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Wheatfield Youth Director

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First Church is looking for a godly, gritty, and emotionally intelligent Youth Director to join their student ministry team and effectively disciple the more than 120 students at their Wheatfield location.

Role - This role will have primary responsibility for the youth ministry at the Wheatfield campus while working in collaboration with the youth team at the Hebron location.

Church attendance - 2,100 between two campuses

Student attendance - 210 between two campuses


Watch Senior Pastor, John Hill, Share About Why He Loves Working at First Church




History & Current Status


First Church was founded in 1893 by several immigrant families who were seeking to worship God freely in America. Through the decades, God has blessed First Church with love for God and love for each other. Several of First Church's original founding families still call this church home more than five generations later, truly making First Church a place with a generation after generation legacy! 

About twenty years ago, First Church chose to honor the sacrifices made by previous generations and realized they needed to change the atmosphere to reach the next generation. After initiating these changes to their worship style, community involvement, and outreach methods, the church struggled at first, but after contracting to as few as 200 people, First Church reached a place of humility and openness to the Great Commission call God had for their church and began dreaming and planning to build a new location. For the last eight years, First Church has been growing rapidly under John Hill's leadership and in 2016 moved into a new building that was funded solely by the generosity of the congregation. In 2020 First Church launched their second campus and today, worship attendance is around 2,100 people per weekend at two locations.

First Church is so thankful to see people far from God filled with life in Christ and excited to see future generations love Jesus through His power at their church.

First Church's leadership has this to say about the health and culture of the church and staff.

Financially we are debt free, and our staff get along really well. We have very low turnover, and our attenders love our church. We operate with about one FTE for every 120 attenders in person per weekend. Our budget is solid. We see 30-50 adult baptisms per year. We have very high standards for adult baptism.

Their story is a compelling one—filled with humble beginnings, sacrificial generosity, gospel-centered ministry, transformational leadership, and God-honoring initiatives to reach the lost. First Church remains anchored to their unique identity and calling while stewarding their resources to reach an increasing number of people who call First Church home. As with any church, growth involves both great joy and great challenge. First Church is no exception in this regard. Coupling a desire to remain faithful to God’s Word while stewarding their call to reach and disciple the new people God sends through their doors, First Church has embraced those challenges and changes without compromise and with a renewed sense of passion to go boldly into the future God has prepared for them.

Key to the new Youth Director's success will be alignment and agreement with First Church's Core Values which you can read HERE

To find out more about First Church's affiliation and network of churches HERE.



Watch a recent Sermon from First Church


Leadership



John Hill currently serves as Senior Pastor at First Church. He is a compassionate, direct man who loves Jesus and loves First Church. John has lived in many large cities serving a variety of churches, but has this to say about his experience as Senior Pastor at First Church,

The last seven years at First Church have been the best of my life. Living in a small town close to the big city has been so great as I have seen a church really love God and love people.

John is really passionate about seeing Christians become real disciples of Jesus by activating a heart for evangelism in their lives. John does not desire for First Church to grow by reaching people from other churches, but rather wants to reach people far from God and see them become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

John is known for three things in his leadership: being direct, being authentic, and being clear. John's intensity is grounded in his love for God and passion to live out the Great Commission through making disciples. This is a team that values developing their staff and building meaningful, authentic relationships with one another.

We trust people to use good judgement and are not micro-managers at all. Our staff is super competent. - John Hill, Senior Pastor

You can learn more about First Church's Staff Values HERE.

Church Governance Model:
​First Church is a staff-led, Elder-overseen congregation.



Challenge & Opportunity


The biggest challenge facing the new Youth Director will be taking an already thriving youth ministry and staff to the next level. With more than 25 adult leaders and parents who are super engaged, the youth ministry at First Church is healthy, vibrant, and transformative!

In terms of weekly programming, students at the Hebron location meet in a combined middle school (MS) and high school (HS) group on Sunday nights, with an average attendance of 50-60 students. At the Wheatfield campus, middle school (6th-8th grade) and high school (9th-12th grade) students meet in back-to-back services on Wednesdays, with an average attendance of 100 for middle school and 50-60 for high school.

