Welcome to Heartland!

Before exploring the Youth Pastor position, we invite you to take a few moments to get to know Heartland Evangelical Free Church. We believe that calling and context matter, and we want you to have a clear sense of who we are as a church community. Below, you’ll find links to our website and social media, along with a recent video from Summer 2026 that offers a glimpse into the life, culture, and heartbeat of our church.

Youth Pastor Job Description

Qualifications:

Testimony of saving faith in Jesus Christ and a life consistent with that testimony.
Has qualifications of an elder, according to I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3.
A calling to serve the Lord and his church in the area of student & worship ministries.
Full agreement with and supportive of doctrinal statement of HEFC, as well as her bylaws.
Full agreement with and supportive of the “Theological Affirmations for Heartland Pastors and Elders”.
Compatibility with philosophy of ministry of the Senior Pastor and Church and loyal to the staff and leadership of the church.
Must be self-motivated and organized.

Student Ministry Responsibilities:

Reaching students (6th – 12th) with the gospel and bringing them to maturity as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Recruit, train and build teamwork in the youth leadership team, parents, helpers, student leaders, and any interns to produce disciples of Christ.
Cast and implement the vision of HEFC; challenge students and their parents to come to Jesus, to follow Him with joy, and to serve Him with passion.
Communicate with the students and parents to keep them informed of activities and more through today’s social media methods.
Ability to teach God’s word in a relevant way.
Ability to create a positive and respectful atmosphere within ministry
Ability and passion for ministering to the family unit seeing parents as the primary shepherds of their children
Lead weekly youth ministry events designed to produce faithful disciples.
Plan events, retreats, and conferences. Work with office staff and leadership team to make these events happen.
Oversee 7th-8th grade Bible Instruction Course and Administer Sunday School for Jr. High and Sr. High Students
Develop relationships with students and adult leaders in and outside the church, including attending some community events
Must be able to manage the youth ministry budget.

Professional:

Bible college, college, or seminary education; or willingness to receive biblical and theological training suitable for pastoral ministry.
Proven track record of being able to multiply effectiveness through building teams.
Experience as a youth pastor preferable, but not required.
Licensed in the EFCA or a willingness to do so.

Time Commitment:

50 hours per week.
Comp time is built based on weekend/late night events, with the expectation that this time will be taken off later.
Set parameters to ensure an adequate balance of time with wife and family; to ensure this adhere to a maximum of four evenings/week doing ministry.

Supervision:

Directly accountable to the Family Ministries Pastor; meet on weekly basis
Participate in Staff meetings.
Under overall supervision of the Senior Pastor & Elder Board

Compensation:

Competitive financial package
401k contribution
Expense account
Medical and dental insurance coverage provided
Paid time off for Holidays, vacations and sick time

Youth Pastor Priorities

1.Study/Prepare/Teach Students– 15 hours

Come – Evangelism

Study/teach from the Scriptures on how to effectively reach unchurched students and children with the Gospel. Jonah 1-4; Luke 15; John 3-4; Acts 17, Romans 1-16, etc. What is the Gospel, how do I present this effectively, how do I share this with my friends, how do parents share the Gospel with their children.

Follow – Discipleship

Study/teach from the Scriptures on how to effectively build a daily walk with God, including Bible reading, prayer, witnessing, and obeying God in all things; train parents in how to disciple their children. Genesis 1-50; Deuteronomy 28-34; Proverbs 1-9; Matthew 5-7; John 1-21; I-II Peter, etc.

Serve – Leadership Development

Study/teach from the Scriptures on how to effectively serve Christ in every arena of life, including how to discover and use your spiritual gifts, how to study the Scriptures, how to identify correct and incorrect worldviews, and how to impact others for Christ. Daniel 1-6; I Corinthians 1-16; Ephesians 1-6, Philippians 1-4; I & II Timothy, Titus, etc.

2. Strategize/Organize/Administer Students – 15 hours

Come – Outreach

Strategize/organize ministry to effectively reach students who are spiritually lost. Create and implement evangelistic events, create and implement evangelistic training for students to effectively reach their friends with the Gospel.

Follow – Discipleship

Strategize/organize ministry to effectively teach students how to grow in their Christian walk. Create small groups of student and mentoring relationships to help students grow; strategize with parents and your student leadership team on how to do this; create and implement discipleship events & create and implement teaching opportunities to effectively ground our students in the Word of God.

