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Our mission is to develop students with sharp minds, tender hearts, and moldable wills to impact the world with the truth and love of Jesus Christ. Grace Covenant Church is looking for a gifted communicator to be Pastor of Youth Ministries. The Youth Pastor will be a Teacher, Leader and Mentor of the large and growing Youth Ministry that is vital to the health of the congregation. By equipping and leading paid staff and ministers (at Grace, every believer is a minister), this person will impact every adult and youth at the church.
How do we believe the hearts of students (& adults) change?
An accountable and disciplined life, characterized by utter dependence upon God … faithful, open, honest, humble, secure, consistent, teachable, courageous
A mature believer who is an encouraging, serving, committed and unifying minister throughout the body
A deep understanding of God’s Word, a passion to know Him better, and making Him known in Austin and around the world … a deep understanding of students’ experiences, our culture, our times, and how to communicate truth to students’ hearts in the midst of these distractions
Passion for the Truth … creativity to enlighten … desire and expectation of God’s vision and whole heart to follow it.
Read more at: http://www.grace360.org/students/index.php
The Pastor will respond to a genuine call from God as:
Teacher
Leader Our mission is to develop students with sharp minds, tender hearts, and moldable wills to impact the world with the truth and love of Jesus Christ.
The Pastor of Youth Ministries will report to one of the Executive Pastors. Grace has a three person executive team, consisting of the Senior Pastor and two Executive Pastors.
The ideal candidate may have had experience in a multiple staff church setting, with a minimum of 5 years ministry experience. This may be as a department head at a large church, a teacher in a public or private school, or perhaps from an education-based para-church ministry.
Compensation will be commensurate with other Youth Pastors of similarly sized congregations, as based on a periodic salary survey by the National Association of Church Business Administrators (www.nacba.net).
A relocation budget will be provided. Two weeks of paid vacation along with 9 holiday and 2 personal days per year. Medical, dental and life insurance are provided. Grace desires a candidate who will invest the next 7-10 years, or more, in this position.
Resumes will be received by e-mail only. Send your resume and a cover letter to:
All e-mails will receive an initial response within 48 hours and a determination of status within 10 days. As this position entails a teaching ministry, be prepared to e-mail MP3s of several recent teaching sessions.
Intentional Discipleship: We disciple students through intentional relationships that take them 1) from knowledge to worldview, 2) from being served to serving others and 3) from Americans to world Christians—preparing them for life after graduation.
Thinking Climate: We create an environment where students may openly examine their faith, ask difficult questions, and learn to think with a Christian worldview—so they know why, not just what, they believe.
Expecting the Best: We believe that we can influence a student’s learning and behavior by expecting the best. We believe that students rise to the level of expectation set by teachers and leaders.
On Campus Influence: We do not get students busy with activity. We want students to be involved in their world and influence it by ... “giving an answer to everyone who asks them to share the reason for the hope that they have.”
Student Ministry: We help students discover how God has uniquely gifted them—their limits and potentials—and how their lives are vehicles to love god through serving others. We expose them to people and circumstances where they can learn to lose their preoccupation with self through putting others first.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
| Fall Teaching (Mind) Worldview, Ethics, Apologetics & Theology |
Worldview: Every Decision Has A Price Tag | Theology: Tsadik (Salvation & Sanctification) | Theology: What Christianity Is All About |
| New Year | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
| Winter Retreat Attribute of God Worldview Apologetics |
A View To A Kill: Brothers Karamozov: The moral & design arguments for the existence of God | Here and Beyond: Job:The Problem of evil and suffering | The Game: Pilgrim’s Progress and Pilgrim’s Regress (C.S. Lewis’argument from desire) |
| Spring Teaching (Heart and Will) Biblical Truth Life Skills Ministry Skills |
The Contagious Life The Good Life First Love 1 John |
The Truth About... WalkThru The Old Testament The Top 5 Questions My Destiny, His Design |
A Game Plan For Life Spiritual Life: The Long Haul |
| Summer Teaching | Life of Christ | 1 Samuel | Ruthless Trust: The Patriarchs |
| Read To Lead [Christian Books] |
Ethics: Making Choices by Peter Kreeft | Apologetics: The Case For Faith by Lee Strobel | Worldview: The Life and Writing of C.S. Lewis |
| Summer Camp Biblical Epic Biblical Character |
