Intro
Thank you for your interest in the position of Minister of Students & Recreation. We hope the information below will provide you with an overview of our church, community and the position itself. We will be receiving resumes until July 15. Our committee has already started the process of evaluating resumes.
Our search committee is composed of our current Personnel Committee as well as the members of the First Baptist Ministerial staff. The group totals twelve individuals representing different ages, life experiences and areas of involvement in our church. The group also includes individuals who have or have had students in the youth program, individuals who have or are actively involved in student ministry leadership and a few individuals who actually grew up in the program themselves.
About First Baptist Church
First Baptist Laurens is a historic congregation of roughly 900 resident members with current average attendance of 360 in Sunday School and 450 at the Worship hour. We have a very strong diversity of ages with a robust ministry for children and students. Our worship is a blended, traditional service.
Our campus is composed of four buildings including a full service gym that includes a walking track and options for volleyball, badminton, basketball, etc. Our facilities are in very good condition with our congregation having recently completed almost $2 million in renovations including all of the youth space, children’s education space, music wing and a majority of Adult Sunday School classes.
Financially, we have surpassed our budget needs for 7 consecutive years and have no outside debt. In turn, in all of these key phases of attendance, facilities and finances we feel that we are in very good shape.
Our church is led by a strong Deacon Fellowship and experienced staff. Our 25 Deacons are both male and female and represent a diversity of ages, backgrounds and involvement in the life of our church. Our staff includes 3 office staff members (Ministry Assistant & Desktop Publisher, Financial Secretary and Church Administrator) as well as 4 full time ministers (Senior Minister, Minister of Music & Senior Adults, Minister of Education, Minister to Students & Recreation) and 2 part time ministerial positions (Minister to Preschool & Children, Music Ministry Associate). Our ministerial staff has a combined 59 years of service to First Baptist Church.
About Laurens
Laurens is the county seat of Laurens County, SC. The population is roughly 9,500. Laurens is located 35 miles east of Greenville and 35 miles southeast of Spartanburg offering easy access to both. Laurens is home to people who both work locally and who commute to the larger communities nearby. The city has one public High School (Laurens District 55) and one private Christian school (Laurens Academy). The county is also home to Presbyterian College located 10 miles from Laurens in Clinton, South Carolina. Laurens offers very affordable housing and easy access to the NC/SC mountains, South Carolina coast as well as cultural and recreational opportunities in our surrounding area.
About the Position
The Minister of Students & Recreation position at FBC Laurens has long been a critical role in the life of our church. For over 40 years, the position has been strong, vibrant and at the heart of our church. At the moment, the ministry is as healthy and ready for future growth as it has ever been. In the Fall of 2020, we anticipate a ministry of between 50-65 active students in grades 6-12. This includes over 20 active rising 6th graders who will be entering the program this August.
The ministry has as its centerpieces a regular Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday evening program schedule with a strong focus on fellowships, outings, camps and retreats. The Youth program is also strengthened by a strong Youth Music program led by our Minister of Music Adair Rogers that includes a Youth Choir and Youth Handbell Choir.
Last year, we completed extensive renovations with our youth space as our primary focus. Our Student facilities now include a 100 seat multipurpose youth suite with a small stage, casual area and audio and video equipment on the lower level and 4 youth Sunday School rooms on the upper level. The youth suite is near the gym and this area of our facility also includes a new fully functional commercial kitchen that can easily be used for fellowships and meals. In the past few years we have also purchased two new buses including a 45 passenger bus that our youth ministry uses regularly for everything from camps to simply traveling as a group on Friday nights to support the Laurens Raiders in away football games.
Our ministry includes very strong leadership among adult laity and our youth themselves. It also features a very robust weekly ministry that includes:
Sundays (During the School Year)
9:30 Sunday School
10:30 Worship
5pm Youth Choir/Youth Handbell Choir
6pm Youth Sunday Night Study, Fellowship, Activities
Mondays
7am High School Breakfast at Laurens Chick Fil A
Tuesdays
7am Middle School Breakfast at Laurens Chick Fil A
Wednesday
5pm Family Night Meal
6pm Youth Wednesday Night Worship
Examples of Regular Events/Yearly Camps
Fifth Quarter (After select HS Football games/also do similar fellowships for other sports)
Football Road Trips (Travel on FBC bus for dinner/game to select away HS Games)
See You at the Pole/Fields of Faith (In conjunction with local FCA)
FBC Youth Super Bowl Party
WinterJam (Christian Music Concert)
Winter Retreat (MLKJ Weekend)
Festival By The Sea (Youth Choir Festival in March in Myrtle Beach)
Annual Senior Dinner
Centrifuge (Summer Youth Camp)
Passport (Summer Camp for 6th Graders)
SonPower (Summer Youth Choir Camp)
Regular Parent support/learning group
We would welcome your interest in our position. Please direct questions and resumes to our Senior Minister Rickey Letson via email at rickey@fbclaurens.org.
Click here to see the job description for the position.