St Budeaux Church - school Link Worker
Church / School Link Worker Job Title: Church / School Link worker Employed by: P.C.C. of St Budeaux Church, Plymouth Responsible to: The Vicar and Trustees Based at: St Budeaux Foundation school and the Parish Church Hours: Part time 20 hours to include Sundays Remuneration: JNC point 26 ( 22,443 FTE) equates to 12,131. An additional 10% will be available as a pension contribution Period of Contract: 3 years with a 6 month probationary period
Background to St Budeaux, Plymouth St Budeaux parish sits on the far west of the city of Plymouth in an area of natural beauty and within immediate access to Dartmoor National Park and local rivers/seafront. Good transport links to the city centre provide a variety of urban attractions such as shopping, theatres and restaurants. The area is identified as being one of the less affluent areas of Plymouth (nationally in the poorest 10%) with all the challenges for day to day living facing the community. The Church Our vision is Jesus. He loves us. Will you follow Him? And help others follow Him too? (Please see the fuller version of our Vision Leaflet) The School St Budeaux Church of England (Aided) Junior school has its roots in an all age school which was founded by a church trust in 1717. At present, the school has 8 classes and maintains strong links with the Parish Church community. The Trustees of the original foundation are now seeking to enrich and further develop relationships between the two communities by appointing a link worker. The applicant should be a Christian firmly rooted in the authority of the Bible, led by the Holy Spirit and motivated by a genuine desire to serve God and others. The individual should have a clear vocation and passion to see children and their families discovering God s love. An ability to mix easily with people of all types and backgrounds would be vital, together with a willingness to take risks and an ability to bounce back.
The current situation Family work within the church is extensive with a committed team of church volunteers running many outreach and in church groups. Existing work in St Budeaux Foundation School FROGs (Fully Relying on God) after School Club Collective worship (Assemblies) Monthly 10.30 Gateway Service (Followed by sporting activities) and occasional outreach events Existing work in church for children Full range of Sunday groups and/or all age worship Fortnightly Games night (Wednesday) Fortnightly Get Active Club (Friday) Cinema Club (First Saturday of the month) Annual and occasional parties, trips, residential, sleepovers, and specials Existing youth work consists of: Sunday morning youth worship- "Identity" with nine to fifteen regular churched attendees Fortnightly youth cell groups Residential weekends and week at the New Wine summer conference Annual Fun on the Green (Sunday in June), Mothers and toddlers, baby club, Godly play, CAP (Christians against Poverty), soup lunches are all part of Church and community life.
Job Description Summary To promote faith based initiatives. To take part in and lead school based Christian activities. To support existing church / junior church activities. To evangelize and disciple children in the school, through Christian example and teaching. To co-operate with the Church, Trustees and the school, to work out priorities for developing a way ahead for the vision of children s and families' work in St Budeaux. To encourage children to make and retain links with the church as they mature. Key Responsibilities: To link FROGs after school club with Games night, Get Active and Junior Church. To develop, for example, lunch time or after school activities maybe with an emphasis for years 5&6 as they get ready to move on. To support the inclusion of school children and families in Sunday morning worship. To report termly to the Trustees. To commit to worshipping regularly at St Budeaux and becoming an active member of the church community. Supervision and Support The Link Worker will be employed by St Budeaux PCC. On a day to day basis the Link Worker will be responsible to The Vicar. The Link Worker will also, prayerfully, be linked up with a mentor from the church community. The Link Worker would be encouraged for their own personal growth, to join an adult cell group.
Person Specification Attributes Essential Criteria Desirable Criteria General Knowledge Skills Passion for Jesus and a passion for people. Heartfelt support for the general vision of St Budeaux Parish Church. (see attached sheet) Knowledge of Bible and Christian Faith and personal experience of Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Knowledge of Children s and Youth Work principles. Knowledge of safeguarding principles. Ability to communicate the Christian Faith to children and adults. Effective communication skills with children and other community members including statutory organisation representatives. Ability to separate out the distinctive nature of Christian children's work from secular work which is carried out by a Christian. Ability to develop effective working relationships with children in a variety of settings. Effective management, facilitation and development skills of volunteers. Effective listening and support skills. Effective recording and record keeping skills (including financial). Leading, planning and coordination appropriate to children's events and worship activities Knowledge of the community of St Budeaux and a passion for the local people. Some understanding of church leadership. Budgeting skills. ICT related skills. Effective evaluation skills.
Experience Successful experience working with and being responsible for children in a variety of settings. Personal experience of the working of God and the Holy Spirit. Current participation in the life of a Christian church or community. Experience or understanding of working with children in a deprived urban area. Abilities The ability to work with an inclusive ethos for all. The ability to work effectively as a team member. The ability to work on own initiative, to deadlines and making appropriate decisions within established protocol. The ability to lead children in Christian worship. The ability to create effective working relationships with other professionals and community members. The ability to identify personal development needs and opportunities and to keep up to date with national developments in Christian outreach. The ability to produce verbal and written reports as and when required. Qualifications To hold or be working towards an appropriate children s qualification or equivalent. To be trained in Christian children s ministry. Personal circumstances Ability to work flexible hours which would include some evenings and weekends. Agreement to have an enhanced DBS check.
St Budeaux Parish Church - basis of faith, core values St Budeaux Parish Church family includes and welcomes people with many shades of opinion and lifestyle. We expect however that those who have positions of leadership will share our orthodox understanding of the Christian Faith - as expressed in the Apostles Creed or Nicene Creed, and as set out in The Evangelical Alliance Basis of Faith (see below). Our Values are also echoed in the Core Values of the New Wine movement (see below). We believe in traditional family values and expect all of our leaders to be either married or single and celibate. Evangelical Alliance Basis of faith WE BELIEVE IN... 1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world. 3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God fully trustworthy for faith and conduct. 4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement. 5. The incarnation of God s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin. 6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God. 7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world. 8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ. 9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness. 10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love. 11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.
New Wine Core Values Continuity & Change we want to be faithful guardians of an unchanging message about the person and work of Jesus, and the need for personal salvation and sanctification, while also adapting ways of worship, teaching, being church and doing mission according to culture and context. Cross & Resurrection we want to honour all that Jesus has done for us on the cross, and to embrace the way of the cross for ourselves, while also knowing the power of his resurrection to set us free. Gracious & Truthful we want to be kind and generous in the way we think and speak about others whether they agree or disagree with us, while also clearly communicating what we believe and why we believe it. Leadership & Every-member ministry we want to train and deploy anointed, courageous and missional church leaders, while also equipping every Christian to serve like Jesus in their home, church, work and life-place. Mission & Community we want to see the church become a missionary movement to love and reach the lost, to care for the poor and to bring justice to our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and nations, while also being a grace-filled community in which people can find relationship, healing, faith, hope and love. Natural & Supernatural we want to see every Christian using all the natural reason, wisdom and skill that they can, while also learning to operate in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit to minister to others in love and power as Jesus did. Now & Not yet of the Kingdom we want to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God and to see that confirmed by miraculous signs and wonders, while also ministering grace to all, knowing that suffering will be part of life until Jesus returns and makes all things new. Transcendence & Presence we want to live lives that celebrate God s awesome power, transcendent majesty and sovereign work, while at the same time experiencing his intimate presence as we encounter him in heartfelt worship. Unity & Diversity we want to work with everyone who holds these values in open, mutually accountable friendship, while also acknowledging and honouring differences in leadership style, church characteristics and denominational emphasis. Word & Spirit we want to derive all we believe, teach and do from the Bible as the written word of God, while also learning to hear and obey the voice of the Spirit speaking to us individually and collectively.