Associate Pastor for Youth and Families

Covenant Presbyterian Church is a growing multigenerational church in Huntsville, AL. We’re located in one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country but still keep a small town suburban feel. Our city was voted the #1 place to live in America by the US News and World report for 2022-2023. It’s one of the most affordable cities to live in but is rich in amenities such as sports, culture, arts, music, medical care, colleges, parks, restaurants and more. We’re home to NASA and are a national hub for jobs in engineering, medicine and the military. Our city is highly educated and our youth are very smart and ask deep questions about faith. The role of Associate Pastor of Youth will provide a strong witness to a community that loves science but is hungry for deep theological understanding and genuine relationships. Our congregation’s highest priority right now is to provide for the evangelism and discipleship of our young people. We are committed to investing in the staff and budget at the highest level to build a thriving youth program. We believe that the culture our children are growing up in is becoming less Christian. This places additional urgency on the church to step up in the lives of our city’s young people. It is critically important to provide a strong theological foundation for our youth, a vibrant community of older adults to mentor them, and a joyful space where kids can make friends. We are a member of the Fellowship Community of Presbyterians and are committed to being a conservative theological voice within the PC(USA) and in our city. The Associate Pastor at Covenant will serve as the department head of our ministries to young people, supervising the part time children’s director and reporting directly to the senior pastor. This would be an ideal role for a candidate who wishes to become a senior pastor in the future and every encouragement and opportunity will be given for the Youth Pastor’s professional growth including mentoring in preaching and organizational leadership from the senior pastor. Alternatively, it would also be an ideal role for a candidate who feels deeply called to ministry to young people and has a vision to build a multi-staff department from infant to college with several assistant directors. In either case the role will require an entrepreneurial drive and enthusiasm in addition to excellent organizational and team building skills.The vision is too big for any single leader and the candidate will need to inspire and motivate a network of staff and volunteers. There is a strong group of adult volunteers already in place to assist in this ministry and the whole congregation takes great pride and joy in the work of the Youth. Our greatest focus is sharing Christ with those who need him. Barna Group research suggests that two thirds of those who accept Christ as savior do so by the age of 18. So this ministry is at the very center of our church’s heart. Please contact us for further information or a copy of our church MDP.

We have very ambitious goals to more than double the size of our Youth Group within 36 months. The Youth Pastor will need to be very focused and disciplined to achieve this goal, acting like a missionary to the young people and families in our church and in the surrounding neighborhood. It will require excellent leadership, creativity, and courage. The ideal candidate will be highly relational and highly organized. They should be able to build relationships with both students and with adult volunteers and keep track of the details in communicating with other staff and teammates. They should also have an entrepreneurial vision, able to try new things to reach more kids and grow God’s kingdom. Once the Youth Group has grown, there would be the opportunity to hire additional staff in the “department” and for the Youth Pastor to grow professionally within our congregation as the Department Head of a thriving program from infant through college. Alternatively, if the Youth Pastor’s goal is to become a senior pastor, the congregation will support and encourage that launch to their next professional step having gained all the training and resources needed for their future flourishing.