Growing Faith Families Minister

Introduction

St Francis warmly invites you to join the exciting adventure of Growing Faith in our community. With you, we want to embark on the journey to help all of us to include and value children, young people and households in every aspect of church as second nature.

Reaching out and growing the faith of our children, families and young people in the parish is one of our top priorities. St Francis was in interregnum for nearly three years before a new vicar was appointed in 2023. Provisions for children, families and young people had stopped with the arrival of Covid and currently there is no family, youth and children provision except for the all-age service once a month. Despite the lack of provisions, we have a number of faithful families, and we have between 10 to 25 children in our congregation weekly. We are keen to restart Sunday school and other activities alongside our newfound volunteers, so to grow the faith and discipleship of our families, youth and children of our parish. Together, we would love to strengthen the links with our local schools and partners, taking advantage of the existing St Francis networks and making new networks and connections.

Our vision is to grow faith by:

• setting a firm foundation with a culture that recognises and welcomes the capacity of children, young people and families
• connecting with children, young people and families through church, households and schools
• equipping and enabling them to thrive in their faith and discipleship

To meet this vision, you would work closely with the leadership team to:

• identify, develop, implement and reflect on projects and initiatives that enable children and young people to have a life-enhancing encounter with the Christian faith and the person of Jesus Christ.
• influence and grow our plans to grow faith and discipleship in children, young people, and church families.
• foster an intergenerational team culture around our shared vision and values.

You would help the church transform its social ethos, culture and rhythm, in order to build up sustainable and faith-giving activities, relationships and ministries.

Overall goals for this role

Year 1

Facilitate strong and deep relationships between the congregation, local schools, nurseries, uniformed organisations and other community groups.

Experience the programme of activities at St Francis

Develop and lead initiatives for growing faith

Actively invite the congregation to join in

Grow the number of volunteers

Attend Mission Hub

Connect with similar post holders across the diocese, and the nation

Year 2

Develop and empower leaders

Provide tools such as lesson plans for leaders

Co-lead initiatives with those leaders

Develop support groups for leaders

Develop processes and rhythms of activity which sustain and support Growing Faith values

Share wider range of resources, best practice and ideas across North Coventry Deanery

Year 3

Succession planning

Establish procedures

Supervise the leaders

Evaluate activities and initiatives

Look for new sources of funding

Hand over oversight and management of activities and local relationships to church members

Year 4

Build on the activities of previous years

Hand over oversight and management of activities and local relationships to church members

Growing Faith Families Minister (part time, fixed term)

Start date: April 2024 (negotiable)

Paid hours: 15 hours per week

Fixed Term for 3 years

Working pattern would include a minimum of 3 hours every Sunday plus Wednesday and/or Thursday when the church hall is not rented out in mid-afternoon and evening.

Place of work:

Across the Anglican parish of North Radford, North Coventry

St Francis Church, and its vestry, grounds, hall

From home

Expected to become a committed member of the worshipping community at St Francis.

Salary: £10,500 per annum (£25,900 pro rata based on a 37 hour week)

Annual leave: Pro rata of “25 days plus bank holidays”, of which 6 may be taken on a Sunday

Pension: Employer’s contribution of 3%

Employer: St Francis of Assisi Parochial Church Council

Line manager: Vicar of St Francis

Flexibility: In keeping with a role of this nature, a high level of commitment and flexibility is needed.

Applicant should expect to work Sundays and some evenings.

Person Specification:

What kind of person would our children like to learn with?

Our 2023 survey shows, they want to learn with someone who is:

Funny

Kind

Respectful

Creative

What aspects of faith are they most eager to learn about?

To learn more about God’s Word

To learn what God would like us to do in his world via mission

Category

Quality

Personal qualities:

• An active Christian with a lively faith, sympathetic and able to work within the church tradition of St Francis, Radford (Anglo/Liberal Catholic Tradition) and be comfortable working on behalf of St Francis Church in the community. Essential
• Committed to growing in your faith and will be able to organise your time to include space for both personal prayer and bible study. Essential
• Professional, friendly and approachable, including when under pressure. Essential
• Culturally sensitive and able to work with people from different backgrounds. Essential
• Discreet and trustworthy, able to sensitively manage private or confidential information. Essential
• Skills and Abilities
• Have a clear understanding of what Growing Faith is. Essential
• Ability to work with all ages. Essential
• Knowledge of intergeneration church. Essential
• Have excellent organisational and administrative skills, with the ability to prioritise and organise conflicting work tasks within specific timescales Essential
• Have a proven ability to lead and organise others, coupled with the ability to work constructively as a member of a team. Essential
• Have the demonstrated ability to communicate the Christian gospel effectively to children, young people and families and to equip them to grow in their faith. Essential
• Have experience of working within a church context on a variety of community activities. Essential
• A creative person who identifies opportunities and inspires others to try new things. Essential
• Have excellent interpersonal and social skills and be able to relate well to a wide range of people, both from within and outside the church. Essential
• Take initiative and be a self- starter. Essential
• Ability and willingness to work flexibly and collaboratively, including at evenings and weekends, as required. Essential
• Experience of managing volunteers. Desirable
• Experience of using Health and Safety, other policies and risk assessment. Ensure that all relevant regulations for working with young children are understood, adhered to and complied with. Desirable
• Experience of managing budgets and expenditure. Desirable

Qualifications:

• A theological qualification OR
• A training qualification to work with children/young people OR
• Equivalent experience of children’s/community work
• A full driving licence. Desirable
• Other qualities
• Positive attitude towards work and colleagues, with strong team- working skills. Essential
• Commitment to carry out duties in accordance with, the St Francis’ policy on equality and diversity. Essential
• Commitment to act in a way that at all times safeguards the health and wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults. Essential

Application and Selection Process

How to Apply

Applications addressed to Revd Aggy Palairet must be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than Monday 8th April at 9:00pm. These must include the Application form, Equal Opportunities form and the Confidential Declaration Form. All forms can be downloaded from

https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/12941/page/85444/view/

Selection

We shall be holding interviews on Tuesday 16th April  

Safeguarding

St Francis’s Safeguarding policy on the church website. All applicants are required to complete a Confidential Declaration Form as part of our recruitment process where an offer of employment is made. This form is strictly confidential and, except under compulsion of law, will be seen only by those involved in the recruitment/appointment process and, when appropriate, the nominated safeguarding lead or someone acting in a similar role/position. All forms will be kept securely in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation within the Data Protection Act 2018. Offer of employment will also be subject to a DBS check.