Worship and Creative Lead

Worship and Creative Lead

St James’ Church, Clitheroe

Hours - 20hrs a week

Based – Clitheroe St James with an element of home working possible.

Contract – Initial contract for 3 years with further funding currently in place and an option
to become permanent depending on circumstances.

Purpose of the Role

Through healthy leadership and coordination, the Worship and Creative Lead will help
ensure that worship gatherings are welcoming, well-prepared, spiritually expectant spaces
where people can encounter Jesus. They will also help new congregations understand their
worshipping identity.

The Worship and Creative Lead will strengthen and sustain the worship ministry of St James’
by coordinating, equipping, and pastoring our team of volunteers.

This role exists to release and multiply the volunteer capacity already present within the
church, ensuring that worship ministry is consistent, sustainable, and spiritually fruitful as
the church continues to grow.

The primary focus of this role is not simply leading weekly sung worship, but developing,
supporting, and organising the worship and creative teams so they can take a full part in
pursuing the church’s vision for worship, discipleship, and mission.

Vision for the Role

At St James’, worship is not simply a musical element within a service but a central practice
of the church’s life together.

We believe worship should:

•  Form us as disciples
•  Unite us as a church family
•  Fuel prayer, service, generosity, and witness

Consistently well-led and pastorally shaped worship helps the whole church to:

•  Grow in confidence to invite others
•  Create safe and accessible spaces for visitors
•  Become more expectant of transformational encounters with Jesus

The Worship and Creative Lead will help cultivate a heart of worship that fuels the mission
and discipleship of the whole church.

Key Responsibilities

Volunteer Leadership and Pastoral Care

o  Pastor, support, and encourage worship team volunteers.
o  Foster a healthy team culture where people serve from a place of joy and

personal discipleship.

o  Provide spiritual leadership, encouragement, and discipleship to worship and

creative teams.

o  Build strong relationships across teams including musicians, vocalists, and

technical volunteers.

Co-ordination and Planning

o  Co-ordinate worship rotas and service planning across Sunday services and key

events.

o  Establish sustainable rhythms of serving for volunteers.
o  Strengthen communication and planning across worship teams.
o  Ensure services are consistently well-prepared, welcoming, and accessible.
o  Facilitate and coordinate sound, visual and livestreaming including maintenance

of equipment.

Training and Development

o

Identify, recruit, and mentor new worship leaders, musicians, and technical
volunteers.

o  Develop a pipeline of future leaders and team members, particularly looking to

the development of our young people.

o  Provide coaching and development opportunities for existing team members to

help them grow in confidence and skill.

Worship and Creative Culture

o  Help shape a culture of worship that supports the church’s wider vision.

o  Encourage creative expressions of worship where appropriate.
o  Support special services, seasonal events, and missional gatherings.
o  Support the strategic priorities of the church with creative and innovative ways

to worship.

Mission and Church Growth

o  Support worship that helps visitors feel safe, included, and able to participate.
o  Attend staff team meetings to help set vision and direction for the wider church.
o  Strengthen worship as a key ‘front door’ for the church.
o  Help create capacity for outreach events and a new congregation on the Half

Penny Meadows estate.

o  Work ecumenically for the good of the Church in Clitheroe as a whole.
o  Contribute to the wider imperative of introducing new people to Jesus.

Impact of the Role

By providing dedicated leadership and coordination, the Worship and Creative Lead will:

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Strengthen the sustainability of worship ministry
Release and multiply volunteer capacity
Deepen discipleship across the church family
Support the church’s growth and missional vision
Enable consistently welcoming and spiritually rich worship gatherings

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

A committed Christian with a passion for worship and the local church.

Experience leading or serving within worship ministry.

Strong relational and pastoral leadership skills.

Ability to organise teams, co-ordinate volunteers, and manage rotas.

Musical competence and understanding of contemporary worship environments.

A heart for discipleship and developing others.

Desirable Criteria

Experience training or mentoring worship leaders or musicians.

Experience co-ordinating worship teams in a growing church.

Familiarity with worship technology and production teams.

Experience leading creative or missional worship events.

There is a strong preference that the successful candidate would be competent in playing a
lead musical instrument such as guitar or piano. However, we have chosen not to place this
as an essential criterion and would be prepared to hear what a different approach would
look like.

Working Relationships

The Worship and Creative Lead will:

•  Work closely with the church leadership team and be under the immediate line

management of the Rector.

•  Support and develop volunteer worship leaders and musicians.
•  Collaborate with technical and creative teams.
•  Contribute to the wider life and mission of St James’, engaging volunteers and staff

team as appropriate.

Occupational Requirement

Due to the nature of this role, it is an occupational requirement that the post holder is a
communicant member of the Church of England or a full member of a church within Churches
Together in Britain and Ireland. This post is exempt under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

Outline of Terms and Conditions

Employer: Clitheroe St James PCC

Salary: £15,995 per annum

Term of Appointment: Fixed term – 3 years

Hours: 20 hours per week

Location: Clitheroe St James with an element of home working possible

Pension: 5% employee contribution, 3% employer

Annual Leave Entitlement: Total annual leave entitlement is 144 hours of which 24 should
be taken on a Sunday. There is an expectation that the post-holder will work Sundays and
major festivals, although the weekly working pattern will be variable depending on services.

References: Appointment will be subject to the receipt of satisfactory references

DBS: Enhanced DBS required for this post

Probationary Period: Probationary period: The appointment is subject to the satisfactory
completion of a 6 month probationary period.

Notice Period: Six months from date for first employment

Expenses: Agreed reasonable expenses incurred as part of the role will be re-imbursed

Right to work: The post-holder must have the right to reside and work in the UK.

St James’ Church Clitheroe 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

St James’ Church Clitheroe 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.

The closing date for applications is 5pm, Thursday 30th April 2026.

Interviews will take place on 18th Mary 2026.

For an initial conversation about the role please contact:

Rev Sam Cheesman
samcheesman@stjamesclitheroe.co.uk