Author: Tom

Pastoral and Administrative Assistant

Written by Tom on . Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

TIME COMMITMENT

  • Permanent role, from February 2020.
  • Averaging 10 hours per week
  • Flexible as to whether this is worked over the whole year, or February – November.

ROLE

  • Collaborative support role alongside Student Soul minister, including offering pastoral care and administrative support
  • Room for creativity, experimentation and adaptation to strengths and passions
  • Specific goals to be set with the minister. (These will be aligned with Student Soul goals for each semester and adjusted as needed, by mutual agreement.)
  • Pay rate is $21.15 per hour (living wage) + 5% Kiwisaver, reviewed annually

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE

  • Pastoral presence at Sunday evening services and other key events (such as camp).
    (Approx. 2 hours per week)
  • Administrative support
  • Coordinate roster system for services (setup and pack-down) and aid with the recruitment of people into these roles (where needed)
  • Help manage social media pages
  • Develop and maintain student database
  • Involvement in Sunday evening setup and pack-down (when necessary)
  • Other administrative tasks as required (including shopping, general office administration)

(Approx. 2 hours per week)

  • Pastoral care and small groups
  • Provide pastoral care (both proactively and responsively), particularly for female students
  • Help to develop pastoral care networks, including via small groups and by facilitating connections between students
  • Assist in the ongoing training and support of small group leaders

(Approx. 3 hours per week)

  • Passion project – mission / worship / community
  • A creative project or focus that you are passionate about which resonates with overall organisational goals

(Approx. 1.5 hours per week)

  • Team/reporting/supervision
  • Meet weekly with minister
  • Attend monthly Student Soul Oversight Team meetings
  • Bi-monthly supervision

(Approx. 1.5 hour per week)

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

  • Deep personal faith, and commitment and attention to ongoing spiritual growth
  • Desire to help young people develop and grow in Christian faith
  • Successful experience of tertiary education (degree may still be in progress)
  • Team player, with well-developed interpersonal skills
  • Pastoral competency (including listening skills), and passion for others’ flourishing
  • Able to coordinate (and demonstrate appreciation of) volunteers
  • Administrative ability
  • Proactive around hospitality and welcome
  • Ability to set and maintain appropriate personal boundaries
  • Commitment and attention to self-care.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

  • Mental Health (MH) 101 course, or equivalent, already completed or to be undertaken as soon as possible.
  • While no formal pastoral qualifications are required, the successful applicant can apply for fees-funding for one University paper per year in a related area (e.g., in 2020: Pastoral Care or Spirituality and Mental Health.) (Funding is for (domestic) fees only: study to be done in their own time.)

APPLICATION DETAILS

  • Send your application to admin@studentsoul.org.nz
  • Applications will be received up to (and during) Friday 22nd November 2019.
  • Please supply a cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for the role, and an up-to-date C.V.
  • Thank you for your interest. We will acknowledge the receipt of every application by email and will let you know of the outcome no later than Friday December 13th 2019, if not earlier.

www.studentsoul.org.nz

“C’mon, Let’s Do This” – Mark 1:29-45 (video script)

Written by Tom on . Posted in scripture. Leave a Comment

We’ve been going through the Gospel of Mark and I’ve been reading chapter 1:29-45.

Here’s 3 things you need to know from that passage.

 

[See the video here]

 

Firstly, the deeply transformative work of the kingdom that Jesus is seeking to bring about doesn’t thrive in the hype.

In verse 34, “he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”

The hype is a hindrance to the real work of transformation.

 

Secondly, that transformation that Jesus is seeking to lead us into is so vital and so urgent and so challenging that to uncover it requires focused and diligent pursuit of prayer.

In verse 35 Jesus exits himself, gets up early, goes to the mountain, and prays.

Prayer is the doorway to the real work of wonder, of relational richness, and of life change.

 

And the third thing you need to know about this passage is that Jesus is a trustworthy leader in this journey of transformation.

The kingdom goal he is chasing is soaked through with compassion and generosity.

In Verse 41, Jesus responds I do, “I do choose,” I choose to do this. A willingness to care and to give is part of this journey of transformation.

 

And so my challenge, and your challenge is:

  • Firstly, to find a deeper place to live from within, below the hype of life.
  • Secondly to guard and prioritise creative practices of prayer as a matter of urgency.
  • Thirdly, to embrace compassion and generosity towards others as we go.

PURSUE DEPTH
ACTIVATE PRAYER
EMBRACE COMPASSION

we are here.

Written by Tom on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Student Soul is an expression of church for young adults here in Dunedin. It was started in 2002 as a way of empowering Dunedin students to live faith-filled, passionate and healthy lives.

Our main focus points are to grow in social energy as a community and to grow in personal transformation as people. We see these as two sides of the same coin. Because on the one hand, doing life together is part of what it means to be human; and on the other, each person is unique and individually significant.

Those two points shape the main idea of our gatherings, on Sunday nights at the Salmond chapel, and at other times too. We get together expecting to grow. We expect to be empowered. We expect to be challenged and stretched. We expect to have encounters with joy.

There’s a number of ways through which people can be involved: through a leadership development stream, music teams, creative service activities on campus; or via attendance at our worship gatherings, small groups, social events, or camps. However it happens, our goal is resourcing spirituality among students; helping you to discover your true worth.

If you need us, we’re here for you 😀