Youth-Focused Leadership Developer - Eastern and Southern Africa

Description

OVERVIEW :

Eastern and Southern Africa is experiencing a youth bulge within our population. In certain countries, such as Uganda, over 75% of the population is under the age of 35. Resonate discerned this reality as an opportunity to go deep with young adults in mission as God works in and through them. Christian youth are declaring and concretely living out the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this position seeks to amplify their gospel impact in neighborhoods and communities.

PURPOSE :

The Youth-Focused Leadership Developer walks with collaborators and communities of practice to form, connect, and release youth to more fruitfully join God’s mission. This role creates gospel-shaped spiritual and social transformation. The goal of this position is to encourage youth in Christ-centered formation to grow within an intentional community and provide reflective learning and radical discipleship.

This position will remain open until filled.

Salary information is available upon request from CRCNA Human Resources.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES :

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES include the following :

Youth Formation

1. Encourage and empower youth by walking alongside them and co-facilitating Youth Cohorts or peer networks for mutual learning and care and prophetic imagination to concretely live out gospel witness within neighborhoods.

2. Identify and develop long-term reciprocal relationships with Christian leaders, churches, and organizations who see youth as leaders. Share a vision for missional living and gospel witness among different sociocultural backgrounds including the poor and marginalized.

3. Using practical and interactive learning processes, curricula, and methodologies, co-facilitate conversations, experiences, gatherings, and courses that equip youth to serve, lead, and innovate.

4. Care for key leaders, accompanying them through prayer, mentoring, and spiritual direction to promote a growing faith in Jesus, emotional well-being, and sustainability in ministry.

5. Co-design and connect with youth and collaborators for life skills, vocational discernment, and social entrepreneurship.

6. Collaborate actively with a community of practice relating to the ministry for mutual learning and growth as youth fruitfully live by God’s gifting within them.

Participating in the Regional Team

1. Meet with other Resonate staff and partners in the region once a month for prayer, learning, guidance, and ministry planning.

2. Become involved with the team’s communal listening and discernment processes and spiritual conferences.

3. Peer mentor church and ministry leaders engaged in youth leadership development.

4. Periodically connect virtually and in person with other team members and partners in the region for , prayer, strategy, best practices, and encouragement.

Service with North America

1. Facilitate reciprocal exchanges between the CRCNA and ministry collaborators in Eastern and Southern Africa for youth leadership formation.

2. Return to North America periodically for Reconnect visits to report on God’s mission within youth and listen for ways to connect the CRCNA and other entities in the formation of youth.

3. Provide the CRCNA with insight and resources about youth missional formation from the missionary’s knowledge and expertise, encouraging a deeper passion and involvement in global missions.

4. Communicate the nature and impact of Resonate's ministry activities to the CRCNA and others through written communications (at least quarterly), and through teaching and speaking engagements, especially on Reconnect visits.

5. Participate in support-raising for Resonate Global Mission’s ministries by developing and maintaining a network of supporting churches and individuals in North America.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

None

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE :

QUALIFICATIONS

• Professing membership in a Christian Reformed congregation, or of a church in ecclesiastical fellowship with the CRCNA, and agreement with the doctrine of the church signified by signing a covenant statement.
• Demonstrated commitment to gospel witness and the integral word and deed mission of the church as expressed in Resonate’s foundational documents.
• Demonstrated affinity and passion for ministering among people of different sociocultural backgrounds including the poor and marginalized.
• Demonstrated effective intercultural awareness and capabilities to work with others from different cultures and religious backgrounds
• Demonstrated ability to listen well and empower others for gospel witness and ministry.
• Proven capacity to be creative and innovative in complex situations without a predetermined map.
• Self-motivated and proven quality administrative and organizational skills.
• Flexible and adaptable to travel, communication, and living conditions in Africa.
• The ability to travel periodically to, from, and within North America.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

The successful candidate for this position will pass through two intermediate steps before taking up the tasks outlined in this position description; the rate range for each step is included.

Step #1

Missionary Candidate :   The purpose of this position is to prepare for international service by building a network of prayer, care and financial support in North America that will enable future ministry.  Ordinarily, this will progress from part-time to full-time as the support network grows through the work of the candidate and the missionary support team that is designed for this purpose.  One can expect to be in this role for 6-12 months, depending on how quickly the support network comes together.

Step #2

Missionary in Training :   The purpose of this role is to develop language and culture skills, ministry skills and relationships that will enable future ministry, and begin to use those in ministry.  Ordinarily, one can expect to be in this role for 6 to 18 months, depending on prior background and experience.  The pay range for this step is US or Canada on the International scale.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT :

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Application Instructions : Please upload your resume and cover letter as one .pdf or .doc / .docx file.

Who We Are

The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) includes just over one thousand congregations across the United States and Canada. About 75 percent of the churches are in the United States and 25 percent are in Canada. While we're a denomination with churches and ministries in two countries, we share in the blessings of ecclesial unity and joint ministry. Almost 230,000 people belong to the CRCNA—not a large number when you consider the population of our two countries. But by God’s grace we can accomplish a lot when we work together.

The CRCNA denominational offices serve the local church, providing resources to pastors and congregations so that people are introduced to Jesus Christ and their faith is nurtured. Other agencies of the CRCNA include ReFrame Ministries , Resonate Global Mission , and World Renew .

Be Who You Are

The CRCNA is committed to building a culture of belonging that encourages, supports, and celebrates the voices and experiences of all our employees. We strive to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our broader culture and the Christian church, and invite all qualified candidates to apply.

To read the CRCNA Diversity Statement click here