Serve – Leadership Development

Strategize/organize ministry to train students to go deep in their Christian walk; strategize and train your parents and student leadership team to do this effectively; create small groups and mentoring relationships for students who show leadership potential; instill in them a fire and passion for God.

3. Interact/Visit/Counsel Students– 20 hours
With Those Who Don’t Know Jesus

Interact/build relationships with unchurched students in the schools and communities; share the love of Christ when doors open to do so; build relationships with community leaders and serve the community in ways that build relationships with lost people; build relational bridges with them.

With Those Who Know Jesus

Interact/build relationships with students in the youth group and their parents, helping them to obey Christ in every area of their lives; model for them a life of dependence on Christ; show them how obedience to Christ leads to a happy, purposeful, fulfilling life.

With Those Who Serve Jesus

Interact/build relationships with your student leadership team and students who desire to serve the Lord in various ways; develop student leaders and train them to serve Christ in meaningful ways.

Download the Job Description and Priorities

Desired Qualities in Pastor:

GODLY CHARACTER
- Sincere, prayerful and deep walk with Jesus
- Christ-honoring marriage and commitment to family
- Walking in moral/sexual purity
- Will be a healthy, affirming team-mate to his co-workers
- Respects authority of senior staff & Elders
- Models the Christian life in all dimensions

COMPETENCE
- Communicates well verbally and in writing
- Experience in successfully making disciples of Jesus
- Understands Christian and secular worldviews and the reality of spiritual warfare
- Is a student of God’s Word, and desires to deepen his walk
- Is respected by his peers & has proven track record of competence
- Has a good work ethic – uses time and energy wisely

AVAILABILITY
- Open to working in outstate Minnesota
- Open to working in a church of 300-500 attendance

THEOLOGY
- Must see the truth of God’s Word as vitally important to a believer’s walk
- Must be 100% committed to the inerrancy of Scripture
- Must derive theology from Scripture (priority of Scripture over theology)
- Must be humble and teachable – the spirit of a life-long learner

Theological Affirmations for Heartland Pastors and Elders

Biblical Interpretation: We affirm that the Bible is to be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author’s language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

Creation: We affirm that all things were created by God. Angels were created as ministering agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless state to become agents of evil. The universe was created in six historical days and is continuously sustained by God; thus, it both reflects His glory and reveals His truth. Human beings were directly created, not evolved, in the very image of God, as either biologically male or female from the womb.

The Fall: We affirm that Adam, the first man, willfully disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world. As a result, all people are sinners from conception, which is evidenced in their willful acts of sin.

Israel: We affirm that the nation of Israel has a special place in God’s plan both past, present and future, and that all of the promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled both now and at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to establish His millennium reign.

God-Ordained Institutions: We affirm that God ordained three institutions with unique purposes in society: marriage, government and the church.

God established marriage as a covenantal bond between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman to populate the earth, to raise and spiritually train children within a family, to provide the couple with intimate companionship, loving help and joy, and to serve as an illustration of the relationship of Jesus Christ to the church.
God established civil government to protect its citizens, punish evil and reward good.
God established the church as the entire body of believers with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles as its foundation to evangelize, baptize and disciple people of all nations.

Sanctification: We affirm that the Holy Spirit indwells all who are born again, conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a process completed only in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to live in obedience to the Word of God in separation from sin. Doing so produces a distinctly Christian lifestyle of practicing virtues and avoiding sin. Among other virtues, followers of Jesus Christ will:

Show evidence of the Holy Spirit living within them such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Love and side with what is good in God’s eyes and abhor what is evil in God’s eyes.
Uphold the God-given worth of all human beings, from conception to death, as the unique image-bearers of God.
Pursue unity and embrace people of all tribes and tongues as part of God’s design for humanity.
Uphold chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman.
Refrain from sinful acts that are prohibited by God and include but are not limited to:
- Blasphemy; participation in devil worship, practice of the occult, astrology, fortune-telling, sorcery, or witchcraft.
- Taking of innocent life.
- Denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender.
- Married persons sexually or romantically coupling with a person other than their spouse.
- Sexual relations outside of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman.
- Romantic coupling among persons of the same sex.

The Return of Christ: We affirm that the return of Christ for all believers could happen at any moment. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.

Download the Theological Affirmations