Youth & Children's Worker

Emmanuel Baptist Church, Leeds

We are a growing evangelical church located in Horsforth, Leeds, seeking to share the gospel in our local community and the surrounding area. On an average Sunday we see between 350-400 people across our three services, as well as a range of events and ministries happening throughout the week in the life of the church. Families make up a significant part of our church family, with around 90 children (aged 0-11) and 50 children (aged 11-17) participating regularly in our Sunday and midweek ministries. We are therefore seeking the right person to lead and oversee this vital youth and children's work with a view to starting the role in September 2026.
Role summary and purpose
The primary aims of our children's and youth ministry are to:

• Encourage our children and young people in their faith and walk with Jesus
• Establish them in the truth of God's word through teaching and discipleship
• Equip them to live as faithful disciples of Christ in the world
  

The Youth & Children's Worker will have responsibility for leading and implementing this vision and to see it grow and develop. They will oversee the ministry, provide training and support, and equip and empower the team and volunteers to deliver this.
Key responsibilities
1. Sunday Ministries

• To lead our children's church programme (aged 4-11), working with team leaders and volunteers to ensure teaching is biblically faithful, accessible and age-appropriate
• To support and equip leaders of these groups with teaching materials and resources, and to recruit, train and support volunteers in these teams
• To support the leadership of our creche ministry with teaching resources
• To lead Teen Talk, a group for Year 7 and above discussing and applying the sermon
• To teach the Bible in a range of contexts e.g. children's talk, children's church
  

2. Midweek Ministries

• To lead Discoverers (aged 4-11) and Pulse (aged 11-18), our midweek groups reaching out to the community, creating an environment that is welcoming to those outside of the church whilst proclaiming the gospel in accessible ways
• To support the leadership of Saturday Night Live, our youth group for teenagers focusing on deeper Bible teaching and discipleship for believers
• To support the leadership of outreach ministries seeking to connect with our local community, such as our Emmanuel Tots toddler group and Who Let The Dads Out

3. Discipleship and Mentoring

• To develop a programme for the discipleship of our young people, where they are paired with mature believers to support and encourage their spiritual growth
• To provide pastoral care to our children and young people, and to encourage them to seek out and take opportunities to serve in our church family
• To build relationships with the parents/carers of our children and young people and to encourage them in the responsibility of their children's spiritual development

4. Outreach

• To participate in a team that plans and delivers our summer Holiday Bible Club
• To recruit a team to work with Sportsreach for our annual Easter outreach
• To liaise and work with others in Christian ministry, such as other organisations and local schools e.g. lunchtime clubs, assemblies and RE lessons
• To equip our children and young people to live as 'salt and light' in their environment

5. Organisation and administration

• To recruit and resource teams of volunteers across children's and youth ministries
• To ensure the safety of our children and young people following church policy and best practice, particularly being a key point of contact with regard to safeguarding
• To hold and manage the budget for our children's and youth ministry

Required Skills

For the role we are seeking a person who…

• Is a committed conservative evangelical Christian in agreement with our Statement of Faith and in full sympathy of our doctrinal distinctives
• Is a disciple of Jesus wanting to grow in their love and knowledge of Him, living to live this out in a life obedient to God's word
• Will set a godly example in areas of character and conduct in the Christian life
• Has significant experience of working in children's and youth ministry
• Is hard-working and servant-hearted, and able to work alongside others well
• Is passionate about sharing and teaching the gospel with children and young people
• Is committed to the training and discipleship of children and young people
• Is aware of the pressures and issues facing children, young people and families growing up in a busy urban area in the 21st century
• Loves people and enjoys engaging with them with excellent relational skills
• Is effective in leadership, administration, IT and organisational skills
• Is able to communicate effectively in written and verbal form to a range of ages
• Is able to teach the Bible well in a range of contexts, including public and up-front
• Is able to lead with vision and be an effective team player
• Will spot opportunities, take the initiative and develop new ideas to implementation in order to grow and develop the ministry, with the ability to learn and reflect in this

There is a genuine occupational requirement that the postholder is a committed Christian. As the role involves you working with children, a DBS check with enhanced disclosure is required. An appointment cannot be confirmed until a suitable disclosure has been received.
A desirable quality would be that the person has had some formal theological training or qualification equipping them for this role (e.g. Cornhill, Crosslands etc). However for the right candidate we would support their development in this area in order to support them in the role. The person will also be able to attend conferences and training to support this.

Working Relationships:
The person will be line managed by one of the pastors with regular supervision meetings to support and encourage them in their work. They will play an active role in the wider staff team, participating in weekly staff meetings. They will also be supported by one of the elders who has direct oversight of the children's and youth ministry. They will be expected to liaise with and develop good working relationships with others in ministry e.g. Sportsreach.
Salary, Hours and Benefits
• Salary: £30,000-£35,000 depending on qualifications, training and experience
• Annual leave: 33 days including public holidays, rising one day for each year of service to a maximum of 38 days
• 40 hours a week, including weekend working and some midweek evenings.
• Annual reading week designed to further ministry development

Apply for this job

If you're interested in this job please:

Email Liam Turnbull at:
liam.turnbull@ebcleeds.org.uk

This job has been listed by an FIEC Church. We are a family of more than 600 independent local churches with a heart to see the gospel of Jesus making a difference through our nation.

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