Sr. High Youth Group Leader

Sr. High Youth Group Leader

Background:

The UCC in Keene, NH has a history of outstanding youth programs. These include a year-long confirmation program, middle school youth group and one of the largest senior high school youth groups in the state. The senior high youth group program experience is crucial for encouraging young people to continue to ask big questions about their faith and their lives, to assist others in their faith exploration by being mentors to the confirmation class, experience mission, explore gifts and vocation, and to learn that their church community supports and challenges them as they grow in faith. We have high expectations for sr. high youth group participants and the congregation enjoys and takes seriously its role in the shaping, leading and supporting this ministry. The sr. high youth group program will start September 16, 2007 and typically ends with the conclusion of the program year in June. We are interested in extending this group into the summer months leveraging things like the NH Conference of the UCC's Horton Center camping program and a multi-day Christian music festival that occurs nearby, and perhaps having one or more informal social gatherings of sr. high youth.

The program is supervised by the Director of Christian Ed with active help from the Acting Transitional Pastor / Assistant Pastor and a committed group of lay leaders. The program is funded through the Christian Education budget, fundraising and some special designated gifts, and the CE Board provides oversight for this and all other youth programming.

Role of the Senior High Youth Group Leader:

This leader is the key consistent leader of the 2007-2008 Sr. High Youth Group. S/he will have a strong personal faith and experience in guiding youth and their adult advisors through age-appropriate and thoughtful exercises, discussions, retreats, mission trips and local community service projects, and fundraising, Contributing and collaborating with other UCC in Keene ministries and missions is part of this vibrant ministry. In one way or another, the programmatic elements of the sr. high youth group are all aimed at raising important faith questions, clarifying values based on Christian principles and forming/ reinforcing youth in the habits of living their Christian faith.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities:

Model a vital and growth personal Christian faith within the UCC / reformed tradition; appropriately share your personal faith journey with participants and adults and help them share their own journeys and questions. Lead worship experiences for meetings and all other elements of the program. Model acceptance and tolerance of others' beliefs while clarifying fundamental elements of Christian thought and tradition;
Schedule, invite, plan and lead meetings, fundraisers, community service events, mission trips and other activities with participants. The Sr. High Youth Group Leader will plan 1-2 meetings / month. Other special activities planned include
February vacation week mission trip (last year ~55 adult and Sr. High participants; April vacation week mission trip (~25 participants) each culminating in a participant-led worship service upon return;
Pasta Dinner, a major fund-raiser held in mid-November;
Ensure that the meeting space, equipment, access to buildings, etc is set up for the planned activities;
Communicate to lay advisors, guest leaders, etc. their role(s) in the session and provide coaching that enables them to contribute to the meeting / event / discussion / lesson.

Other duties include:

Provide or arrange for safe church training to adult leaders;
Ensure compliance with safe church policies including but not limited to:
primary and secondary disclosure forms;
driver's license / insurance coverage;
2-adult rule for all activities
Lead planning, coordination and communication among participants, parents, Director of Christian Education (DCE), Acting Transitional Pastor / Assistant Pastor, office staff, safe church advocate, CE committee chairperson and Sr. Pastor as appropriate. Involve pastoral staff, lay leaders, the DCE as appropriate in activities, discussions, and retreats.
Plan retreats, community service and mission trips using guides from prior years and feedback from participants and lay leaders. Recruit and coordinate teams of adult advisors for these activities.
Occasional support or leadership of Sr. High discussion / worship time on Sunday mornings; encouragement of youth to participate in the worship, fellowship and mission life of the UCC in Keene; potentially some area-wide youth group activities;
Demonstrate professionalism and appropriate boundaries in all relationships; have clear limits to counseling provided to participants; bring behavioral and pastoral concerns promptly to the attention of the appropriate full-time program staff member.

Outline of the year:

At the kickoff meeting following worship on September 16, a preliminary calendar of the year's activities will be presented to the participants. Participants will make commitments for various activities. There are expectations for participation in fund-raising and service to be met in order for youth to participate in the week-long mission trips.
Hours and Compensation:

In a typical week, we estimate that this role requires 4-5 hours to accomplish:
Two hours of planning, communication and coordination for the upcoming program;
One to three hours in direct engagement with the youth and advisors, usually on Sunday;
The Sr. High Youth Group leader will be paid $75.00 / week for these activities.
Leading up to large-scale community service and fund raising activities, additional hours will be required and the Sr. High Youth Group Leader will coordinate these with the DCE. The Sr. High Youth Group Leader will be paid $15.00 / hour for these additional hours;
In addition, the two mission trips will require planning and coordination. The Sr. High Youth Group Leader will be paid $300 for planning and leading these two week-long trips.
Additionally, the Sr. High Youth Group Leader is eligible for IRS- rate mileage reimbursement from home to UCC in Keene 2x / week or as necessary and will be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses within guidelines and budget provided by the DCE.

The person accepting this role will be hired on a contract basis contingent upon reference checks and receipt of a CHRI or equivalent background check from every state of residence for the past 5 years. A valid Driver's License, insurance and safe driving record are also required.