Youth Pastor

Princeton Alliance Church; Plainsboro Township (NJ); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Relocation Reimbursement

Continuing Education Benefits

Sabbatical after 5 years

11 Paid Holidays

Job summary

Princeton Alliance Church seeks a dedicated Youth Pastor to lead middle and high school ministry, plan weekly experiences, and guide a team of volunteers. You will pair with parents to shepherd students, implement safety standards, and plan retreats in collaboration with the Family Life Team Leader.

The role requires teaching youth, maintaining a playbook, and nurturing student leaders while stewarding the annual budget and events. A strong pastor’s heart and a love for youth are essential.

Qualifications

• Must have strong communication and organizational abilities with families and volunteers.
• Experience teaching and preaching to youth and leading volunteer teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead PAC Youth week to week for middle school and high school students, owning the Sunday and Tuesday experiences from planning through follow-up.
• Cast vision for Youth within the Family Life strategy and ensure clarity of purpose and direction.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and disciple Youth volunteers.
• Maintain a Youth Ministry Playbook including safety standards and leader qualifications.
• Teach and preach at Youth gatherings within the approved calendar.
• Provide pastoral care to students and follow up with at-risk youth.
• Carry out child safety standards in every Youth setting.
• Partner with parents in discipleship and guide them in digital-age contexts.
• Own communications about schedules and events, ensuring clarity and timeliness.
• Plan and lead Youth retreats and major events with Family Life Team Leader.
• Oversee youth worship teams and develop student leaders.
• Identify and cultivate student leaders with real serving opportunities.
• Evaluate gatherings and adjust programs as needed.
• Handle administrative tasks and budgeting with support.
• Own the annual Youth budget and monitor spending.
• Keep Family Life Team Leader informed about progress and challenges.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Crisis management

Pastoral care

Student mentorship

Volunteer leadership

Education

Degree in ministry or theology

CMA licensure or ability to obtain

Tools

Planning Center Online

Job description

PRIMARILY SERVES

Middle School & High School Students | Youth Parents | Ministry Volunteers

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Weekly gatherings are executed with a plan, enough trained volunteers, and lessons students remember.
• Every volunteer serving with students is screened, trained, and cleared before their first night.
• We know new students by name and follow up within the week.
• Students move from attending to belonging, into a small group, onto a team, or into leading something.
• Parents know what their students are learning and hear from the Youth Pastor before they have to ask.
• Retreats, conferences, and trips run safely and within budget, and each one is debriefed so the next one runs better.
• The middle school and high school worship team leads on a regular rhythm and keeps developing new student musicians.
• Volunteers are discipled and are still serving at the end of a full ministry year.
• The Youth Ministry Playbook is current enough that a new leader could pick it up and run with it.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead PAC Youth week to week for middle school and high school students, owning the Sunday and Tuesday experiences from planning through follow-up.
• Cast vision for Youth within the Family Life strategy, so students, parents, and volunteers understand the ministry's purpose and where it's headed.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and disciple Youth volunteers.
• Maintain a Youth Ministry Playbook covering vision, rhythms, security, conflict management, and leader qualifications, with security procedures built on Family Life child safety standards.
• Teach and preach at Youth gatherings within the approved calendar, teaching Scripture in a way that makes it come alive for students and their specific context.
• Provide pastoral care to students, including follow-up with new and drifting students and first response when a student is in crisis, alongside the Family Life Team Leader.
• Carry out child safety standards in every Youth setting, including screening compliance, adult-to-student ratios, two-adult rules, and mandated reporting.
• Partner with parents in their students' discipleship, training and equipping them to shepherd their students well in a constantly changing digital age.
• Own communication with students, parents, and volunteer leaders, keeping schedules, event details, and changes clear, consistent, and on time.
• Plan and lead Youth retreats, the LIFE youth conference, summer mission trips, and other major events, co-leading with the Family Life Team Leader.
• Oversee the middle school and high school worship team, equipping students to serve and lead in worship and making sure worship is led at every gathering.
• Identify and develop student leaders, giving students real ways to serve and lead within Youth.
• Evaluate gatherings, trainings, and events after they run, and adjust what isn't working.
• Handle the administrative work of Youth ministry, including Planning Center Online, event registrations and logistics, and budget tracking, with shared support from the Discipleship & Development Ministry Assistant.
• Own the annual Youth budget, prepare it each year, and manage spending against it.
• Keep the Family Life Team Leader informed about victories, challenges, and student and family situations.

