willingness to learn new skills | A&1 |
| Able to present a strong, loving Christian role model | A＆I |
| Desirable | |
| Access to transport | A |
Given the nature and context of the work, it is an occupational requirement that the post holder should be a communicant member of the Church of England or a full member of a church within Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, in order to fulfil the main purpose of the post. This post is therefore exempt under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
Terms and conditions:
The role holder will be employed by Trinity Community Church, Accrington. The detailed terms and conditions will be contained in the Contract of Employment.
Contract type - Permanent
Salary - £26000 - £30000 per annum
Hours – This is a full-time role based on a 35-hour working week, but the post holder may be required to work additional hours as to meet the reasonable requirements of the role. The post holder will be entitled to time off in lieu for attending meetings outside normal office hours which may include evenings and weekends.
Location - The post holder will be based at Trinity Community Church, Christ Church Square, Accrington, BB52NX
Pension – The employer pension contribution is 3%.
Probationary period - The role will be subject to completion of a satisfactory 6-month probationary period, with the first review at 3 months; appraisals will take place annually thereafter.
Notice period - During the probationary period two weeks’ notice of termination of employment will be required on either side; thereafter one-months’ notice on either side will be required.
Annual leave - Annual paid holiday entitlement is 28 days pro-rata. Leave should be arranged in advance with the Vicar, bearing in mind the particular demands of church activities.
Expenses – Travel expenses and reasonable ministry expenses
DBS – The role requires the completion of an enhanced DBS check to be arranged by the employer before the start date
Safeguarding – Trinity Community church is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment and undertake the Diocesan Safeguarding training course.
References – Appointment to the role will be subject to receipt of two satisfactory references and a faith reference
Right to work - The post-holder must have the right to reside and work in the UK.
Diversity - The Diocese of Blackburn believes that diversity enables us to thrive and develop and is committed to race equality, welcoming applications from UK Minority Ethnic/ Global Majority Heritage backgrounds
The Diocese of Blackburn is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.
How to apply:
Thank you for taking the time to read this job advert.
Please send a completed application form to Revd Paul McNally (vicar@trinitycc.org.uk).
The deadline for applications is Tuesday 7th July 2026
Interviews to take place on Saturday 18th July 2026
Start date to be confirmed.
If you would like an informal conversation about this post, please contact Revd Paul McNally on 07816491522 or vicar@trinitycc.org.uk.