The four village churches are all within three miles of each other and lie just east of the M1 in the Northamptonshire countryside within easy reach of Rugby, Northampton and Daventry. The churches started working together in 2003 and the benefice was formed in 2010. In terms of churchmanship and spirituality, there is a high priority on the authority of the Bible. There is a breadth of churchmanship from traditional to evangelical with worship styles ranging from traditional to contemporary.

As we look for and encourage clergy to join the diocese we are committed to providing them with good and well maintained housing, a decent stipend and appropriate training and support. In turn, we look for certain commitments:

• to share with the Bishop in the cure of souls, and to work strategically for growth in numbers among the worshipping community
• to teach Christian discipleship including the principles of giving
• to take seriously the pastoral and missional opportunities of occasional offices, aiming for good working relationships with funeral directors and others
• to enable the full participation of children and young people in the whole life of the church, and to develop mission among the younger generations
• to be involved in both church and other local schools as far as possible, actively seeking opportunities for mission and preferably offering a chaplaincy role and leading collective worship rather than chairing the governing body
• to be involved in deanery and diocesan activities and in the life of their local community
• to promote and enable lay ministry in both church and community
• to take part in our ministry review process, consisting of a three-year rolling programme: a pastoral visit by me to your home, a formal review by a member of my senior team, and a review of training needs
• to engage with the continuing ministerial development programme offered by the diocese and in personal study, nurturing your own spirituality
• to hold a current DBS certificate, to undergo safeguarding training as required by the bishop, and to follow and promote the diocesan safeguarding policy.

We are seeking someone who believes God is calling them to serve in this Benefice.
The ideal candidate should be:

• Passionate about Jesus and rooted in the Bible with the desire and the energy to spread the Gospel in our communities
• Prayerful and spiritual in leadership as well as self-reflective for their continued personal development

With the ability to:

• Challenge and encourage us to grow our faith as a church and individuals
• Explore with PCCs new ways to further God’s church in this benefice, whilst giving full support to activities that are working well

And possess:

• Management and communication skills necessary to work effectively in a multi-parish benefice and to address the challenges of financial viability of our churches/benefice
• A sense of humour!

We do not expect you to be:

• Superhuman!