Children and Families Pastor in Swansea

The Role

To develop and deliver a dynamic children's and family strategy for St Catherine's Mission Hub Church, building a bridge between community activities, church-based activities and faith. To educate, encourage and support the Mission Hub team in their ministry with children and families. To play a key role in identifying and enabling opportunities for children and their families to grow in knowledge, understanding and experience of the Christian faith, working closely with existing community groups.

Key Responsibilities

• To develop and deliver a dynamic children’s and family strategy for St Catherine’s Mission Hub Church.
• Working with the Church Leader and the Operations and Finance Manager, develop a 5-year strategy that aligns with the St Catherine's Mission Hub Church vision and places children’s and family work at the heart of the Church’s mission and ministry.
• Ensure you are fully trained in Safeguarding and that all Safeguarding, GDPR and risk management practices underpin all of our children’s and families work, keeping people safe.
• Provide annual plans to ensure successful delivery, making adjustments as needed, responding to new opportunities and challenges and reporting against KPI’s allocated to you and the team.
• Provide and develop and deliver innovative opportunities for children and parents to engage in exploration of the Christian faith.
• Underpin all of the Church’s work with children and families with prayer.
• Support the Church by being an active member of the team, supporting other members of the team and being fully flexible when needed.
• To identify, develop, lead and support volunteer leaders of children’s and family work in the Mission Hub Church.
• Identify the gifts of people within the Church family and local community and assist them in discerning if they have a particular calling for Children’s and Family work.
• Source and provide education and training that builds the current & future capacity and confidence for Children’s and Family work via both staff and volunteers.
• Oversee and develop a network of able and competent volunteers to serve in child and family activities alongside you.
• Employ good practices of safer recruitment.
• To develop innovative, creative and sustainable children’s and family projects that build a bridge between the many community activities taking place in the church buildings and faith.
• Continue and develop existing children’s groups within the Church (e.g. Explorers Sunday school, and Little Lions Toddler Group) and create new groups where appropriate to continue and build engagement e.g. After School Club.
• Develop strong relationships with community groups that currently use the church buildings, identifying ways to introduce faith conversations and activities.
• Explore and extend fresh expressions of church that have a particular appeal to children and families e.g. Forest Church, Messy Church, and work with the Mission Hub team to ensure that Sunday worship is accessible and engaging for children and their families.
• Create opportunities for community group members to become actively involved in the life of the church.
• Accurately maintain records, including volunteer agreements and personal data, in line with GDPR and safeguarding policies, ensuring a culture of care and integrity.
• To nurture children and their families in their knowledge, understanding and experience of their Christian faith.
• Welcome and seek to engage with all children and families who use the Church buildings.
• Follow up new families who engage with the Church, with a special focus on Baptism families and members of the Little Lions Group.
• Develop a clear pathway for children and families to support their faith journey, proceeding at the speed of trust and using the LyCiG stepping stones model.
• To build on the existing strong relationship with Gorseinon Primary School and extend this to other local primary schools by providing opportunities to support the delivery of the RVE curriculum and growth of knowledge, understanding and experience of Christian faith.
• Build on the existing relationship with Gorseinon Primary School, that enables the Church to become a partner in the delivery of the RVE curriculum.
• Extend this work into other local primary schools, becoming a partner in the delivery of the RVE curriculum.
• In a spirit of genuine partnership, explore ways in which local schools can support the Church by sharing their own best practice e.g. Eco-Schools, Schools of Sanctuary.
• Work closely with the Diocesan Director of Education to identify where the Mission Hub Church can effectively support schools in delivering the National Curriculum for Wales.
• Partner with the Diocesan Director of Education to become a creative and pioneering mission field where new ideas and initiatives can be tested and refined.
• Advertise and invite local schools and school children to participate with age appropriate regular, and seasonal Church activities.
• Instil a culture of Safe Church through good safeguarding, risk management and GDPR practices.

There is a genuine occupational requirement that the holder of this post is a committed Christian. Equality Act (2010) Part 1 applies. This Job Description is not a statement of all the duties applicable to the post holder, variations to the duties outlined above will occur to meet the needs of the post. Any variations will be commensurate with the grade and character of the post.