Student Ministry Director/Pastor

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

Picture this: It's the fall of 2030. Four years in. The 9th graders who showed up nervous and quiet at your first Golden Burrito event are now heading off to college. Some of them even led their own small groups as seniors. A handful of parents have told you, at some point in the last four years, that the relationship with their son or daughter’s small group leader was the only reason their kid kept coming to church. Rising 6th graders can’t wait to get to Crestwood Students and go to summer camp with you! Your volunteer team has tripled, and half of them started as students you led. You built that. It's not a fantasy, it's just what’s possible if you are the right fit 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 an average of 35-40 students on Sunday nights. 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 disciple maker, who can throw a good party and happens to be excellent at building volunteer teams because the truth about student ministry, is that it lives or dies on whether adults besides you show up and keep showing up. We have a strong student 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 growing bench of trained, motivated adult volunteers who feel personally shepherded, not just scheduled.

• Recruit, onboard, and train Small Group Leaders, Large Group Teachers, and the Welcome Team

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

• Provide communication that disciples volunteers, not just informs them

• Maintain the weekly serving schedule (Planning Center Services) and troubleshoot gaps proactively

• Develop a leadership pipeline so key roles are never one person deep

2. Student Discipleship & Programming

Win looks like: students in each phase encountering the gospel weekly through excellent, age-appropriate teaching and one-off events where students can invite their friends

• Plan and lead weekly Crestwood Students gatherings (Sundays, 4–6pm), small and large group

• Maintain a scope and sequence, in partnership with the Executive Pastor, aligned with Reformed theology and Crestwood's five catalytic behaviors: worship regularly, give generously, serve faithfully, connect relationally, share expectantly

• Plan and execute quarterly student experiences (Golden Burrito, The Outcider, Hello Summer, etc.) and annual middle school and high school camps/retreats

• Plan and execute the bi-annual Confirmation process, in partnership with the Senior Pastor and Session

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 student discipleship, parenting, and student culture

• Provide monthly communication to parents with curriculum previews, upcoming events, and at-home discipleship tips

• Show up outside Sunday mornings at games, recitals, performances

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

4. Assimilation & Church Alignment

Win looks like: first-time student families move toward Covenant Partnership through a clear, warm, well-tracked path.

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

• Maintain accurate family and student profiles in Planning Center

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

• Partner with the Senior Pastor and Worship Director to plan graduation Sunday for graduating high school and college students

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 student ministry, paid or volunteer

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

• You can talk to a Millennial parent and a Gen Alpha kid in the same afternoon without switching personalities

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

• You know the difference between a good party and a great one, and you have opinions about which inflatable decorations are worth the storage space

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

Learn more about us:

crestwoodrva.org

instagram.com/crestwoodrva

Instagram.com/crestwoodrvastudents

instagram.com/crestwoodrvakids

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