Situated south-west of Bingley, this is a united benefice and team ministry of four churches that are each at the heart of their respective village. .

These four parishes form an important joint benefice within the Bradford Episcopal Area and the Diocese of Leeds. The joint benefice came into being four years ago and in that time there have been some positive developments which have helped the team ministry to become established. In particular, new forms of worship have been started (Messy Church and Café Church at St Matthew’s, the Jesus 4 You service at Denholme) and good Alpha courses have been held in Wilsden and Denholme. Relationships with the schools in each village, and links with the various community and uniformed organisations in the villages, are good and there to be built upon. In Denholme this is in the context of an encouraging local ecumenical partnership.

Informal conversations welcome: Ven Dr Andy Jolley, Archdeacon of Bradford, 07973 458403, andy.jolley@leeds.anglican.org

Closing date for applications: 16th Nov 2018 Interview Date: to be confirmed

Enhanced DBS disclosure is required for this post

We are looking for a visionary and enabling leader who can work with the congregations to grow them, and also develop relationships within the villages in entrepreneurial and creative ways. (S)he will:

• be joyfully confident in their own identity in Christ and have a track record of growing confident disciples;
• be able to work with a ‘mixed economy’ of both new forms of church alongside existing ones, enabling the churches to reach people of all ages;
• naturally build and lead teams with laity and clergy;
• want to love our communities and be excited by a highly visible ministry in these four villages;
• be able to help the churches to keep learning from each other.

General Responsibilities:

• To share with the Bishop both in the cure of souls and in responsibility, under God, for “building confident Christians, growing churches and transforming communities”;
• To have regard to the calling and responsibilities of the clergy as described in the Canons, the Ordinal, the Code of Professional Conduct for the Clergy and other relevant legislation including safeguarding;
• To build up the Kingdom of God in the villages of Harden, Wilsden, Cullingworth & Denholme

Specific Responsibilities:

The Team Rector will be the senior Anglican priest in Harden, Wilsden, Cullingworth & Denholme with responsibility for overall leadership of a ministerial team which comprises a Team Vicar, Self-Supporting Priest, 3 Readers with Permission to Officiate, and retired clergy. (S)he will also be the Training Incumbent for any curate deployed to the parish.

Alongside this, there are four particular priorities for the incoming incumbent:

• To work with the congregations of the four churches to grow them, particularly by developing outreach and ministry among families, children and young people, and by working a ‘mixed economy’ of new forms of church and worship alongside traditional ones.
• Working with the ministry team, to take lay discipleship and lay leadership to the next level. (S)he will therefore need excellent teaching, team building and team leadership skills.
• To develop relationships within the villages in entrepreneurial and creative ways, both personally as an individual and also with the congregations. S(he) should be able to engage strategically with the life of the communities, contributing to a vision both for the villages and for the place of the churches in the villages. In this way the churches can be servants of the communities alongside other agencies whilst also bringing a prophetic voice to the church and community.
• To deepen the relationships between the four churches and their PCCs, enabling them to support and encourage each other more, and to realise more of the potential synergies between them.

We are looking for someone with:

• Proven track record of commitment to and delivery of church growth and of growing new and younger disciples
• Proven track record of growing the confidence and gifts of God’s people
• Experience in the typical range of parish ministry
• Track record of nurturing and developing good relationships with the local community
• Track record of demonstrating team leadership in a collaborative model
• Experience of co-ordinating and embracing different styles of worship in a ‘mixed economy’, including those appropriate for children, young people and families.
• Effective Biblical preaching and teaching ministry
• Experience of working with diverse theological and ecclesial traditions
• Knowledge/understanding of changing patterns of mission and ministry in the Church.
• Confident in their own faith and secure in their own identity as a Christian leader
• A clear strategic thinker
• An inspiring leader with the ability to delegate

In this new diocese we are working with three core objectives:

Confident Christians: Encouraging personal spiritual renewal with the aim of producing clergy and laity who are confident in God and in the Gospel.

Growing Churches: Numerically, spiritually and in their mission to the wider world.

Changing communities: For the better, through our partnership with other churches and faith communities, as well as government and third sector agencies.

The Diocese came into being at Easter 2014 following the dissolution of the historic dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and Wakefield. This followed a three-year process of debate and consultation driven by the Diocese's Commission. It covers a region whose economy is greater than that of Wales. Background papers to the reorganisation process can be read at www.wyadtransformation.org.

The Diocese comprises five Episcopal Areas, each coterminous with an Archdeaconry. This is now one of the largest dioceses in the country and its creation is unprecedented in the history of the Church of England. It covers an area of around 2,425 square miles, and a population of around 2,642,400 people.

Our vision as the Diocese is about confident clergy equipping confident Christians to live and tell the good news of Jesus Christ. In appointing to this post, we are therefore looking for someone who is a visionary and enabling leader for the next chapter in the life of the benefice, and has a joyful and confident faith which has inspired a track record of church growth, both numerically and spiritually.