Worship Pastor

We are seeking a Worship Pastor whose role is to model and foster a culture of expectancy and Spirit filled worship.  This will enable people to pursue the presence of God in a creative and contemporary style at St Catherine’s Church, Belle Vue, Wakefield WF1 5HL.

Responsible to: Revd. David Gerrard (Vicar) and the PCC

Appointment Term: Fixed term for 2 years initially

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver the sung worship at St Catherine’s.
• Lead, recruit and train the worship team. 
• Lead weekly rehearsals that prepare for Sunday and cultivate a foundation of prayer and Christ-centredness to the worship ministry.
• Encourage and promote worship, including a creative and adventurous vision, within St Catherine’s
• Maintain, process and implement necessary licenses and copyrights, including keeping records.
• Introduce new songs.
• Maintain worship song files.
• Co-ordinate worship rota and contact details.
• Develop a foundation of prayer to the worship ministry.
• Oversee the effective administration of this ministry, including potential budgets.
• Contribute fully to the broader vision of St Catherine’s Church and Centre.
• Attend midweek staff meetings and be fully committed member of St Catherine’s congregation - attending Sunday services and other appropriate meetings/events and services.
• To carry out any other reasonable tasks as required by the vicar or PCC.

Personal Attributes:

• An active personal faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to fellowship.
• Excellent musical ability with a good singing voice, able to lead worship with guitar and/or piano to a high standard and experience of leading, directing and arranging bands.
• The ability to think strategically and plan ahead.
• Good communication skills.
• A warm and open demeanour, and a good sense of humour.
• Energetic, self-starting, able to take initiative.

Education and Background:

• Educated to at least GCSE standard, preferably with relevant musical qualifications or proven high standard of musical ability.
• Experience of leading and producing worship in a church based and live event context, across all ages.
• Proven experience of establishing, developing and leading a team of volunteers.
• Proven ability to work with a team

Desirable extras:

• Skills and knowledge of AV equipment. 
• The passion and ability to write new worship songs.
• Skills in filming and video editing.
• A passion to foster other worship expressions within the church, e.g. Drama, art, etc. 

Context:

St Catherine’s Church are a group of ordinary people, growing together and serving our world in the love of Jesus.

We are an evangelical, vibrant and inclusive Church and Community Centre located less than a mile from the town centre of Wakefield.  Our main Sunday morning service is of an evangelical style with a charismatic bias.  Sung worship is a key part of our time together: in a way that is heartfelt, Spirit-filled and points people to Jesus. 

Our sung worship is normally made up of charismatic, modern worship songs (with some traditional hymns alongside).  We are blessed with a number of skilled volunteer musicians and singers.  We have recently updated all our A.V. equipment and have a skilled and passionate A.V. team who maintain and operate it. 

Wakefield is a pleasant Cathedral city, well placed for easy access to other major cities and the glorious Yorkshire countryside.  The Parish of East Wakefield covers various parts of the city: Belle Vue, Agbrigg, Kirkgate, Eastmoor, Pinders and City Fields.  It is made up of an ever-changing and highly diverse population as well as showing many signs of deprivation. 

A major turning point in the life of St Catherine’s was a devastating fire in 1993.  A major redevelopment project resulted in a purpose built church and community centre. 

The Church is open throughout the week serving its community.  Among other things, we run an Adult Day Care service, an Emergency Food Store, mental health support, a meals on wheels service, a community cafe and various community groups.  We also run other worship services during the week, from midweek communions to fresh expressions of church for our Emergency Food Store users.

We are also the base for the ‘Every Good Work’ Project, a Christian project aimed at young people.  As part of this we employ a Youth Worker and a Project Co-ordinator. 

We are also part of the Eastmoor Community Project, who run the St Swithun’s Community Centre on the Eastmoor estate.  This hosts a nursery, operates a food pantry, a cafe, adult education, community groups and more. 

Our leadership team includes the Vicar, an Associate Priest, a youth worker, three Lay Ministers, a Centre Manager and others.  We will also be joined by a Curate in July, and are advertising for a Children’s worker. 

This role description and person specification is not an exhaustive list of tasks and responsibilities. 

The role is also subject to necessary DBS checks and safeguarding training.