Director of Youth Ministry for Collaborative Program

Ministry Full Time

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Together, First Congregational UCC Boulder, Community UCC Boulder, and UCC Longmont are looking for an innovative and inspiring leader to develop and direct a combined, collaborative Youth Ministry. Our three churches, all member congregations of the United Church of Christ, in close geographical proximity, have come together to develop a shared program and a shared position.

All three congregations, active and energetic communities of faithful and creative learners, are eager to welcome someone who loves God and loves working with youth, who can help us live out our dream of creating a community of welcome, inclusion, and vibrant faith for our middle and high school youth and their friends. An explicit embrace of LGBTQIA youth is essential.

The Director of Youth Ministry will report to an Oversight Committee comprised of staff and lay leaders from all three congregations, and more directly to the Senior Minister of First Congregational UCC, Boulder. This is a full-time salaried position with benefits (salary, $51,000 - $54,000). We seek someone with a passion for faith formation, fun, and strong community building skills. We hope this new model of youth ministry allows someone to stay with us for a number of years. We welcome candidates from other denominations, either lay or ordained.

About Us

Our three churches are located in Boulder and Longmont, small cities of 100,000 residents, located 25 miles northwest of Denver, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. As regional congregations, we draw members and friends from more than a half dozen cities and towns where we are known for our progressive commitment to extend an extravagant welcome and for our service and activism in the wider community.

First Congregational UCC, Boulder is located in the heart of downtown Boulder. Founded in 1864, we are the oldest continuing Congregational Church in Colorado, and we were the first church built when Boulder was a fledgling community. In 1987, we became the first Open and Affirming congregation in the state, and in more recent years, we have become deeply engaged in ministries for Racial Justice, Climate Action, and Gun Violence Prevention. We are also known in the region for our vibrant Arts and Music Ministries. www.firstcong.net

Community UCC is a progressive Christian church based in South Boulder with a sanctuary in the round and a labyrinth and a garden on our site. Since its founding in 1964, the congregation has been about love and justice inside and outside of our walls. We are an Open and Affirming, Peace with Justice church focused on earth action, the gun disarmament movement, dismantling racism, supporting migrants and refugees and more. We hold a vision of being a welcoming community of spiritual seekers, with an ever-evolving progressive view of the Holy, that is actively engaged in building a world with justice for all creation. https://www.cuccboulder.org

First Congregational, UCC Longmont is more often known as UCC Longmont. It has a strong relationship with the wider Longmont community. Throughout its history, many of UCC Longmont’s ministries have become independent non-profit organizations that still serve Longmont and the broader region today. Innovation, community relationships and service remain strong commitments today.. The church currently has strong engagement in Creation Justice and Gun Violence Reduction ministries. www.ucclongmont.org

About Your Role

You will be responsible for developing and directing a ministry that focuses on building a community of middle and high school youth that reflects the mission, values, and vision of our three churches, inviting youth to develop deeply supportive relationships, creatively engage Christian tradition and practice, explore their own identities, celebrate their gifts, and put those gifts and energies to work in service for the good of others. You will also work within each congregation to recruit and equip a team of adult spiritual companions to create a network of intergenerational support and interaction with the youth.

We will look to you to bring experience working with youth, including the identification, development, and empowerment of their gifts as well as experience recruiting and coordinating the efforts of volunteers. An educational background that provides a theological foundation for developing programs in a progressive Christian church is also important to us.

Because this is a new ministry, many of the details will be worked out over time, through experimentation and frequent, regular evaluation. Currently, we imagine that you would spend one Sunday morning a month at each church, meeting with youth on site. Weekly, on Wednesday and/or Sunday evenings, a middle school youth group and a high school youth group, comprised of youth from all three congregations, would meet.

We also imagine that the program will include an off-site service or recreational activity several times a year, as often as once a month. Through the program, youth will also have the opportunity to travel to another part of the country or world for a week-long service experience during a school break. We also imagine that this collaboration would encourage youth to attend Conference retreats and camps throughout the year.

We will seek your creativity in visioning the types of programming you bring to our youth, their families, and our congregations, and also in considering the means and methods of such programs (in-person, online, hybrid). We recognize that excellent communication skills and proficiency with a variety of media platforms will be essential to this role.

You will be encouraged and empowered to introduce new ideas and to bring your own perspective to this ministry. Our congregations are dynamic with a healthy appetite for “holy experiments,” and we look forward to supporting you as our dream of a collaborative youth ministry unfolds.

Are you excited about this opportunity? So are we!

To apply, please send us:

  • A cover letter that tells us why you are interested in this position
  • Your resume, CV, or Ministerial Profile
  • Names and contact information for 3 references.

Applications will be reviewed starting February 17, 2023, but the position will remain open until filled.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $51,000.00 - $54,000.00 per year

Benefits:

  • Dental insurance
  • Health insurance
  • Paid time off
  • Parental leave
  • Retirement plan
  • Vision insurance

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