Running Into the Darkness: The Early Church, Life of Paul; Parable of the Talents | Inherit the Throne: The United Kingdom; contrasting David and Saul | Executive Decision: The Life of Joseph |
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | |
| Fall Teaching (Mind) Worldview Ethics Apologetics Theology |
Taking The World By Storm Every Decision Has A Price Tag The Hard Sayings Of Christ |
True Identity Conversational Christianity Becoming Authentic |
Unlocking The Mystery Of The Bible OT & NT Survey Living In Paradox |
| Year 10 | Year 11 | Year 12 | |
| Winter Retreat Attribute of God Worldview Apologetics |
Outlaw: The Man Who Was Thursday & “Alone & Helpless In A Hostile World” | Esther: Esther & The Feast of Purim | Brave New World: Media, Mass Persuasion, & Culture |
| Spring Teaching (Heart and Will) Biblical Truth Life Skills Ministry Skills |
Three Philosophies Of Life The Path of Integrity The Right Questions: Creation-Evolution. Playing With Fire |
Esther Making Choices The Measure of a Friendship True Freedom: Heaven |
Revolutionary Living (Ethics & Social Change) Dealing With Difficulties Becoming Whole |
| Summer Teaching | Daniel | The Story Of Worship | The Ten Commandments |
| Read To Lead [Christian Books] |
Worldview: Socrates Meets Jesus & The Best Things In Life by Peter Kreeft | [None] | Worldview: Love God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland |
| Summer Camp Biblical Epic Biblical Character |
Double Agent: End Times, Christian Persecution, and Heavenly Rewards | Behind The Veil: The Exodus & The Tabernacle | The Standard: The Life of Christ |
1. Students Are Partners
We desire to be a ministry that celebrates the gifts and talents of all students instead of a visible few. We believe that God gives each of His children unique abilities that should be used to the fullest. Because the church is a body, a single spiritual entity with many parts, each person is vital to the spiritual health of the church as a whole and every student has a stake in the influence of our ministry.
2. People Not Programs
We want to focus our time on building life-changing relationships. It’s not about working for God, but letting God work through us. People connect to people, not programs. We are not a club or an event, but a gathering of freed slaves reveling in our newfound liberty.
3. We’re Part of a Bigger Picture
We are part of God’s bigger picture in the world and in history. We are not special or alone in accomplishing God’s redemptive work in the world. He does not need us, He uses us if we make ourselves available. Our mission is to win people to Christ—not a church or denomination—and help them find a community of believers where they can grow. The Attic is not a substitute for church, we are part of the larger body at Grace Covenant Church.
4. No Matter Where You Are
We welcome everyone into our community no matter who they are or where they’ve been. As we grow in our walk with God, our awareness of our own hopelessness without Christ grows and causes us to live with an ever increasing dependence on Him and acceptance of others. It makes us more humble and loving, not proud or judgmental.
5. Teaching Like Jesus
We believe that the Bible is God’s message of hope, truth, and love to humanity. It describes His plan to restore the intimate relationship between Himself and people that was lost in the Garden of Eden. We believe Jesus taught: “to be’s” not “how to’s,” “why’s” not just “what’s,” dependence not formulas, lists, or steps—and so we should teach that way.
6. Growing Small While Growing Big
As we grow big, we must grow small. We believe that life-change happens best in small groups during the week, in living rooms, combining God’s Word and authentic relationships. To experience deep biblical community, we must make a simple but difficult decision: make it a priority.
7. Real, Not Superficial
We freely pray, celebrate, comfort, cry, play, support and love one another like a family. We aspire daily to live a life only explainable by the power of God. We believe people are attracted to a place where the love of Christ is evident in the hearts of people. We should be different from our culture. Our distinctiveness should attract others, not repel them.
8. Ministry in the Third Place
We believe that lost people matter to God and ought to matter to us. Reaching others means being available and alert to where God is working—exposing people to the gospel, not imposing it on them. God does the hard part, we do the easy part. Every student is a minister serving God everyday in their sphere of influence. We all have a ministry in our “third place”—a place other than our home or school—where we courageously influence others.
9. Inconvenience
Inconvenience keeps our focus outward and prevents us from having a consumer mentality. Too much comfort makes us soft, self-focused and impotent.
10. Worship not Performance
We are made for worship—all of us worship something or someone. We desire to worship our Creator and Savior and to spread His fame alone. Whether expressed in song, service, or obedience, we desire our worship to be genuine and to give God His rightful place on the throne of our lives. We do not worship a method, person, or event, but Jesus Christ—nothing else can endure it. Prayer is a highly visible and regular part of our worship.