PASSIONATE ABOUT

• Continually equipping and growing student leaders on the worship team and into the deeper life with Jesus.
• Guiding youth beyond basic doctrine so they can articulate their faith and actively live out their relationship with Jesus.
• Viewing parents as vital ministry partners, not just an audience for announcements.
• Showing up for youth beyond Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings.
• Creating an environment where both new and returning students feel welcomed and connected the moment they walk through the door.

REQUIREMENTS

• Licensed with the C&MA and in good standing, or able to complete C&MA licensure within 90 days of hire.
• Personal, growing Christian faith and full alignment with PAC's mission, beliefs, and C&MA doctrinal commitments.
• 3+ years of ministry experience with middle school or high school students, whether vocational or substantial volunteer leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to teach and preach to students.
• Experience recruiting, training, and supporting volunteer leaders.
• Experience partnering with parents, including hard conversations about their student.
• Sound judgment in shifting student and family situations, including knowing what to handle and what to elevate.
• Composure and sound judgment when a crisis can't wait, including acting quickly on a trip or retreat and escalating at the first safe moment.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, including handling most of the ministry's own administration.
• Successful completion of a background check and PAC's child safety training.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in ministry, theology, youth ministry, or a related field.
• Experience developing student or volunteer worship teams.
• Training in adolescent mental health or trauma-informed ministry.
• Experience leading in a multiethnic or multilingual congregation.
• Working knowledge of Planning Center Online.

LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS

• Growing Christian faith and character.
• Commitment to the mission of the church.
• Call to ministry within a diverse congregation.
• Lifestyle congruent with the biblical requirements for leaders (1 Tim. 3:1-13; 2 Tim. 2; Titus 1:5-9).
• Member of PAC within 6 months of start date.
• Commitment to give faithfully to the Local and Global Ministry Funds.
• Participation in a Community Group.
• One-on-one discipleship.

TIME COMMITMENT

This position includes weekend services as well as office hours. Staff is expected to attend weekend services and church-wide events as assigned, and to promptly communicate schedule changes to other staff and direct reports.

This role requires attendance at all Sunday services, Good Friday, all Easter services, all Christmas Eve services, and the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's. It also includes weekly and biweekly department and staff meetings, as well as the annual Metro District Conference. Tuesday evenings are standing commitments for Youth gatherings, and other evenings and weekends are required as ministry needs arise. Planned retreats, workshops, and training outside standard business hours are also part of normal ministry rhythms.

This role shares the pastoral on-call rotation, providing coverage for funerals, weddings, hospital and emergency visits, and other pastoral care needs that arise outside scheduled hours.

WORK ARRANGEMENT & FLEXIBILITY

This role is hybrid. Youth gatherings, volunteer training, events, and time with students and parents all require consistent in-person availability.

Up to one day per week may be worked remotely, scheduled with the Family Life Team Leader, and suited to teaching preparation and planning.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

PAC offers competitive benefits for full‑time employees, including:

• Generous Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick, Personal, Mission Trips, Parental Leave, Personal Solitude Days)
• Health Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA); PAC subsidizes 85% of employees' insurance premiums!
• 403(b) Retirement Plan with up to 3% employer matching contribution (after 6 months of service)
• Continuing Education Benefits
• Sabbatical/Extended Rest after 5 years of service
• 11 Paid Holidays/year
• Relocation Reimbursement