Youth Pastor

Westside Church

The Student Pastor is responsible for overseeing the planning, coordinating, and implementation of ministry for students from sixth through twelfth grade. This includes outreach to students in the community as well as in-reach existing students in order to lead each student into a relationship with Jesus and disciple them to achieve spiritual growth. We want to develop a discipling process that helps young people grow consistently as disciples and leaders, as they cross different life stages, while building partnerships between church, home, and the community.

Reports to:

Discipleship Pastor

Student Pastor Associate, Student pastor Assistant, and volunteers

• Born again believer with a maturing relationship with Christ.
• A strong desire – a “calling” to serve God in this position.
• Experience leading people to faith in Jesus
• Demonstrated genuine love and solid rapport with young people.
• Sensitive to needs and pressures of teens and young adults, with knowledge of possible solutions.
• Self-motivated, self-disciplined, and teachable.
• Understands, respects, and supports the guidelines of church policy.
• Committed to 5 years of youth ministry to Westside Church.
• 2 to 4 year degree or equivalent.
• Previous experience as a student pastor is preferred.

• Be an advocate for student ministry and educate the congregation and leadership about the hopes, concerns, and needs of students in the local church and community.
• Provide leadership and serve as a shepherd to the Student Ministry leadership teams.
• Effectively create and communicate a vision for student ministry that is aligned with the overall church.
• Partner with other leaders in developing a comprehensive vision for the Student Ministry. This includes the spiritual, educational, physical, and emotional growth and engagement of student and their parents.
• Oversee appropriate communication, making sure that opportunities for connection and involvement are clear to students, leaders, and parents in the church and in the community.
• Be Intentional about integrating student ministry into the Sunday morning corporate worship service.

• Lead the Student Ministry Team to ensure that all ministry environments are continually evaluated and updated for age appropriateness and maximum effectiveness in reaching and engaging the next generation.
• Oversee the creation of digital ministry environments of connection and worship for all students and their families.
• Recruit, train, and inspire both paid and volunteer staff to become leaders in the planning and implementation of relevant, effective, and safe ministry environments.
• Develop and maintain a healthy volunteer culture and structure.
• Ensure that appropriate safety and security procedures are followed in the Student Ministry department.
• Oversee, plan, and coordinate Student Ministry programming throughout the week and year, including summer camps, retreats, and special events.
• Lead with the intentionality of inclusion and outreach to the community.
• Provide places of online connection and community for students and families.
• Develop systems of tracking and care for students, both on-site and online.
• Provide ministry connection points like online small groups for students and families throughout the week.
• Promotes cooperation with all ministries.

• Provide support to students and their families as they transition through both age and spiritual milestones of middle school, high school, and college students.
• Develop strategies to welcome and support new families to the Student Ministry by partnering with new members and new parents through activities and communication.
• Create a clear spiritual pathway for students and their parents with resources and support to equip parents in the spiritual development of their students.
• Provide clear partnership points for spiritual milestones like salvation and baptism.
• Cultivate resources for best practices on parenting and the spiritual development of students.
• Create opportunities for the enrichment of parents as the spiritual leaders of their homes through serving events, parenting classes, seminars, and connections at spiritual milestones.