Community Gardener

One Mission Society; Catania; On-site; EUR 22,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Financial support through ministry partners

Job summary

A faith-based organization in Catania, Italy, is looking for a Lead Community Gardener to spiritually engage local communities through inner city and rural food production gardens. Responsibilities include modeling disciple-making practices, evangelizing and training garden apprentices, managing farm business aspects, and promoting disciple-making within local churches. A background in organic agriculture and strong project management skills are preferred. Candidates should be willing to learn Italian and possess strong communication abilities.

Qualifications

• Experience with disciple-making processes a plus.
• Knowledge of small-scale, intensive organic agriculture is helpful.
• Ability to relate to college students and enjoy spending time with them.

Responsibilities

• Engage spiritually with communities through gardens.
• Execute disciple-making processes in local churches.
• Manage business aspects of the farm.
• Plan and execute a disciple-making process in local churches and networks with the Disciple-Making team.
• Identify and train local leaders and partners to sustain disciple-making locally.
• Develop strategies and training opportunities in disciple-making and plan conferences and trainings.
• Assist in translating materials and developing resources for broad-based implementation.
• Engage the Italian church and broader community through garden programs.
• Oversee farm business: sales, accounting, and production tracking.

Skills

Spiritual disciplines

Project management

Communication skills

Community outreach

Basic accounting skills

Networking

Ability to learn Italian

Basic accounting

Community outreach

Relationship building

Education

Experience with disciple-making processes

Knowledge of organic agriculture

Job description

The One Mission Society Italy Team has a vision of making reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ and equipping them to be transformational in their spheres of influence. In order to accomplish this vision, the Lead Community Gardener, working with a Disciple-Making team, will model disciple-making practices with individuals and churches in their geographical area in order to steward the conditions for a disciple-making movement to take place.

The Community Gardener spiritually engages the immigrant and Italian communities through the use of inner city and rural food production gardens. Their primary roles include: the evangelization and discipleship of incoming and current garden apprentices, the spiritual engagement of the broader community through produce sales and community programs, and the farming, planning/designing of current or future gardens sites.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Experience with disciple-making processes a plus.
• Knowledge of small-scale, intensive organic agriculture is helpful, or…
• If not…a passion and willingness to learn and try!

Skill Requirements

• Demonstrated understanding of spiritual disciplines and scriptural application.
• Ability to network well with partners.
• Ability to work constructively with team members in the area of disciple-making, showing value and respect for team-members.
• Ability to learn local language to an intermediate level.
• Must possess a coachable spirit.
• Presents themselves well and engages in tasks with enthusiasm.
• Weave the compassion of Christ into all tasks.
• Ability to relate to college students and enjoy spending time with them.
• Ability to seek out and maintain relationships with other agencies, churches, and universities.
• Excellent project management and communication skills.
• Basic accounting skills, as one of our primary modes of outreach is the running of a small farm.
• Community outreach and business development skills.
• Ability to learn Italian.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintain a regular and ever-deepening relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, reading and study of the scriptures, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines.
• A bide in Christ together with your team including regular times of prayer, fasting, worship, accountability, and other practices.
• Personally engage with and utilize OMS-approved processes to evangelize non-believers and help others to grow in their faith and progress as reproducing disciples of Jesus.
• Work with the Disciple-Making team to plan and execute a disciple-making process in local churches and networks.
  • Work with partners to start disciple-making ‘bands’ within the churches, train up leaders, and identify future individuals who can help provide leadership locally in this area.
  • Spiritually prepare the church for partnership with Church Development to help the church to reach their local community.
• Give input for developing new strategies and training opportunities in disciple-making.
  • Help plan conferences, trainings, and work with stewardship teams.
• S eek out and recommend new resources and processes, passing gathered information to leadership for consideration of broad-based implementation for disciple-making.
  • Implement processes for determining which materials undergo translation.
• Work with the Disciple-Making and Church Development teams to develop and maintain an effective process and relationship.
• Identify new potential Local Partners to disciple, train, and coach them to become reproducing disciple-makers in a 1-3-9 discipleship relationship.
• Participate in and strategically promote reproducing churches.
• Assist as needed in other OMS Country Team ministries, where applicable and appropriate.
• E vangelize and disciple incoming and current garden apprentices.
• T each incoming and current garden apprentices small-scale, intensive agriculture.
• M anage the business aspects of the farm: sales, accounting, and production tracking.
• C reate yearly crop plan based on sales market.
• E ngage and interface with the Italian church as it relates to the garden program.
• E ngage broader community evangelistically through the use of garden programs.
• P lan, design, and work in current and future garden spaces.
• Participate in team meetings and events.

This is a support-based position that involves raising financial support through ministry partners for salary and other expenses.

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