Description
Are you passionate about helping students discover God’s love and realize their potential to change the world right now? Do you believe that the next generation isn't just the church of the future, but the church of today?
Willow Creek Community Church, an egalitarian, multi-site non-denominational church across Chicagoland, is looking for an inspiring, high-capacity leader to become our Students Pastor at our Willow North Shore Campus.
This isn't just about weekends; it's about pioneering a space where 6th to 12th-grade students experience transformational faith, use their gifts, and feel safe, seen, and empowered.
What You Will Lead and Champion:
As the primary leader for Willow North Shore Students, you will be the visionary and shepherd for our entire 6th-12th grade ministry.
- Creative Programming: Design and deliver engaging, safe, and age-appropriate experiences and messages aligned with the overall Willow mission and strategy.
- Team Development: Recruit, train, equip, and consistently encourage a high-capacity volunteer team—you are a Talent Scout and Cheerleader.
- Parent Partnership: Serve as the primary support and connection point for parents, helping them guide their students on their faith journey.
- Community Presence: Nurture relationships outside the church walls with local student leaders and school districts to bring the tangible love of Jesus into the community.
- Collaborative Vision: Work closely with the Central Next Gen team and other campus Student Pastors to align curriculum, events, and ministry best practices.
Requirements
Who You Are:You are a Connector who is engaging and relational, and a proven Team Builder who knows how to develop leaders beneath you.You are:
- Discipleship Minded: Focused on leading people into a deeper relationship with Jesus and being discipled yourself.
- Collaborative: You love working with others and assume the best in your teammates.
- Resilient: You have grit, strong problem-solving skills, and are a self-starter who runs with a project.
- Strong Communicator: You can talk to anyone with your skills in communication and interpersonal relations.
- Emotionally Intelligent: You are intuitive about others emotions and able to respond appropriately.
- Experienced: You have 2+ years of leadership experience working regularly with 6th-12th grade students and a proven track record of leading and caring for teams.
You pour your heart into ministry, and we pour into you. Our goal is for our students ministry to be thriving and growing, where creativity and innovation are encouraged, and students know they are loved by God.
Compensation & Benefits:
- Salary Range: $49,000 – $68,000, dependent upon experience and education.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Includes health, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance, retirement savings with company match, mental health counseling reimbursement, generous paid time off, and parental leave.
If you are a compassionate Pastor, a strategic Organizer, and a passionate advocate for students who is ready to make a significant impact on the North Shore, we invite you to apply.
Skills Required
- 2+ years leadership experience working regularly with 6th-12th grade students
- Proven track record of leading and caring for teams
- Ability to design and deliver engaging, safe, age-appropriate programming and messages
- Experience recruiting, training, equipping, and encouraging volunteer teams
- Strong communicator with excellent interpersonal skills
- Emotionally intelligent and able to respond appropriately to others' emotions
- Discipleship-minded with a focus on leading students into a deeper relationship with Jesus
- Collaborative team player able to work with Central Next Gen team and other campus Student Pastors
- Resilient self-starter with strong problem-solving skills
- Ability to build and maintain relationships with parents, local student leaders, and school districts
What We Do
Willow Creek Community Church is an evangelical nondenominational Christian multisite megachurch based in South Barrington, Illinois. It is a multi-generational, multi-ethnic movement of Christ followers passionate about worshiping Jesus and growing in faith. The church is committed to loving everyone and extending the hope and grace of Jesus to neighbors globally through transformed lives and radical generosity.
