Art Director

The Crossing; Chesterfield (MO); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Crossing is seeking an experienced Art Director to lead the Creative Team across weekend services, campaigns, events, video, design, and digital content. You will translate ministry goals into clear, compelling creative work and mentor a team toward excellence.

You will maintain brand integrity, guide visual storytelling, and collaborate with ministry leaders to serve their needs while delivering high-quality outputs across channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, visual communication, marketing, media production, advertising, communications, or a related field
• Ten or more years of progressive experience in art direction, creative direction, design leadership, communications, agency work, church media, nonprofit communications, or a comparable environment
• Three or more years of direct experience leading, coaching, and developing creative professionals or creative project teams
• A portfolio demonstrating high-level design, strategic creative thinking, brand stewardship, visual communication, and ideally, work across both design and video

Responsibilities

• Lead The Crossing’s Creative Team, building a healthy team culture marked by trust, curiosity, collaboration, spiritual maturity, creative courage, ownership, and a shared commitment to excellent work.
• Lead regular team meetings, creative reviews, brainstorms, planning conversations, and project debriefs that strengthen both the work and the people creating it.
• Provide overarching creative direction for The Crossing’s visual communication and storytelling across weekend services, ministries, campaigns, events, print, video, social media, web, and other digital channels, translating ministry goals, teaching themes, organizational priorities, and stories of life change into thoughtful, compelling, and executable creative work.
• Maintain, protect, and help develop The Crossing’s brand by establishing a high standard for creativity, storytelling, design, visual quality, clarity, editorial judgment, brand alignment, and the overall audience experience.
• Review creative work and provide clear, constructive feedback that strengthens final deliverables and develops the people responsible for them.
• Serve as a working manager, contributing directly to creative development and stepping into design projects, video shoots, production problem-solving, and high-priority work when needed.
• Partner with the Communications Director to develop, manage, and steward the Creative Team budget, including staffing needs, contractors, equipment, software, subscriptions, freelance support, and other creative resources.
• Build relationships with leaders across all of our ministries, helping uncover ways our team can serve their needs.

Skills

Creative leadership

Team development

Multi-channel design

Brand stewardship

Typography & layout

Video production knowledge

Budget stewardship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, visual communication, marketing, media production, advertising, communications, or related field

10+ years of progressive experience in art direction/creative leadership

3+ years leading creative teams

Portfolio demonstrating high-level design and video work

Tools

Typography

Layout & composition

Brand systems

Video production

Editing workflows

Job description

Our church... is a non-denominational multi-site church with four St. Louis-area campuses where we gather each weekend to study this ancient story found in Scripture that is still transforming lives today. We believe church should be a place where believers in Jesus and skeptics can stand side-by-side to study truth and ask tough questions. We blend teaching and worship with art and technology to create a service where you can experience the message of Jesus in practical and life-changing ways.

Art Director..... is a full-time position and someone who is a creative leader, strategic thinker, and working manager who brings fresh ideas to the table, challenges familiar approaches with humility, and looks for opportunities to create compelling creative experiences that help point people to Jesus.

The Art Director leads the development and execution of The Crossing’s creative projects across weekend services, ministry initiatives, campaigns, events, video, design, and digital content. This person helps turn ministry ideas, teaching themes, and organizational priorities into clear, engaging, and visually compelling work.

This person leads the Creative Team, providing creative direction, developing people, and guiding projects from concept to completion. The Art Director also remains actively involved in the work itself, stepping into video shoots, design projects, creative development, and problem-solving when needed to help the team deliver its best work.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead The Crossing’s Creative Team, building a healthy team culture marked by trust, curiosity, collaboration, spiritual maturity, creative courage, ownership, and a shared commitment to excellent work.
• Lead regular team meetings, creative reviews, brainstorms, planning conversations, and project debriefs that strengthen both the work and the people creating it.
• Provide overarching creative direction for The Crossing’s visual communication and storytelling across weekend services, ministries, campaigns, events, print, video, social media, web, and other digital channels, translating ministry goals, teaching themes, organizational priorities, and stories of life change into thoughtful, compelling, and executable creative work.
• Maintain, protect, and help develop The Crossing’s brand by establishing a high standard for creativity, storytelling, design, visual quality, clarity, editorial judgment, brand alignment, and the overall audience experience.
• Review creative work and provide clear, constructive feedback that strengthens final deliverables and develops the people responsible for them.
• Serve as a working manager, contributing directly to creative development and stepping into design projects, video shoots, production problem-solving, and high-priority work when needed.
• Partner with the Communications Director to develop, manage, and steward the Creative Team budget, including staffing needs, contractors, equipment, software, subscriptions, freelance support, and other creative resources.
• Build relationships with leaders across all of our ministries, helping uncover ways our team can serve their needs.

Spiritual Gifts Helpful for This Position

• Creative Communication
• Discernment
• Craftsmanship

Character Traits Needed for This Position

• Humble, mature, and experienced leader who develops people and builds healthy teams.
• Strong creative judgment with the confidence to set direction, make decisions, and give useful feedback.
• Curious, innovative, and proactive; notices opportunities, brings ideas forward, and looks for better ways to serve the mission.
• Collaborative and emotionally intelligent, with the ability to work well across different personalities, disciplines, and ministry priorities.
• A working leader willing to enter the details, contribute directly, and support the team when needed.
• Organized, dependable, adaptable, and able to bring calm and clarity to a fast-moving environment.
• Passionate about using creativity, storytelling, and beauty to help people encounter Jesus.

Necessary Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience leading and developing creative professionals across multiple disciplines, while setting clear direction and building cohesive work across multiple channels and audiences.
• Strong graphic-design knowledge and visual judgment, including typography, layout, composition, hierarchy, color, brand systems, audience-centered communication, and the ability to translate broad ministry objectives into clear creative direction, actionable priorities, and strong final work.
• Working experience in video production and visual storytelling, including pre-production, filming, camera, lighting, audio, interview direction, editing workflows, and post-production review.
• Strong strategic-planning, project-management, communication, and budget-stewardship abilities.

Education/Training & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, visual communication, marketing, media production, advertising, communications, or a related field; equivalent professional experience will be considered.
• Ten or more years of progressive experience in art direction, creative direction, design leadership, communications, agency work, church media, nonprofit communications, or a comparable environment.
• Three or more years of direct experience leading, coaching, and developing creative professionals or creative project teams.
• A portfolio demonstrating high-level design, strategic creative thinking, brand stewardship, visual communication, and ideally, work across both design and video.

MUST HAVES FOR ALL STAFF AT THE CROSSING

• Attend a service at one of The Crossing campuses on a weekly basis
• Passionate about their relationship with God
• Baptized after making the thoughtful decision to follow Christ
• Regard the Bible as God’s final authority in all areas of Christian life and desire to be wholly obedient to it
• Wholeheartedly affirm The Crossing’s Statement of Faith, including our view on Baptism
• Live a lifestyle consistent with scriptural principles