Grace Covenant Church (www.grace360.org) is a dynamic and rapidly growing conservative evangelical church in the north-west section of Austin, the sixteenth largest city in the United States. The city of Austin has a population of 700,000 and a metropolitan population of over 1,400,000.
The character of Austin is reflected in Grace Covenant Church:
A church is called to model its ministry and people after Christ. A church is also called to be relevant to its society, “to seek and save the lost.” Grace tenaciously holds to its biblical beliefs and core values.
Vision of GraceNote: the Vision Advisory Team is working with the Elders to update our vision for the next five years. The following is the statement before revision.
Every church needs to have a vision statement that answers the question—“Why do we exist?” Grace filters every program, budget request and idea through its vision statement. If whatever is planned doesn’t help meet the vision, then it isn’t done.
Grace Covenant Church exists to glorify God by leading people to Christ and presenting each believer mature in Christ. Grace desires to be “a courageous church, where every believer is a minister, equipped and united, to impact people for Christ, for the glory of God.”
Our lives and ministries are to be Christ-centered, reflecting the following values in balance:Grace Covenant uses a “3 Cog” motif for explaining how members learn in different sized groups. The first cog is “Worship,” where every member can participate in corporate worship—which can be continued in private and family worship. The worship services are designed for believers in Christ to worship the triune God. Seekers and “de-churched” people are welcome to see how Christians worship in Word and Truth. The second cog is “Learning.” The Sunday Adult Communities are vital to the growth of members, prayer and fellowship. The third cog is “Connection.” These small groups emphasize study of the sermon, relationships and doing ministry together.
The church emerged from a home Bible study in 1968. The first study was on the biblical covenants, culminating with the “grace covenant” and so the name of this independent Bible church. In 2008, the ministry celebrated its 39th year. Early pastors were Dick Flaten and Max Anders, followed by Jim Rose. Matt Cassidy became the fourth Senior Pastor in 2002, having served on the staff for 13 years in other positions.
Today, the community of Grace Covenant includes over 2,000 adults. The three “contemporary” worship services—the 9, 10:30 and noon services draw more than 1,000 people each week. The new worship center will seat 1,850 people. There are over 360 in Children’s Education and 250 in The Attic (7-12th grades). Midweek AWANA attracts over 200 kids. There are over 35 home study groups, 14 Adult Communities and 10 Equipping Classes. These allow people to gather on Sunday morning in medium-sized groups for study, prayer and fellowship. Local and International Missions is also important at the church, with a significant amount of people and funds being invested each year.
Few churches have a history of such dedicated giving. The leaders of the church have made a commitment to give ten percent of their income to Grace Covenant. The percentage of donations by members/attendees is among the top one percent in the United States.
Grace Covenant is a church on the move—literally. After two years of careful study, in 2004 the leadership set forth a plan to rebuild almost every building on the church campus. The goal was to accomplish this Herculean feat with the minimal use of long-term debt. Over eight million dollars were pledged for the first phase of the project: a new office building for staff, renovation of the old office building for Children’s Ministry and a new 1,850 seat worship center.
Grace is a church that is planning for the future—including the staff needed as the church grows. The Pastor of Youth Ministries is a vital part of the staffing needs at the church.
The Pastor of Youth Ministries will need to envision the future with us—the church is at a significant time in its history—a new building, a new vision, rebranding! Grace is becoming more of a regional church and the vision statement will help propel it to significant ministry. The Pastor will need to consider how to scale the youth ministry to the church, adapting to the changing needs of students and parents in a growing church.
Grace is launching several new ministry strategies. With an established Stephen Minister program, the church wanted to expand its care in a new direction. Grace launched Celebrate Recovery in the fall of 2007.
In a desire to help people resolve conflict biblically, Grace set on a far reaching strategy of changing its spiritual DNA to include “peacemaking.” This began with the intentional design of the Elders, followed by a series of messages each year from 2006-09. The church desires to have a regular sermon series on biblical conflict resolution and to develop a “culture of peacemaking.”
To reach men in the congregation and community, the church is setting its strategic priorities for a “Men’s Ministry for the 21st century.” Leadership development is important for the church, and Grace feels that leadership development needs to be offered to key men and women. The process of integrating men and women for leadership development, a men’s ministry and a women’s ministry, are the current critical thinking areas for church leadership.
