- Church Name: Faith Reformed Church
- Church Website: https://www.vanderbloemen.com/job/next-gen-pastor-faith-reformed-church/
- Church City: Traverse City
- Church State: Michigan
- Church Denomination: Reformed Background
- Job Requirements:
Education and Experience
- Three to five years of demonstrated worship leadership experience within a local church.
- High school diploma required; bachelor’s degree preferred.
- Theological education, ministry training, or comparable development is valued.
- Seminary education, formal ministry licensure, and pastoral ordination are not required.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong musical and vocal leadership abilities.
- Ability to lead primarily from guitar or keys is preferred.
- Ability to choose and arrange songs in accessible keys that promote congregational singing.
- Experience thoughtfully blending modern worship songs, classic hymns, Scripture, prayer, and liturgical elements.
- Ability to recruit, train, mentor, disciple, and empower volunteers.
- Collaborative and team-oriented approach to ministry and service planning.
- Working knowledge of worship-related audio, video, lighting, and presentation systems.
- Experience using clicks and digital backing tracks as supportive, non-intrusive tools.
- Strong organizational, communication, and relational skills.
- Ability to balance spiritual leadership with the practical and technical responsibilities of worship ministry.
Personal Characteristics and Qualifications
- A spiritually mature follower of Jesus with a growing personal faith.
- A humble, authentic, and relational shepherd who places ministry above performance.
- Passionate about helping people encounter God and grow as disciples of Jesus.
- Committed to developing others and sharing ministry leadership.
- Collaborative, teachable, dependable, and comfortable receiving feedback.
- Possesses a high view of Scripture and strong alignment with the EFCA Statement of Faith.
- Affirms the church’s theological convictions, including its traditional understanding of marriage and sexuality.
- Comfortable serving within a culture of Christian freedom and grace.
- Able to hold firmly to essential biblical truths while extending humility and charity in secondary theological matters.
- Measures success through congregational engagement, spiritual growth, and the health of the worship ministry team.
- Part-Time or Full-Time: Full-Time
- Contact Name: Jacob Van Steenwyk
- Contact Email: jvansteenwyk@vanderbloemen.com
The Next Gen Pastor’s responsibilities include:
Strategy & Vision
Your primary responsibility is to set a fresh, unified direction that will revitalize the youth and children’s programs and attract young families. You will have the freedom to innovate and create new initiatives, with support of the executive leadership team.
Team Building & Volunteer Leadership
You will be responsible for recruiting, training, mentoring, and thanking a robust team of volunteers. You will provide direct, hands-on leadership to one specific age group, but you must empower and equip your volunteer team to lead the remaining age groups. You will also collaborate with the Associate Pastor to ensure all volunteers comply with safety policies and clear thorough background checks.
Discipleship & Leadership Development
You will be responsible for selecting and managing cohesive, age-appropriate curricula that align with Reformed Theology. A key part of spiritual development involves partnering with other pastoral staff to guide families through milestone rituals, such as sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) and classes for public professions of faith. Beyond the church walls, you will empower parents to lead spiritual formation at home by providing seasonal devotionals, newsletters, and regular social media “discipleship cues”.
Ministry Experience & Events
You will create and lead regular intergenerational events that integrate children and youth into the broader congregation and serve as welcoming entry points for new families. You will also oversee exciting summer programming, such as Vacation Bible School (VBS) or an alternative Christ-centered summer ministry. Furthermore, you will help families engage in local, national, and international missions, which will include coordinating a youth mission trip if you are directly leading the student age group.
Administration & Communication
You will manage the administrative operations of the nursery alongside the administrative staff, overseeing volunteer schedules, safety compliance, and cleanliness. Working with the Office Administrator, you will handle all ministry-specific communications, digital displays, and verbal announcements. You are also responsible for the stewardship of ministry spaces to ensure they are organized and stocked, while regularly attending staff meetings and submitting quarterly progress reports to the Consistory.