The Youth Pastors and next gen staff from both campuses work together to run weekly services. The Youth Pastors speak rotate speaking and share the sermon writing responsibilities .

A big part of the success of the student ministry is their student leadership team. Student leaders at First Church assist with everything and consist of about 21 “JV” (Middle School) and 15 "Varsity" students that meet every other Sunday during a morning service.

First Church's youth ministry also does multiple retreats on long weekends/breaks during the school-year, and two to three summer camps.

In addition, First Church hosts multiple outreach-focused events, commissioning students to reach their friends. First Church runs and coordinates the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) which reaches hundreds of kids at the high school. The impact of this ministry is profound!

We have legit changed the culture of the school. Teachers have commented how a major percentage of the school now goes to our church and is measurably changing. - John Hill, Senior Pastor

For the leaders at First Church, success in youth ministry is answering the question "How many students who chose to follow Jesus as students at NXT GEN are still following Christ 5 years after graduation?" More than just having a strong sentiment that this is important, First Church actually tracks it!

First Church is prayerfully seeking someone who will jump in as a team player, fully embracing the rewarding work of leading a generation to Christ. The new Youth Director will play a vital role in helping shape the strategy and vision for student ministry to reach teenagers in the community. First Church is fertile ground for a spiritually mature, highly motivated student ministry leader who loves to work with high capacity people in a community with few limitations.The competent staff is eager for someone who will work hard to execute effective ministry to the next generation.

This is a great time to become part of God’s story at First Church!



Location & Demographic


First Church has two locations. The Wheatfield location is located in Jasper County and about 75 miles from downtown Chicago. Over 33,000 people live in Jasper County. The County offers the best of all worlds, in a sense, allowing residents to enjoy outdoor recreation but also has the convenience of being close to urban Chicago. Home to award-winning public and private schools, this is a family oriented, faith-friendly community.

First Church's second location is located in Porter County in the town of Hebron and about 20-minutes from their Wheatfield location. With these two locations, First Church is strategically positioned and poised to continue reaching the surrounding communities as they become a leading church in NW Indiana.

Because First Church has faced several challenges associated with the rapid pace of growth, their building expansion initiatives have given them plenty of space to spread out and grow, providing a state-of-the-art worship venue, educational and care environments for children, students, and adults, as well as adequate parking for these burgeoning communities of Christ-followers.



Youth Director
​Job Description

Vision for the Youth Ministry at First Church

Generation After Generation Becoming Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus.

Wild Success is:

Thriving Youth Ministry, Excellent Generational Transitions and On-ramps, Heart for our House

Thriving Youth Ministry looks like:

  • 15% of weekend attendance is youth
  • 15% of weekend attendance are students at Tuesday and Wednesday night gatherings
  • 20% of students attending Tuesday and Wednesday night professing Christ annually
  • 33% of students participating in summer trips
  • Students who beg parents to come back to church
  • Vision focused, passionate volunteers who are empowered and engaged with students
  • Varsity and JV Leadership Teams are lifted up and discipled
  • First Hoops basketball a healthy pipeline of new students with over 500 students participating

Excellent Generational Transitions and Onramps look like:

  • Students involved in teaching younger kids
  • Students volunteering in every area on Sunday
  • 75% of students (who have professed faith in Christ) continuing to follow Christ at a local church two years after graduation
  • Students passionate about First Church’s vision and mission
  • Kick Start Class organized and effective (14% of church attendance total per year)
  • Absentee and first time phone calls excellent and effective

Heart for our house looks like:

  • Support and submission to the Senior Pastor and Leadership Team
  • Joyful willingness to serve Jesus in any capacity that is asked
  • Respect and honor for those above, beside, and below
  • Actively working to build the reputation of church and co-workers and leaders.
  • Disagreements handled biblically
  • Teach on Sundays on mission 2-3 times a year

Reports to:

The Family Ministries Director

*This position is a full-time salary position.


“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:3)

Contact

Ready to take the next step?

To find out additional information about First Church, please visit their website to discover their core beliefs, vision, and values and to learn about many other ministries of the church.

If, after prayerfully reviewing this information, you sense this role and church culture could be a good fit for you, please contact Ryan Latham.


​Ryan Latham // [email protected]