Vicar of Sittingbourne St Michael w Murston, Bapchild & Tonge

Church of England; Sittingbourne; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vicarage provided

Job summary

The Church of England seeks a new Incumbent for the Benefice of Sittingbourne St Michael with Murston, Bapchild and Tonge. The role leads worship, prayer, and mission across four churches, forming a new benefice with shared identity while honouring local character.

The post involves safeguarding, governance and collaborative ministry within a Diocese framework. Applicants should be ordained in the Church of England, with experience in multi-parish ministry or revitalisation, and a track record

Qualifications

• Prayerful and grounded in faith, able to lead others into worship and discipleship.
• Collaborative and self-aware leadership, open to different views and challenge.
• Visionary governance to discern priorities and move from aspiration to action.
• Able to recognise and release gifts of others to build shared ministry.

Responsibilities

• Lead the benefice in prayer, worship and spiritual growth
• Grow holiness and numbers through relationships, teaching and outreach
• Develop schools ministry, civic connections and engage with local communities
• Draw parishes into a shared benefice life with healthy governance and decision-making
• Oversee care of listed and historic church buildings as places of worship and community
• Model sustainable ministry with a focus on safeguarding and healthy boundaries

Skills

Prayerful leadership

Collaborative leadership

Visionary leadership

Strong communications

Education

Ordination in Church of England

Job description

This role description and person specification is offered for the appointment of a new Incumbent for the Benefice of Sittingbourne St Michael with Murston, Bapchild and Tonge. It draws together the hopes, needs and priorities expressed in the individual parish profiles, and recognises that this appointment comes at a significant moment: the forming of a new benefice with distinct churches, communities and histories, now called to grow together in worship, prayer, mission and service.

The Incumbent will have the cure of souls within the new Benefice and will lead the people of St Michael’s Sittingbourne, All Saints Murston, St Laurence Bapchild and St Giles Tonge in discerning and living out God’s call in this place. The role is to nurture a shared benefice identity while honouring the particular character, tradition and context of each church and community.

The Incumbent will work collaboratively with clergy and lay colleagues to deepen prayer and worship, encourage growth in faith and numbers, strengthen outreach, develop ministry among children, young people and families, and help the churches engage confidently with the opportunities and challenges of Sittingbourne and the surrounding villages.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the benefice in prayer, worship and spiritual growth
• Grow the benefice in holiness and numbers:
  • Inwardly - building relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds, enabling the spiritual growth of individuals and, through strong communications skills, building shared understanding across multiple congregations and communities
  • Outwardly - revitalising and developing schools ministry and civic connections and engaging with local communities, new housing areas and those who may not yet see the church as for them
  • Developing joyful and confident worship inwardly and outwardly to attract and retain new congregations
• Draw the parishes together into a new and fruitful benefice life, building trust, encouraging shared decision-making and helping congregations to discover what can be done together while valuing local identity
• Oversee the care for the listed and historic church buildings of the benefice, encouraging their use as places of worship, welcome, heritage, community and mission
• Model prayerful and sustainable ministry, making good health and wellbeing a priority for all
• Understand the essential nature of good safeguarding in every aspect of the church’s life, and be committed to safeguarding, good governance, healthy boundaries and sustainable patterns of ministry

Essential Qualities & Experience

• A prayerful priest who is rooted in the life of God and able to lead others deeper into worship, prayer, scripture and discipleship
• An experienced, collaborative and self-aware leader, who values different points of view and resolves differences while being open to challenge
• A visionary leader who will help us discern vision, set priorities and move from aspiration to action
• An enabling leader who can recognise, encourage and release the gifts of others

Desirable Qualities

• Experience of ministry in a multi-parish or newly formed benefice
• Experience of church revitalisation
• Confidence in supporting outreach
• Enthusiasm in encouraging others’ creative gifts in worship and mission
• An appreciation of town-centre, village and rural ministry, and comfortably moving between these settings

What the Benefice Offers

• A warm welcome from churches that are ready for a new chapter and eager to grow in faith, hope and love
• Distinctive communities with rich histories: a town-centre church at St Michael’s, an urban church at Murston, a village church at Bapchild and an ancient rural church at Tonge
• People of many gifts and commitments
• Existing foundations for growth, including prayer groups, bible study, children’s and youth work, school links, community hospitality and outreach
• A supportive ministry team, including an Associate Priest, a self supporting curate, churchwardens, PCC members and lay leaders
• A large, modern, purpose built vicarage in one of the most attractive parts of Sittingbourne

Whoever takes up this post will be warmly welcomed into the life and support structures of the Diocese of Canterbury. Every Incumbent and Priest in Charge is accompanied through the Canterbury Diet, our framework for sustaining healthy, effective ministry - including regular pastoral supervision, a spiritual accompanier, and a structured Ministry Training Programme in the early years of ministry.

For an informal conversation, please contact:

The Venerable Estella Last
Archdeacon of Maidstone
[e-mail]

Closing date: Sunday 3rd January 2027
Interview date: Wednesday 3rd February 2027

the priest appointed to this role must be ordained in the Church of England, or in a Church in communion with it, and must have successfully completed a training post with the appropriate sign-offs required to apply for an incumbency or other ordained role.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK as this role does not currently qualify for visa sponsorship.

The priest appointed will serve as an office holder under Common Tenure, and the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations will apply.