Director of Special Needs Ministry

Position Overview

Part-time position (20 hours/week, Sunday-Thursday) serving as Director of SHINE Ministry at Grace Chapel's Lexington Campus. This hybrid role is in-person on Sunday mornings, remote majority of the week, and in-person as needed. This position works closely in collaboration with the Lexington Kidstown Team and reports to the Associate Pastor of Lexington Campus.

About SHINE Ministry

SHINE Ministry supports families by loving and guiding children and youth with disabilities in a safe and appropriate environment to learn and grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus. We serve ages 3-22 with intellectual and developmental disabilities, providing 1:1 volunteer support in Kidstown, specialized classrooms, and student ministry programs. SHINE provides care and support for children with disabilities, allowing families to return to church knowing their child is cared for in a safe and loving environment.

Programs include: Sunday morning services (9:00 am & 11:00 am), student ministry volunteer opportunities, High School Ministry (Sunday evenings), Middle School Ministry (Wednesday evenings), quarterly family gatherings, and Kidsweek (VBS).

Core Responsibilities

Sunday Morning Ministry: Prepare materials for children and volunteers, coordinate volunteer schedules, ensure proper 1:1 pairings, work directly with children as needed, support new participants and families, and lead devotional gatherings between services.

Volunteer Management: Recruit, train, and equip volunteers through shadowing programs and ongoing development. Build a strong faith community among the volunteer team and spread awareness of SHINE Ministry at Grace Chapel events.

Curriculum & Resources: Adapt Kidstown curriculum as needed, create custom materials for SHINE participants, and develop weekly family and volunteer devotionals around monthly themes.

Family Communication: Communicate with families via email, call, text, or in-person as needed. Send weekly devotional emails, provide updates and individual support, and support the parent-led support group (monthly).

Administrative: Create monthly volunteer schedules, maintain documentation (virtual and physical formats), plan quarterly gatherings, and coordinate Kidsweek (VBS) support for K-5th grade.

Collaboration & Advocacy: Provide guidance to Kidstown and Student Ministry Directors on inclusive practices. Attend biweekly Lexington Team meetings and other Grace Chapel meetings as able. Advocate for SHINE families and children to ensure they feel part of the church family.

Required Experience: Leadership experience overseeing a team and experience working with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

Preferred Education: Undergraduate degree in related field (theology, divinity, special education, disability studies) is preferred.

Essential Skills: Behavior management and de-escalation techniques, understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities, ability to adapt materials to different learning needs, individualized support strategies, patience and empathy, creating safe and inclusive environments, relationship-building with children with diverse needs, understanding of sensory needs and accommodations, ability to support different communication styles (verbal, non-verbal, assistive), flexibility and creative problem-solving, leadership, strong written and oral communication, organization, and proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Personal Characteristics

• Growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ
• Passionate about church ministry and collaborative team environments
• Proven ability to recruit, train, and build volunteer teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills with families, volunteers, and staff
• Highly organized with ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously
• Proactive, flexible, and adaptable to the dynamic nature of ministry
• Remains calm, composed, and graceful under pressure and in challenging situations