Kids Ministry Director/Pastor

To apply, please email a resume and cover letter to staffsearch@crestwoodrva.org with Kids Ministry Director Position in the subject line. Thank you!

Picture this: It's the fall of 2030. Four years in. The toddlers who cried at drop-off are now confident 2nd graders who ask real questions about what they believe and why. A first-time family who wandered in nervous on a random Sunday is now hosting a small group of their own. Your volunteer team, the one that started at 80, has grown right alongside the ministry, and most of them will tell you they stayed because of how you led them, not just what you asked them to do. You built that. It's not a fantasy, it's just where the road leads if you're the right person for this role.

Crestwood Church is a Goldilocks church, small enough that you'll know everyone's name by Easter and big enough that you'll actually have a team to lead. We are an ECO Presbyterian congregation in Richmond, Virginia, serving approximately 375 people every week including 60-65 in Crestwood Kids with over 120 individual children attending regularly (at least once a month). We are a grace-centered, gospel-driven community with a deep conviction that the local church is a place of genuine belonging, transformation, and mission. Our staff is small, collaborative, and deeply committed to one another and to the work.

Here's the real ask: We are not looking for someone to run a program. We're looking for a pastoral heart, a storyteller and disciple maker who happens to be excellent at building volunteer teams because the truth about kids ministry is that it lives or dies on whether grownups besides you show up and keep showing up. We have a strong kids ministry volunteer team dedicated to our mission. Your job is to keep that team growing, and to keep those individuals growing, by making sure they never feel like just a name on a spreadsheet.

Responsibilities:

These are the outcomes this role owns. Weekly tasks flow from these; this is not an exhaustive task list.

1. Volunteer Leadership & Development

Win looks like: a large, well-trained, motivated volunteer force (80+ and growing) that feels personally shepherded, not just scheduled and a well-run paid childcare team.

• Recruit, onboard, and train adult and student (6th–12th grade) volunteers across Small Group Leaders, Service Hosts, and Curriculum Prep teams

• Build a volunteer culture rooted in grace and calling, not obligation

• Provide communication that disciples volunteers, not just informs them

• Recruit, train, and manage the paid childcare team serving Wednesday nights and one-off events

• Maintain the weekly serving schedule (Planning Center Services) and develop a leadership pipeline so key roles are never one person deep

2. Kids Discipleship & Programming

Win looks like: kids in each phase encountering the gospel weekly through excellent, age-appropriate teaching and one-off events where families can experience the awe and wonder of God together.

• Plan and lead small and large group discipleship during Sunday services (9am and 10:30am) for infants through 5th grade

• Produce weekly lesson plans for Preschool, Elementary, and Preteen using the Hyfi curriculum

• Maintain a scope and sequence, in partnership with the Executive Pastor and Director of Student Ministry, that aligns with Reformed theology and promotes Crestwood's five catalytic behaviors

• Plan and execute quarterly family experiences and lead all aspects of summer VBS

3. Family Partnership & Care

Win looks like: Be a trusted partner to parents in discipling their kids at home and provide care in both highs and lows.

• Build authentic relationships with families, becoming a trusted voice in child discipleship, parenting, and kid culture

• Provide monthly parent communication and yearly workshops (e.g., parenting in a tech world, parenting with mental health in mind)

• Partner with the Care Pastor and Pastoral Care team on family care moments like new babies, hospital stays, grief, and similar seasons

• Show up outside Sunday mornings at games, recitals, and performances for both kids and student volunteers

• Maintain a current list of recommended local mental health providers for families

4. Assimilation & Environment

Win looks like: first-time families move toward Covenant Partnership through a clear, warm path, and every space a child enters feels safe and intentional.

• Partner with the Executive Pastor on an approachable first-time visitor check-in and follow-up process

• Maintain accurate family and child profiles in Planning Center

• Maintain warm, clean, creative, and safe environments for kids throughout the building

• Partner with the Communications Director on the Crestwood Kids Instagram account

You might be a fit if:

• You are Reformed in theology and ECO Presbyterian in polity, or ready to be

• You have 3–5 years in children's ministry, paid or volunteer

• You have a bachelor's degree (master's a plus)

• You can tell a story that a 4-year-old will actually sit still for, bonus points for funny voices!

• You've managed both volunteers and paid staff, and you know those aren't the same skill

One honest caveat:

The physical requirements include lifting babies with 94th-percentile heads, kneeling to tie a kindergartner's shoelace, and bending down for approximately one thousand high-fives a week. There's no version of this job where that isn't true, and honestly, it's the best part!

If that all sounds less like a job description and more like your actual calling, we'd love to hear from you!

Also, We are about to break ground on our new playground designed to be a hub for the community of young parents surrounding our campus. To see the rendering, click here.

Learn more about us:

crestwoodrva.org

instagram.com/crestwoodrvakids

To apply, please email a resume and cover letter to staffsearch@crestwoodrva.org with Kids Ministry Director Position in the subject line. Thank you!