Youth Ministry Associate

Cornerstone Church • Ames, IA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

Run the day-to-day of Cornerstone's middle school ministry — its events, its logistics, and its student leaders — and grow into greater ownership over time. This is a FULL-TIME staff position. The role involves executing middle school programming, including events like Sixth Grade Madness, managing the Fifth Grade Parent Preview, and overseeing the Middle School Conference. It requires owning the details, ensuring a positive parent experience, and managing the logistics of events. The position also involves dreaming up and creating new initiatives to enhance the middle school experience. A key aspect is student leader discipleship through one-on-ones and consistent investment. The role is hands-on, involving tasks such as setting up and tearing down, loading and unloading, running errands, organizing materials, and general upkeep. Additional responsibilities include screening applicants and volunteers, managing youth materials and merchandise, community outreach by visiting schools and attending events, supporting ministry-wide events, managing group logistics, and representing the middle school ministry in staff meetings. The initial focus is on execution and learning, with a trajectory for increased ownership and responsibility over time. The weekly rhythm includes standing commitments like churchwide and staff meetings, with Wednesday being the primary programming day. Flexibility and forward-thinking are essential due to the variable demands of ministry work. Retreats, conferences, and camps may require exceeding forty hours, but ordinary weeks should not.

Requirements

• Ability to effectively manage the ministry cycle and calendar.
• Flexibility and forward thinking.
• Self-driven.
• Ability to see what needs doing and do it.
• Calling: Know you are adopted, loved, and called by Jesus.
• Behave like an owner, not an employee.
• Character: Be who you say you are.
• Convictions: Willing to do what is right in every situation.
• Competency: Get into the details and work diligently toward excellence in event planning, key parents in the church, logistics, and group organization.
• Capacity: Horsepower meets or exceeds your level of leadership.
• Willingness to work hard, and to exceed forty hours in seasons that ask more.
• Chemistry: Make our staff team more healthy because you are in the room.

Nice To Haves

• Grow into greater ownership over time.
• Initially, you will not carry primary speaking or platform roles — the voice of middle school programming stays with the director and the ministry leader.
• Your first year is about executing what we hand you, doing it well, and beginning to take ownership of pieces as you prove you can carry them.
• Room to work hard, try things, and make mistakes while you are learning.

Responsibilities

• Middle school programming execution — Run Sixth Grade Madness, manage the Fifth Grade Parent Preview, and manage Middle School Conference.
• Own the details, the parent experience, and the many moving parts that make a middle school event land.
• Dream up and create new middle school initiatives that make the experience better for our students.
• Student leader discipleship — Help disciple a core group of student leaders through consistent one-on-ones, regular presence on Wednesday nights, and steady investment in their growth.
• Hands-on ministry execution — Setting up and tearing down tables and chairs, loading and unloading trailers, running errands and supply runs, hauling bins out of storage, cleaning up after youth, and fixing what breaks.
• Verify and screen student leader applicants; assist with screening adult volunteers for the ministry.
• Help manage youth materials and merchandise across our various storage areas — keeping them organized, inventoried, and findable.
• Get out into the community where our students already are — visiting schools, showing up at sporting events, and building relationships outside our building.
• Support the events lane in planning and executing ministry-wide events.
• Support the groups lane in managing group logistics, leader placement, and follow-up.
• Represent middle school at weekly staff and planning rhythms.

Benefits

• Full-time staff position.
• Cornerstone Church Membership (includes being under the leadership of elders and faithfulness in attending, serving, giving, and living).
• Regular evaluation and coaching.
• Grace during the first 6 months as you learn.
• Six-month evaluation with honest, direct feedback.
• One-year review to set direction for year two.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed