Welcome!

Thank you for your interest in St. John’s Baptist Church and the search for our next Minister for Children and Their Families. St. John’s is located in the historic Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte and is a progressive, service-oriented congregation committed to the principles of inclusion and openness to all who seek to be a Child of God.  We are affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the NC Council of Churches.  We welcome all those interested to apply regardless of denominational affiliation.  

We are seeking candidates called to minister with children and their families in a progressive and inclusive setting as part of our ministerial staff. If you or someone you know would be interested in applying, we invite you to learn more about the position, our church, and its ministries below and throughout this website. Those interested in applying or who may have questions should contact our search committee at SearchTeam@sjcharlotte.org. If you would like to be considered for the position, please provide the following to the foregoing email address:

• • A cover letter;
• • A resume reflecting your educational and professional experience; and
• • A video response not to exceed three (3) minutes responding to one of these prompts:**    
  • What is your favorite Bible story to teach children and why?
  • What would you emphasize most in your ministry to young families?

**In the event video files exceed attachment limits, please provide a link to your video response on any video hosting or file storage website you prefer (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).

Upon receipt of the items above, we will acknowledge receipt of your application and keep you apprised as we review and begin scheduling interviews.

The Position

Our search team, in consultation with the congregation and the ministerial staff, has identified the following responsibilities, objectives, attributes, and qualifications that we are seeking to achieve in our hiring process.

Leadership

• Guide ministries to children and their families by coordinating and providing Christian education, pastoral care, family support, and friendship.   Facilitate opportunities for spiritual formation and community engagement.
• Promote the spirit of St. John’s and guide St. John’s toward pursuing the congregation’s vision for engaging children and their families by being a visible representative in the community and with our missions and service partners.
• Oversee all administrative details related to children and their families in our congregation and the surrounding community.  Administrative details include, but are not limited to, supervising the Weekday School Director, serving as the staff representative to the Weekday School Board, serving as the liaison to the Head Start Director, in addition to, preparing budgets and identifying and fulfilling resource, space and equipment needs.
• Recruit, equip, support, and develop leaders (i) within the Children’s Ministry, (ii) among the volunteers who work with children, and (iii) among children’s families.  
• Energize the people of St. John’s to increase their support for, participation in, and engagement with St. John’s children and their families.

Spiritual Growth and Theological Formation

•  Be called to Christian ministry as a profession and demonstrate a desire for lifelong learning in the areas of spirituality, worship, congregational life and leadership.
• Serve as an example to children and their families through discipleship which models a pursuit of spiritual growth and theological literacy.
• Communicate and model St. John’s approach to ecumenical practices in the context of inclusive Baptist principles.
• Foster a welcoming, affirming environment among children and their families that allows an opportunity for questioning and spiritual growth.
• Collaborate with ministerial staff and lay leaders in worship planning to facilitate the inclusion of children in worship roles and to make worship more meaningful to that group.

Personal and Relational Professionalism

• Express an inclusive and hospitable spirit toward all persons in ways that are representative of the values and vision of St. John’s.
• Exhibit superior interpersonal skills and confidence in public speaking, especially by conveying a sense of enthusiasm for St. John’s.
• Foster community between children and members of all ages to promote and support the inter-generational spirit of the church.
• Commit to St. John’s by becoming an active participant in the life of St. John’s.
• Commit to the local community and surrounding neighborhood by being an active participant in events and initiatives in Charlotte.
• Embrace opportunities to provide services and support to members of all ages at St. John’s while working collaboratively with existing ministerial staff to meet congregational needs.
• Exhibit creativity, flexibility and strong problem solving skills.
• Demonstrate a commitment to personal development, a desire to learn, and pursuit of continuing education opportunities.
• Express an understanding of culture and diversity, showing thoughtfulness and sensitivity relating with awareness of inclusive ways to value all persons. 

Children and their Families Ministry

• Children’s Ministry

• Continue and strengthen traditional elements of St. John’s children programming (e.g. Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Passport Kids, Family Dedication Services, Summer Camping Ministry for Children, and Parent Education for Children’s Spiritual Formation, etc.).
• Develop programming that promotes service, Christian education, worship and social engagement opportunities for children.
• Guide the Children’s Resource Team to plan an annual calendar through collaboration with the church staff and in support of the congregational ministries calendar.
• Manage external and internal communications related to children’s programming and engagement across social media and other communication platforms.

•Community Ministry

• Continue and strengthen traditional elements of St. John’s Community programming (e.g. children’s basketball, Weekday School, and Head Start).
• Equip the congregation and facilitate engagement with the children of the community (in and around our building and as a theological magnet church.).

Where We’ve Been

A Brief History

A meeting of some 200 worshipers to organize St. John’s Baptist Church occurred March 26, 1922. This meeting was the culmination of a series of gatherings, prayer groups, and conferences of Baptists concerned with the progress of their denomination in what was then eastern suburban Charlotte. We are currently celebrating our centennial year.

Where We Are Going

St. John’s is a leading church in Charlotte. As we approach our second century of ministry in 2022, we are excited about our future opportunities to impact the Queen City with God’s Good News. Our strong servant orientation of Active Faith is supported by worship that is both participative and reverent; by a renewed focus on spiritual growth and learning; and by intentional expressions of compassionate care. We are expanding our efforts of outreach and creating new pathways of connecting our message with the residents of metro Charlotte. Because we offer an inclusive and ecumenical message, our members are drawn from the entire metro Charlotte region, the fifth fastest-growing city in the nation.

The Elizabeth Neighborhood and Charlotte, NC

With our facilities located at the corner of Hawthorne Lane and Fifth Street, St. John’s Baptist Church is 1.9 miles from the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, in Charlotte Center City. The Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area has a population of 1.8 million people which continues to grow. Identified as one of our nation’s most livable communities, it ranks high regarding the quality of life.

Factors such as affordability, ease of commute, ability to connect with other parts of the world, a thriving arts and science community, professional sports and a talented diverse labor force encourage financial investment in the region, new businesses, quality employees and employment opportunities. Despite economic downturns, Charlotte is the second-largest banking center in the U.S. Charlotte has changed during the last half-century. No longer do workers turn out the lights and leave the city center when the workday ends. Charlotteans, metro neighbors and tourists flood the streets each evening and on weekends to enjoy world-class events, entertainment and restaurants which are readily available.

When St. John’s was founded in 1922, she was considered an outreach ministry to the developing suburbs of the Elizabeth and Myers Park neighborhoods. According to historian Dr. Dan Morrill, both were among the most fashionable of Charlotte’s residential areas. During the past century, the city has experienced widespread growth. The metropolitan area extends in almost every direction to the Mecklenburg County line. St. John’s remains in her original location, a landmark in the currently rejuvenating Elizabeth Community. Her neighbors include Novant-Presbyterian Hospital, a large medical complex, businesses, fine dining, and neighborhood pubs. There are wide, tree-lined streets with single-family and multi-family dwellings and one of the nation’s oldest and most beautiful city parks.

Throughout St. John’s history, members have come from both the immediate neighborhood and the surrounding metro area. Her reach extends from the heart of Elizabeth to communities in Lake Norman and Union County. The congregation is committed to reaching out to neighbors in the Elizabeth neighborhood and beyond. St. John’s strives to identify and address the physical and spiritual needs of her community.

In the first decade of the 21st century, St. John’s has been recognized as a new local community that has rapidly grown up within a three-mile radius of the church. It not only includes the Elizabeth neighborhood, but newly built Center City residences housing large numbers of urban dwellers. Currently, there are 99,459 people residing in 44,241 households in the defined area and that number is projected to consistently increase over the next five years. According to a 2010 report by Percepts, a leading provider of demographic data to faith institutions, individuals 49 and younger make up 75% of the population. “Diversity” best characterizes this community. Racial/ethnic diversity is evident: the white and African-American populations are almost equally represented at approximately 43% and 41%, respectively. Hispanics and other minorities comprise the remaining 16%. The Percepts (2010) demographic study found the lifestyle group of Ethnic and Urban Diversity to be the largest at 38.8%, the Young and Coming follows closely with 35.8% of the total population. Affluent Families (11%) and Middle American Families (9.8%) round out the four largest lifestyle groups within St. John’s local community. The variety of lifestyles, wide range of income levels, high numbers of nontraditional families, above-average number of rental dwellings, and the above-average number of economically struggling households present special opportunities and challenges. The nearby neighbors provide St. John’s a source of new and unique talents.

In the document defining core values, St. John’s declared a continuing commitment to local service with the following:

“We are a servant Church with a primary focus on local community outreach and missions. While we will serve God’s children as God leads us, we recognize that as a center-city community of faith, we have a special responsibility to seek opportunities that will address the unmet social and spiritual needs of communities and individuals within central Charlotte.”

In addition, St. John’s embraces the wide range of diversity in her newly identified local community, as stated in the following:

“We are committed to the principles of inclusion and openness to all who seek to be a Child of God. We will not allow discrimination in our membership policy against anyone because of race, gender, sexual orientation, station in life, or previous religious affiliation. We have settled this position as policy and embrace it fully.”

Throughout her history, St. John’s has maintained a commitment to strengthening relationships with her neighbors in Charlotte and the larger community of faith. The congregation and staff have examined and take seriously these relationships.

Who We Are

Church Demographics

In preparation for calling new ministry staff members, a task force recently researched some of the demographics of St. John’s. As of 2019, we found that the church rolls listed 1,262 adults. Of those adults, the task force identified 398 as “active” congregants (meaning they had active involvement in the worship and programs of St. John’s). In addition to the active adults, the task force identified approximately 34 children and 48 youth who met the “active” definition. There were also 24 college-aged young adults who are children of St. John’s families with whom our staff maintains communication. Finally, there were also 39 “neighbors” who are congregants that, due to age or illness, can no longer attend activities at the church, but receive visits, correspond with us and are considered part of the St. John’s community. As an update to the following numbers, during the recent pandemic, we welcomed 16 new babies into the church.

The total active population was 519 people. By age, they break down as follows:

These population numbers represent only those congregants who have a formal, regular relationship with St. John’s. They do not include the thousands of guests, community members, and partners who grace our facilities every day of the year.

Our Structure and Leadership

Leadership at St. John’s starts with the congregation – we are each and all participants in God’s servant church. The people of St. John’s work with our equipping ministers and administrative staff to guide the church in its ministries. Our equipping ministers are: Senior Minister, Minister for Worship and Music, Minister for Congregational Care, Minister for Youth and Young Adults, and Minister for Children and Their Families. 

The congregation ordains a Diaconate, setting apart deacons as servant leaders of the church. Each year, members of the congregation elect a slate of sixteen (16) members to serve three (3) year terms as deacons. The forty-eight (48) deacons are divided among three panels according to their skills and interests: Administrative (covering Finance, Human Resources, etc.); Ministries (covering Education, Worship, etc.); and Pastoral (covering Congregational Care, etc.). These three panels collaborate with the Church Council (comprised of the officers of each of the three panels in addition to the Chair of the Diaconate and the Senior Minister) to determine, initiate, and support the various ministries and actions of St. John’s Baptist Church.

The Diaconate and Church Council work with the Senior Minister to guide the church toward our church’s objectives. Standing resource teams administer the ongoing needs of the church (for example, the Finance Resource Team, the Personnel Resource Team, the Worship Resource Team, the Missions Resource Team). Short-term task forces accomplish projects for brief time periods. Members of our ministry staff serve as liaisons to deacon panels, resource teams and task forces ensuring that our congregation works together to achieve the church’s objectives.

Our Connections

St. John’s is a Baptist community of faith. Our congregation treasures the distinctive qualities that have characterized Baptists throughout history, including the sanctity of each individual’s personal relationship with God, the autonomy of the local church and the separation of church and state. St. John’s takes pride in its affiliations with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Alliance of Baptists. Nonetheless, loyalty to denomination is secondary to the higher authority of God, as we follow the Way of Jesus Christ through the influence of the Holy Spirit.

St. John’s has never depended upon denominational formalities to form connections with the outside world. Partnerships that shape the St. John’s identity in the community have traditionally begun with the passions of a few inspired members and grown into church-wide priorities. This person-by-person approach to connections has led to an eclectic mix of missions and partnerships for St. John’s, but the unique devotion behind each initiative and relationship provides depth and meaning. Examples of connections at St. John’s include:

• Active involvement in local missions, including Crisis Assistance Ministry, Mecklenburg Ministries, Hope Chapel and Room in the Inn.

• Nonprofit and charitable organizations which make use of our facilities, including Church World Services (CROP Walk), Urban Ministry Center’s “Room in the Inn”, Right Moves for Youth, the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, Charlotte Family Housing, St. John’s Weekday School, and various support groups and Bible study groups.

• Community and neighborhood groups like Novant-Presbyterian Hospital, and other arts, education, and neighborhood groups that use our facilities on a regular basis.

• Partnership in The Elizabeth Communities of Faith, a cross-denominational group of Elizabeth neighborhood churches plus the chaplaincy groups of the local hospitals.