About The Role
We are looking for a gifted and well-rounded church leader to join our leadership team as a Lead Pastor. This is a broad pastoral leadership role at the heart of our common life. You will teach and preach, help build and shape our growing leadership pipeline, and model what it looks like to live as an apprentice of Jesus for the whole congregation. Alongside this, you will hold oversight of Family Discipleship as a significant workstream, overseeing our ministry to children and young people, and equipping the parents and carers who are raising them in the way of Jesus.
We are looking for a leader whose own walk with Jesus is contagious, who preaches and teaches with conviction, who loves growing other leaders, and who is glad to give real attention to families as one of the most strategic mission fields in East London.
Family Discipleship matters deeply to us. We want children to know the love of Jesus and to be raised confidently as disciples through to an adult faith. We also know that parenting young children is hard, often lonely work in our individualistic and consumerist culture. We want to create spaces where families from across our local area find real, supportive community and practical tools for Christian parenting. This part of the role is about equipping both children and parents to grow in their own faith and to share it with others.
The Diocese of London is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults through the use of the Safer Recruitment practice guidance. This role is subject to acceptable pre-appointment checks, including a satisfactory Enhanced DBS Check.
1. Teaching, Preaching, and Worship
Preach and teach regularly across our Sunday gatherings and in other settings throughout the week.
Help shape our teaching programme in collaboration with the Rector and the wider staff team.
Bring the whole of Scripture to bear on life and culture in East London, faithfully and accessibly.
Contribute to leading our worshipping life as part of a charismatic evangelical church.
2. Apprenticeship and Leadership Development
Model what it means to be an apprentice of Jesus, on and off duty, for the whole congregation. (Apprenticeship is one of our four values, and we take it seriously.)
Identify, encourage, and develop emerging leaders, working with other team members to build a healthy and sustainable leadership pipeline.
Disciple and mentor ministry apprentices and volunteer leaders, investing in their formation and growth.
Champion a culture in which everyone is discipling someone, and in which leadership is grown from within.
3. Family Discipleship (Oversight)
This is a key area of oversight for the role, holding together our work with children, young people, and the families raising them.
Equipping parents and carers
Develop and source material to equip parents and carers to disciple their children beyond Sundays, at home, at school, and elsewhere.
Build a practical strategy and toolkit for confident Christian parenting.
Develop systems for supporting new and growing families, such as meal trains and other community care, and oversee warm, effective communication with families.
Champion the raising of children as an activity the whole church family is involved in.
Sunday gatherings
Hold oversight for our children’s and youth ministries on a Sunday, in collaboration with other leaders and the Rector.
Build and equip a team to deliver engaging, age-appropriate content for children of all ages, creating an environment where children and youth can encounter Jesus.
Foster a culture where the faith of children is taken seriously from birth to age 18, and where children and families are welcomed into the church family, especially at the Eleven.
Outreach to families
Hold oversight for and develop an evangelistic vision for the Tots and Toddlers groups, working with the ministry apprentice.
Develop pathways that invite families from our missional events (Tots and Toddlers, Bonfire Night, and others) into the wider life of the church, including Sundays and Alpha.
Run an Alpha course, Parenting Course, and similar for parents and carers.
Schools and one-off events
Act as the point of contact between the church and Christ Church Primary School, developing a strategy for missional engagement alongside the Rector, including assemblies and gatherings.
Lead seasonal outreach events such as Bonfire Night, the Christmas Nativity, and Easter, working with the Social Transformations Coordinator to invite local families into church life.
4. Shared Leadership and General Responsibilities
Share in the spiritual oversight and prayerful leadership of the church as part of the staff team, prioritising prayer and fasting for the ministries in your care.
Follow the Christ Church Spitalfields Safeguarding Policy, and ensure relevant safeguarding training is completed by team leaders.
Follow the Health and Safety Policy and complete the necessary Risk Assessments.
Set and maintain budgets, and keep appropriate attendance records, for the ministries you oversee.
Represent and champion the ministries in your care across the life of the church.
We recognise that strong candidates rarely tick every single box. If you meet most of the essentials below and the role excites you, we warmly encourage you to apply.
Essential
A mature, personal, and evident Christian faith, and a life others would be glad to imitate.
A gifted teacher and preacher, or someone with clear gifting and potential to grow into this.
Experience leading, developing, and motivating people, including volunteer teams.
A genuine heart for discipleship and for raising up other leaders.
Experience in, or a clear passion for, ministry with children and families.
Experience in missional outreach.
Warm, relational, and collaborative, with empathy for a diverse range of people.
Energetic, proactive, and flexible, with strong organisation and the ability to prioritise well.
Good discernment and problem-solving, with an eye for growth opportunities and detail.
Desirable
Experience leading children’s and families’ ministry in a faith context.
Experience working across cultures different from your own.
Experience in a school environment.
Project management experience.
Strong IT skills (Microsoft and/or Google Workspace).
Ordained, or open to exploring ordination, would be welcome, though it is not essential.
Personal Attributes
A personal and evident Christian faith.
A willingness to make Christ Church Spitalfields your church home, and to engage in the wider community here.
A heart for people of a variety of ages and backgrounds.
A flexible approach to working hours, with some weekend and evening work required.
Equal Opportunities
The Diocese of London is committed to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workforce which represents our context and wider community. We are aware that those of Global Majority Heritage/United Kingdom Minority Ethnic (GMH/UKME) and disabled people are currently under-represented among our clergy and workforce, and we particularly encourage applications from those with the relevant skills and experience that will increase this representation.