Job Title: CHILDREN'S MINISTER Type of Position: Full-time Hours: 40+ hours/week Reports to: Lead Pastor Description of Position:

South Haven Baptist Church (SHBC) is prayerfully seeking a full-time Children's Ministry Director to join our ministry team. This position focuses on nurturing and discipling children from nursery through 5th grade to BELIEVE in Jesus, BELONG to His family and BECOME all He has created and called them to be. This person will oversee the vision, planning, and execution of all children's ministry programs while providing spiritual guidance and support to children and their families. A successful candidate must have a heart for leading children to know and follow Christ. This role requires a collaborative member of the church ministry team who can recruit and lead a substantial number of volunteers. Experience with event planning is highly desired as well as a willingness to be hands-on in ministry activities. The Children's Ministry Director will play a vital role in shaping the future of the Church by instilling strong biblical foundations for the next generation.

Essential Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Developing, leading and overseeing a comprehensive children's ministry (including Sunday School, Kids Worship*, Wednesday Night Children's ministry activities, and Marketplace*)

• Working to build and expand SHBC Children's Ministry

• Following church policies to maintain a safe and secure environment for children

• Implementing Biblically sound, age-appropriate curriculum

• Building community with families through organizing and leading experiences such as holiday celebrations, camps, retreats and mission opportunities

• Managing and stewarding the ministry budget responsibly

• Recruiting, developing and supporting volunteer leaders for various ministry programs

• Providing regular learning opportunities and resources to parents to enable them to better disciple their children in Christ

• Supporting families through spiritual guidance, hospital visits and referral to community support partners

• Pursuing development of skills and continuing education related to children's ministry

• Supporting the Minister of Discipleship in outreach to families in our community and specifically in our neighborhood public school partnerships

• Serving as the church staff liaison to the Carpenter's Kids Preschool and Kindergarten Board

• Collaborating with church leadership to align children's ministry with the broader vision and mission of SHBC

• Ensures nursery and preschool and elementary classrooms are stocked with well-maintained, age-appropriate toys where applicable, books, furniture and supplies

• Assisting in other areas of ministry as assigned by the Lead Pastor * Please read additional resources provided for specifics on these programs

To do this kind of work you must:

• Maintain a strong personal faith in sound theology and a growing relationship with Jesus Christ

• Show confidence in communicating with both children and adults while demonstrating respect

• Be a teacher, both in the classroom and as a mentor developer of adult volunteers in the program

• Work cooperatively in a team environment with volunteer staff and church leadership

• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive situations with discretion

• Foster an energetic and positive culture in the children's department

• Possess strong organizational skills and the ability to follow through with preparation, planning and implementation of events and activities

• Manage time well and prioritize responsibilities effectively

• Possess a healthy work ethic with awareness of tasks to be completed as well as the self-initiative to complete them

Education and Experience:

• At minimum an associate's degree in early childhood and/or elementary education is required, but a full college degree in Children's Ministry, early childhood and/or elementary education is preferred

• At minimum of two years early childhood and/or elementary education teaching experience required

• Additional experience working with this age group in a ministry setting is strongly preferred

Requirements:

• Documentation to support academic qualifications and/or practical work experience sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the position

• Two letters of recommendation

• A current criminal background check through the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Criminal Records and Identification Division (CRID) system, or equivalent from your state if applying from outside Missouri

• documentation of U.S. citizenship or documentation of eligibility to work in the U.S. as a non-citizen

Salary and Benefits:

• Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience

• Paid Time Off (consistent with SHBC's current leave accrual policy)

• Participation is health benefits program is available

• Participation in ministerial retirement annuity program

*Marketplace – What is it?

Marketplace is South Haven's Children's summer Bible outreach for children age Pre-school through 5th Grade. Marketplace has been in existence for well over 30 years and while some might think of Marketplace as traditional Vacation Bible School (VBS) that would be a mistake. Marketplace is a completely different and unique approach to teaching children about Jesus.

· Marketplace is just that, a marketplace constructed on our campus to place children into the time of Jesus with structures and streets and as much of what Jesus saw, heard, and smelled as we can possibly create

· A unique hands-on approach to teaching the Bible that is exciting for children and adult volunteers alike

· A completely immersive experience with children interacting with townspeople who knew, saw, and heard Jesus as contemporaries

· Marketplace has drama, history, crafts being made in much the same way they were made when Jesus walked and talked in Galilee, or Samaria, or Jerusalem, and the opportunity for the children to get to know these people who knew Jesus

· Marketplace allows children to experience the Lord in a new, yet biblically sound, way that is fresh and new Marketplace takes place in one week during the summer, but it is a year-round undertaking. Planning, recruitment of volunteers, curriculum developments, and acquisition of materials begins for the next year as soon as Marketplace is over this year. It is a lot of work and commitment for all the teachers, actors, cooks, craftspeople, laborers, and all the other assorted volunteer staff who makes this exciting event possible, but it is well worth the efforts. Marketplace is not solely a church effort, but an all-inclusive community event that requires substantial additional volunteer involvement.

Children aren't just sitting listening to a volunteer teaching a dry lesson about a man that is hard to visualize or experience. Instead, children are learning about the living God of the Bible, who indwelled the human form of Jesus, in real time and real life. Marketplace isn't about making crafts out of popsicle sticks and construction paper. Marketplace is about learning to make the same bread Jesus and his disciplines ate, understanding that Jesus is real and Jesus wants to know every single child personally.

If you are ready to join us in this exciting and purposeful outreach, we welcome you.

*Kid's Worship – what is it?

Kid's Worship is South Haven's Sunday morning time of worship designed expressly for children age Pre-school through 4th Grade.

During the Second regular worship service, held in the Sanctuary, children engage and participant in their own worship time in the Children's classroom area with many of the same aspects and elements of the regular worship service.

The Kid's Worship time consists of singing, praise, scripture reading, with a teaching portion much like a homily or sermon. The format is not static but does follow a regular form. The goal, aside from teaching the Word through song, praise, and lesson, is to prepare our children to be ready to fully integrate into the regular Sunday worship service in the sanctuary with all church members when they reach 5th Grade.