Youth & Young Adults Pastor

Our Story

Welcome Church is a large, lively, diverse, multi-generational church in the centre of Woking, Surrey. Our vision in all that we do is to see Life Transformed Through Jesus.

During the last 7 years our church has experienced a rapid transformation in its leadership, staff, facilities and culture, which has accompanied an exciting season of growth. Since re- opening after the Covid pandemic we have more than doubled in size. We now regularly gathering over 1000 adults, youth & children at our two Sunday meetings, as well as serving and engaging hundreds more during the week. We have also grown increasingly diverse as a church, with now over 50 nations represented in our congregation, including many from Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

We have over 700 adults engaged in midweek Lifegroups, and serve over 100 people each Monday at our Community Café. In 2024, 170 people completed a CAP Course run by one of our social action teams.

But one of the biggest drivers of our growth has been amongst our children and young people. We are joined by over 200 0-14s each Sunday, and our weekly Friday night Youth group currently gathers over 175 11-18s. Furthermore, our church has a growing number of young adults aged 18-30, with several of our midweek Lifegroups dedicated to this age group. Many of these serve in our Youth ministry, so there is a natural crossover between our Youth and Young Adult ministries.

We have invested heavily in creating more space for our Kids and Youth, through the purchase and renovation of an empty office block next door, due to be completed in Easter 2026. We feel we are now ready to invest in the right person to lead in this crucial area of church life, bringing vision, strategy, passion and pastoral wisdom to how we shepherd and shape these next generations.

Our vision for youth & young adults

We believe that one of the most important responsibilities we have as a church is to disciple our young people into a lifelong relationship with Jesus. We want them to feel that Welcome Church is the place they are known and belong, and we also want to empower and release them into purposeful ministry inside and outside the church.

Over the course of the last five years, our youth group has grown significantly from two key sources - firstly from the many families who have joined us, and secondly from our youth bringing their unchurched friends. This has been accelerated by the openness to faith which seems to characterise Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Our vision is to faithfully care for every young person who God brings to our church, fostering a love for Jesus and lasting friendships with one another.

We have also seen growth in the number of young adults joining us, and the increasing number of 18-30s looking for Christian community. We want to see our young adults growing and flourishing in their gifting and calling, finding their place to serve in our church and developing firm friendships. Many of our young adults serve passionately in various teams across the church, but we feel they would benefit from more coordinated pastoral care and input.

We have also seen signs of the ‘Quiet Revival’ research in evidence at our church, where young people are coming to church and coming to faith of their own accord, with little or no church background. We want to be faithful to this need, helping these youth and young adults to believe in Jesus and take their first steps of discipleship.

In short, we want to see our youth and young adults transformed through Jesus, and that is why we are now investing in a Youth and Young Adults Pastor.

The role of Youth and Young Adults Pastor

We are seeking a passionate, dynamic, and highly organised leader of leaders to spearhead this area of church life. Working with a dedicated team of leaders and volunteers, you will bring our vision to life - creating thriving, welcoming and friendship-driven communities for our youth and young adults to belong to.

You will firstly be someone who loves Jesus and feels called to serve him wholeheartedly in this role, as well as someone who loves youth and young adults, and has a genuine passion to see them flourish in their faith.

You’ll be a committed Christian who shares our heart to see young people discipled into lifelong relationship with God. You will be passionate not simply about teaching the Bible, or helping them share their faith, but in the entire formation of their faith, building teams and structures that facilitate their discipleship.

At the same time, you’ll bring a strong organisational capacity to this area of church life, being able to co-ordinate, strategise and envision others to serve our young people in ever more effective ways.

You’ll be a leader of leaders: someone who can recruit, equip, and inspire a high-quality volunteer team, ensuring they feel cared for and supported, while also calling them to passionately work together for the good of the gospel in our youth and young adults.