Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission:
- “We are a caring community, growing spiritually as disciples of Jesus Christ. Together we spread the good news of Jesus through worship, fellowship, education, prayer, and especially mission.”
Vision:
- “We are a connected community, growing in Christ and, through service, empowering our neighbors to thrive.”
Values:
- Connect: We create and sustain life-giving relationships, across all generations.
- Inspire: We worship God in ways that stir our souls, sharpen our minds, and speak to our hearts.
- Follow: We experience transformation through the Holy Spirit, and help others do the same.
- Unify: We join together across our differences, to make a difference.
Staff Culture
- Team Structure & Size: The Family Ministry team is headed by Lead Pastor Aaron Neff, with a staff that includes a full-time Associate Pastor, a part-time Parish Associate, a full-time Director of Children’s Ministry and Hospitality, an Office Manager/Communications Coordinator, a Church Administrator, a Music Director (with organist and choir directors), and a full-time Custodian.
- Tone & Collaboration: Staff describe the culture as warm, tight-knit, authentic, and low-drama, with pastoral leadership that provides clarity and high trust without micromanagement. The team works in an interdependent, “think like an owner” environment where staff jump in to support one another across ministries.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Vision & Oversight: Cast vision and define a unified philosophy for Family Ministry (birth through high school) that shifts the ministry’s culture from program delivery toward relationship-driven discipleship.
- Direct Youth Ministry Leadership (60%): Directly lead middle school and high school programming, including Wednesday night “Logos” youth gatherings, the Sunday Youth Forum, confirmation classes, retreats, and mission trips.
- Children’s Ministry Oversight (40%): Provide direct supervisory leadership over the Director of Children’s Ministry to ensure a seamless transition and alignment across all age tiers.
- Parent Equipping: Intentionally equip, mentor, and coach parents to see themselves as the primary disciplers of their own children.
- Volunteer Recruitment & Development: Proactively recruit, train, and retain volunteer leaders to execute ministry, rather than delivering programs single-handedly.
- Curriculum & Benchmarks: Establish clear spiritual formation and educational benchmarks across age levels and implement a cohesive biblical curriculum.
- Occasional Preaching & Teaching: Teach and preach in Sunday morning worship services a few times a year for personal and professional development.
- Community & Campus Outreach: Leverage student activities, Wednesday Logos, and the church’s new 7-acre second campus property for local student outreach and university connections.
Key Qualifications
Beyond the baseline experience, salary range, and competencies outlined elsewhere in this profile, the church and search team have highlighted:
- Sense of Calling to Post-Christian Northeast: A specific desire and passion to labor in the “hard soil” of post-Christian upstate New York.
- Relational, “Leader” Profile: High priority placed on relational and leadership strengths—casting vision, recruiting volunteer teams, and building warm, personal connections with youth and parents—over purely administrative tasks.
- Focus on Long-Term Tenure: Search committee members and parents have expressed a strong desire for someone seeking a multi-year, long-term commitment, to establish stability after years of frequent youth leader transitions.
- High Energy & Student Engagement: Personal warmth, high energy, and the ability to command respect and engage high schoolers without talking down to them.
- Non-Siloed Team Partner: A high degree of collaborative fit to work side-by-side with Children’s Ministry and pastoral staff in an owner-mindset environment.
- Flexible Educational Background: A Master’s degree or M.Div is not strictly required; candidate evaluation prioritizes proven relational success, volunteer building, and practical discipleship over academic credentials alone.