Youth and Community Worker

Wester Hailes Baptist Church was established in the 1970's to meet the spiritual needs of the growing council housing scheme in the west of Edinburgh. The church has been a member of the FIEC since 2019. The congregation consists of a mix of older people and a number of families with young children, and the church has a strong tradition of children's and youth work, although currently numbers of young people are relatively small. We are currently seeking to appoint a youth and community worker with a focus on reaching out into the community to bring in more young people, and of course others, as opportunity arises. We currently have a full-time pastor and also employ a female pastoral care worker with the aim of serving and reaching older people. There is a team of 2 elders and 4 deacons (including our pastoral care worker) who are responsible, along with the pastor, for the spiritual and practical care of the church.

The key functions of the youth and community worker (male or female) would be:

•  To give effective leadership to the youth and children's ministry such that it will thrive and grow both spiritually and numerically under the hand of God. (1 Peter 5:2-3)
• To train and equip young people for leadership at various levels within the youth and community work. (2 Tim 2:2)
• To encourage young people into the church as they grow in maturity. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
• To reach out to young people through connection to local schools, etc., seeking to win them for Christ and introduce them to the church. (Matt 5:14)
• The role will also include reaching out to other members of the community, including organising community events (e.g. annual Fun Day), and otherwise as opportunity arises.

Required Skills

It is an essential requirement that the Youth and Community Worker be a committed Christian, with their own day to day walk with Christ. The person will have a strong desire to see people become committed and growing disciples of Jesus Christ, and has the skills, commitment and personality to achieve this. The person appointed must:

• Have a love for God, for his Word and for people
• Be in agreement with the Doctrinal Basis and Ethos Statements of the FIEC
• Show Christian character in their own life, in their relationships and in their dealings with other people (Galatians 5:22-25, Ephesians 4:1-6, 1 Tim 4:12)
• To have the gift of evangelism