Our parish serves a large number of schools and families. Following a review of our existing ministry, the PCC wish to consolidate and grow our work with primary school-aged children and their families, so that Christ Church offers inspirational high-quality worship, discipleship, and learning, within a safe community. The post is for 15 hours per week with a salary on the JNC Scale, points 8-11 depending on experience, and the PCC will consider a job-share. The post is subject to Enhanced DBS clearance and references.There is a generous budget to spend on resources and training.

We are looking for a Children’s Ministry Leader who will work with the clergy, congregations and local schools to develop a strategy for the church’s work.

As of January 2024, this will include:

• Children’s Church (Sundays in term time, during 10.30 Eucharist)
• Choir Church in Christ Church Primary School, welcoming families who attend each half term.
• The monthly 4pm slot (currently this includes Messy Church, with scope for Godly Play or another format)
• Developing work with the children and families who attend the 8.30am and 6pm congregations.
• Seasonal worship and events, such as the All Together Eucharist, Nativity Play, Christingle, Good Friday family service, parade services, etc.

The main responsibilities of this post are to:

• Walk with children and their families to grow their innate spirituality; learning to follow Christ, and to live and worship within a Christian community.
• Engage and build a sustainable team of volunteers who lead and support children’s ministry at different levels, encouraging people in their own gifts and discipleship.
• Grow the church’s welcome and inclusion of children and families so that Christ Church becomes a more intergenerational community
• Maintain high standards of good safeguarding practice, and compassionate pastoral support
• Offer a breadth of ministry which meets the varied and changing needs of children and families. We recognise that many families aren’t able to attend the traditional Children’s Church, but still seek to worship and be part of a church on a regular or occasional basis.
• Enable more children and families to engage with faith and share life at Christ Church, by encouraging word-of-mouth invitations and building good communication networks.

The Children’s Ministry Leader will be expected to be a person who:

• Relates well to children and their families alike,
• Is joyful and confident in their own Christian faith, and always willing to learn (whether from children or training courses alike!
• Is able to include people, and help others grow in confidence, skills and discipleship
• Is a confident communicator: face to face, in writing, and via social media.
• Has a solid understanding of good church safeguarding practice and pastoral care
• Will seek appropriate support from colleagues and from the Diocesan children’s team - in line with the Diocesan Vision for Children and Young People.
• Works well independently and within a team
• Is creative in seeking new opportunities for the church’s ministry, and able to take the initiative.
• Will help develop a strategy for the church’s ministry among children, families and volunteers.

Christ Church is a vibrant and inclusive worshipping community in the Lancaster and Morecambe deanery. The parish covers an area of approximately 2.1 square miles, with a population density of 4.237 per square mile, and a wide demographic spread, living in owner occupied, private and socially rented housing.
Thousands of new dwellings have been and are being built in the parish, this growing population is ripe for outreach. We are keen to walk alongside these new residents, and especially to find out how we can be there for them in their family and social needs – and to share our faith in serving them.
Our ethos is open and welcoming: we celebrate and affirm all God’s children, we will not discriminate, and we seek to follow Jesus’ example of reaching out first to the most excluded. Our church style is modern catholic, and we are a very child-friendly church.
The parish serves a number of schools, with particularly close links to Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Castle View Primary School, which we would like to see become even stronger.
Our finances, although challenging, are well regulated, and which we are working on in good heart and for which we are actively raising funds.
We are a very friendly church with a hard-working PCC and a strong team of committed and caring individuals - we want to make a real difference. Please join in!