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The Bridge Bible Church - Kids Pastor/Director

On-site
  • Bakersfield, California, United States
NextGen

Job description



SNAPSHOT:

The Bridge Bible Church is looking for an experienced Kids Pastor/Director who is relational, a leader of leaders, and is passionate about creatively reaching the community of Bakersfield.

Role assignment - The Kids Director will partner with the Family Ministries Pastor and team to minister to children from birth through 5th grade.

Total church attendance - 1,400

Kid's Ministry - The kid's ministry attendance averages 240 kids per week.



HISTORY & CURRENT

In 2003 Laurelglen Bible Church planted a new church and called Jeff Gowling to Bakersfield as the church’s lead pastor. Jeff and Tracy, along with their two preschoolers, arrived with a passionate vision to launch a church to reach the city and beyond for Jesus. Fifteen years later, this remains the heart of The Bridge—for God to use this Body for broad-reaching Gospel impact in the lives of the families of Bakersfield and beyond.

A church plant that started as a gift of 75 families and 25 acres of land, has grown to thousands of people with a huge potential for growth in the next few years. Pastor Gowling, who has raised his children at the Bridge says, “I’ve seen firsthand the impact our church can have on families—I’ve lived it!” The Bridge is poised to expand the Kingdom in this community.

From 2003 to present-day, The Bridge has experienced rapid growth. The church has grown to four gatherings Sunday, added three buildings and a balcony to the Worship Center, and has launched a Capitol Campaign to fund a 40,000+ sq ft children’s facility and will include multiple upgrades in their student ministries spaces.

(To learn more about their beliefs please – Click Here)



MISSION, VISION & VALUES

Mission

Inviting the striving to something really real.

Vision

By the year 2030 we see our neighborhoods full of families who are centered on Jesus and living out the gospel

Values

These four values are the shared convictions that guide the actions and decisions we make as a church family. They are foundational to everything we do.

Truth Reigns

Truth is a person—Jesus is the One, absolute, and unfailing truth that we can center our lives on. We profess that Jesus is Lord, and our whole lives are His. We ground ourselves in Scripture as we listen to and obey the voice of God through the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to Jesus in all that we do.

Life Transformation

When we encounter Truth, we change. Through Jesus, we have been made “new creations” —fully alive—with our worth and purpose anchored in our identity in Christ. When we open our lives completely to the work of the Spirit, He will continue to transform us.

Authentic Community

God uses transformed people to transform people. So when we gather in community we don’t hide our brokenness, weakness, or fears from one another, but instead are open and honest about our journey and need for Jesus. In this environment, we can experience God’s grace, practice forgiveness, and intentionally love one another to the glory of God.

External Focus

A community centered on Jesus transforms the world. Therefore our focus shouldn’t be on ourselves, but on loving and serving others. We are called to be a blessing to our city and our world, so we reach out beyond the walls of our building to serve the needs of our neighbors—being Kingdom ambassadors to everyone we encounter.

STRATEGY

There are three key areas that demonstrate how we will accomplish our mission as a church —Big Group, Small Group, and No Group. These are the rhythms of our church life that serve as a catalyst for our growth as followers of Jesus. We believe that programs don’t attract people, transformed lives do. So everything we do as a church, we do with an UP & OUT perspective.

UP: Love for God

OUT: Love for others

Big Group—corporate church gatherings

We view Sunday as a day to celebrate who God is and what He’s doing among us. We value ALL of us together as we remember and retell the Good Story of Jesus through communion, Scripture, and worship. We make Sunday gatherings a priority in our lives, for in this rhythm, we grow together as a church body to become people on mission for Jesus in our neighborhoods and city.

Small Group—individual ministry gatherings and impact groups

We create space in our lives to be connected to one another in community. In these smaller groups we invest in each other and practice the way of Jesus. Our groups take multiple forms (Small Groups, Mens, Womens, Students, Specialty, etc.), but all of them have the same purpose: To encourage one another to grow deeper in our relationships with Jesus and also to be His physical hands and feet, serving and caring for the needs of our community.

No Group—daily personal devotions

We intentionally set aside time in our daily lives to center ourselves on Jesus. It is in the presence of God that we grow in our knowledge of Him and are formed into becoming more like Jesus. When we learn to hear and follow God’s voice through prayer, and immersing ourselves in Scripture, we are inspired to share the love of Jesus with others every day.



Job requirements


KIDS MINISTRY APPROACH


Each weekend, children learn the truth from the Bible, and how it relates to their life in an age-appropriate way. The lessons are fun, approachable and taught by committed volunteers and staff who serve Jesus by serving parents and their kids. The Bridge also offers a variety of resources to equip parents to train and teach their children about the gospel.

SNAPSHOT:

# of Kids: 240

# of Volunteers: 100+

Curriculum: Kids ministries is currently using "GO! join the story" for Elementry and Orange's "First Look" for infants through kinder. The Bridge has seen great success with these curriculums but is open to a curriculum change if this new leader feels that a change is needed.

Check-In System: Planning Center

Infant - Kindergarten (Safari Land)













1st - 5th Grade (All Stars)













Special needs

The Bridge strongly value being able to serve individuals with special needs as well as their families. Their main goal is to provide a safe environment for the entire family to grow in their faith and experience God’s love. The Special Needs Ministry is for every individual in the community, to have the ability to attend church, no matter what.













Foster and Adoption

The Bridge has been an active partner with the city of Bakersfield to help provide for the unique needs of Foster and Adoptive families. The Bridge feels that this is a growing need and one that brings about unique opportunities to serve the foster and adoption community.













Midweek:

There is no midweek programming for kids ministry. On Wednesdays, the youth ministry meets throughout the whole campus.

Events:

Each year the kids ministry has an active schedule. In the summer they host a Bible camp and take the 2nd-5th graders to Hume Lake for a week. Throughout the year there are a few key family ministries events such as family worship nights, events for foster families, and a city-wide Christmas celebration.

New Building

The Bridge will begin the first phase of a new 40,000+ sq ft children’s facility kids in 2022. This new building will bring in new technology, room design, systems, and more rooms. The Bridge is excited about stepping into the future of kids ministry and reimagining how to reach a post COVID world.










































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