Children’s Pastor

Position: Full-Time, On-Site

Location: Grace Point Church, Ephrata Campus

110 Durlach Rd. Ephrata, PA 17522

Reports to: Director of Discipleship

Grace Point Church of the Nazarene is a family oriented, growing church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Grace Point ministers at three locations, including two Church Campuses and Mount Hope Retirement Community. It currently averages 470 people in-person each weekend and welcomes 125 online. Grace Point is seeking a Children’s Pastor who will build on its vibrant ministry to kids and families while investing in a passionate team of volunteers

Position Summary

The Children’s Pastor provides visionary and pastoral leadership to change the lives of children and volunteers with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Children’s Ministry (birth–6th grade), will build a transformative program for kids and a multiplying culture of disciple-making leaders. This role exists to develop children spiritually while simultaneously identifying, equipping, and empowering adult and student leaders who will shepherd the next generation. The Children’s Pastor serves as part of the Discipleship Ministries team under the Director of Discipleship, ensuring cohesive vision and shared discipleship strategy across all Discipleship Ministries. This position may also serve on the church’s preaching/teaching team.

Core Ministry Philosophy

·      Build through leaders, not around yourself.

·      Develop people intentionally, not accidentally.

·      Give away meaningful leadership, not just tasks.

·      Measure success by who is being equipped and released.

·      Create reproducible systems that outlast the leader.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Vision & Strategy for Children’s Ministry

·      Work within the broader church mission to provide clear vision for a spiritually vibrant, 52 weeks per year, Children’s Ministry.

·      Provide contextualized vision and support in a multi-campus setting to empower campus leaders.

·      Ensure Children’s Ministry is biblically faithful, engaging, safe, and developmentally appropriate.

·      Create a leadership development pathway within Children’s Ministry (team leaders, small group leaders, coordinators).

·      Build systems through the volunteer coordinators that are simple, scalable, and reproducible which can be implemented across Grace Point’s campuses.

·      Partner with other church ministries in order to contribute to the broader church mission and engage students in the life of the church.

2. Stewarding Ministry (not just) Programs/Events

·      Develop a spiritually robust Children’s ministry that invests in and builds on the following areas:

·      Sunday Morning Kid’s Church

·      Wednesday Night Kid’s Clubs

·      Outreach Events and Programs

·      Grace Point Learning Center Ministries

3. Leadership Development

·      Intentionally identify emerging leaders within Children’s Ministry and create clear steps for them to grow in influence and responsibility.

·      Meet regularly to coach and develop a small group of key leaders.

·      Develop apprentices for key roles.

·      Release capable leaders into broader church ministry roles when appropriate.

4. Discipleship Ministries Alignment

·      Serve on the Discipleship Ministry team under the leadership and coaching of the Director of Discipleship.

·      Align Children’s Ministry vision with the church’s overall discipleship strategy to ensure cohesive discipleship and meaningful transitions between Children, Youth, and Young Adult Ministries.

·      Align teaching themes and leadership philosophy across ministries when appropriate.

·      Participate in regular Student Ministries strategy meetings and Discipleship Ministries planning at the church-wide level.

5. Preaching & Teaching Team

·      Serve periodically on the church’s preaching/teaching team.

·      Preach in main worship services or at events as scheduled.

·      Support sermon series development and theological alignment.

·      Model clear, biblically faithful communication.

Required Qualifications

·      Humble team player who is passionate about helping kids grow as disciples.

·      Demonstrate a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

·      A love for the Church of the Nazarene and strong alignment with its doctrine and mission.

·      Demonstrated experience leading, developing, and building teams and leaders.

·      Effective communicator in both children and adult settings.

Preferred Qualifications

·      Bachelor’s Degree in a related field

·      District Licensed or Ordained minister in good standing

·      3+ years of experience in pastoral ministry

Key Outcomes

·      A spiritually healthy and growing Children’s Ministry evidenced through salvations, baptisms, and serving.

·      A visible and functioning leadership pathway within Children’s Ministry.

·      Smooth and intentional transitions into Youth Ministry.

·      Strong volunteer retention and development.

·      Evidence of leadership multiplication across the next generation.