Youth Ministry Director

If you love middle and high schoolers and believe their faith is worth fighting for, keep reading.Our teens are growing up in a world that is more distracted, more anxious, and more spiritually confused than any before them. We need someone who can walk with our students through real questions, real doubts, and real temptations, and who can help them find in Jesus a faith that actually holds up.You don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, please don’t. But you do need the courage to lead teens in the way of Jesus.– – – – –What You’d Do On Our TeamThis role is built around two pillars: Culture and Discipleship. Everything else flows from these.Create a Culture that SticksCulture is invitation: warm, hospitable, easy to come back to — a ministry where students feel seen and parents feel partnered with.Practically, This Looks Like:Cultivating weekly environments where first-time students feel seen and want to returnShowing up where students already are: local schools, sports, arts, and community eventsBuilding a team of volunteers who model hospitality alongside youPartnering with parents to support their students in the life of the churchLeading big-moment events (retreats, mission trips, camps) that create memorable on-rampsWorking with Christ Community staff to enfold students into the life of the congregationMake Disciples Who Make DisciplesA disciple is a follower of Jesus who listens to the voice of God and obeys the will of God on the mission of God. That’s what we want for our teens: not a bigger youth group, but a generation of young disciples — listening, obeying, and on mission.Practically, This Looks Like:Teaching middle and high schoolers the Bible in ways that are engaging, age-appropriate, and formationalIdentifying and apprenticing student leaders, giving them real responsibility and real coachingEquipping students to plant and lead their own missional communities of peersRecruiting, training, and investing in adult volunteer leadersResourcing parents as the primary disciplers of their own childrenTeam MemberA mission this big requires a team. You’re part of ours, and we’re part of yours. Our staff works closely together, and you might be pulled in to support VBS, Young Adults, the Growth Track, or other areas where your giftings, our needs, and God’s mission align.– – – – –Who We AreChrist Community Church is a growing, grace-filled congregation committed to guiding our neighbors to a hope-filled future — living and loving like Jesus.Our strategy is simple. We Gather Faithfully, Grow Intentionally, and Go Missionally into the neighborhoods, schools, and spaces God has placed us. This call is for all of us, including our teens. We don’t want students who simply show up on Sundays. We want them gathering, growing, and going alongside the rest of us, guiding their own neighbors, classmates, and teammates toward a hope-filled future.We’ve grown by double digits over the past few years and recently completed a generosity campaign that raised 25% more than pledged. This summer we’re opening a community thrift store, with plans to launch and support even more ministries and nonprofits in the years ahead.– – – – –Who We’re Looking ForWe’re looking for someone who leads with a heart for God and their neighbor: mature and maturing in faith, grounded in daily disciplines, committed to God’s mission, and an example in sharing life with others. Our church is full of broken, hurting people, and to lead young people toward health and wholeness in Christ, you need to be exceptionally healthy and whole yourself.More Specifically, We’re Looking For Someone Who:genuinely enjoys teenagers, and would rather be at a Friday night football game than behind a deskwelcomes the skeptic, the doubter, and the kid who doesn’t fit the church stereotypeisn’t thrown off when a teen asks hard questions about God, identity, or faithis a student of youth and culture without being consumed by eithercan hold the attention of a room full of teenagers with a 15-20 minute message from the Biblerecruits naturally and galvanizes volunteer leadersdevelops other leaders rather than performing for a crowdExperience & EducationWe’re not rigid about credentials, but we do expect a track record both in ministry and in study. That means meaningful prior experience leading or discipling teens (paid or volunteer), and the kind of theological grounding that lets you teach Scripture with depth and meet a teen’s hard questions. Bible college or seminary is a strong plus; mentored training or equivalent preparation can get you there too.You also have to “fit” with our team and our culture. Check out our website, YouTube page, and recent sermon series and ask yourself: Do I believe in what Christ Community is doing? Do I want to go where they’re going? If the answer is “No,” it’s not a fit.– – – – –Pay, Benefits & More InformationYour pay and benefits will be commensurate with your education and experience. This is a full-time, salaried position.Learn more about us at ccconbell.com.To apply, send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@ccconbell.com.– – – – –Why We Love Southwest ChicagolandOur people come from Homer Glen, Lemont, Lockport, Palos, and the fifteen or so towns around us, and we love the crossroads we sit at. Four different communities meet here, each with its own feel, and between them, you get historic downtowns with weekend festivals and live music, 15,000 acres of forest preserve with trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, and orchards and pumpkin farms in the fall. But more than any of that, it’s the kind of place where your neighbors wave when you pull in the driveway, where the kids ride bikes until the streetlights come on, and where Friday night football is still a thing. People stay here. They raise their families here. They know their barista and their mechanic by name. It’s not flashy. It’s home, and it’s a really good one.And then there’s Chicago, which we happen to think is the greatest city in the world. Being only forty-five minutes from the Loop puts Wrigley, Soldier Field, the United Center, the Art Institute, the lakefront, Michigan Ave, and some of the best coffee shops and restaurants in the world within easy reach. Beyond Chicago, you’re within two hours of the Wisconsin border, the Indiana Dunes, or a lake town in southwest Michigan. You get both the city and the suburbs, and we’ve found that’s a pretty great place to guide our neighbors toward a hope-filled future.To apply, send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@ccconbell.com.