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Director of Worship and Creative Communications

Gurnee Community Church
Gurnee, IL
Posted: July 17, 2018
 
 
Job Information:
Gurnee Community Church is a non-denominational evangelical church in the far North suburbs of the Chicago area that is currently searching for a full-time Director of Worship and Creative Communications. We are seeking a candidate with the capability to lead the congregation in biblically-rooted worship though both modern and classical forms of church music, as well as be an integral part of an overall church leadership team. Experience leading or interest in learning audio/visual technology and other visual arts communication is desired.

This particular role is somewhat unique when compared to similar positions at other churches. The part that is probably the most unique is that we have two very different services with very different styles of music. 

Our first service at 9am is a traditional or "classical" style of worship. This service features hymns accompanied by piano, organ, and other classical instrumentation.  While we try to introduce new music to this service that was written recently, and desire to do that even more in the future, it is still music that broadly fits into that same genre of classically styled church music.  Whenever possible, we put together a four-person vocalist team for this service that can lead the singing in SATB harmony.  The Director plans the music and rehearses these teams and is sometimes (but not automatically) one of the singers and/or the accompanist.  Occasionally, just because of scheduling, the Director is the only one leading vocally.  The Director is also the one choosing arrangements and working with any additional instrumentalists that are playing (violin, viola, brass, and flute are some of the most common for us).

Then the Director of Worship, along with the rest of the leadership team, does a type of "quick change," and we prepare for our contemporary worship service at 10:45am.  This service is much more casual and is driven by modern worship music.  We have a variety of very talented musicians that are arranged into worship bands that are scheduled out on a rotating basis.  We have anywhere from one to six vocalists on any given Sunday, based on availability.  The Director often (but not always) is providing vocal leadership and also leads the band from either the piano or guitar.  The Director is the one rehearsing this group during the week, including working on arrangements, harmonies, etc.  This service and its preparations would be identical to most other contemporary services at evangelical churches.

We have placed a heavy emphasis on the Director raising up, coaching, and utilizing the gifts of others.  We try to resist the natural temptation to think, "I'll just do it myself, because that is easier."  Much of the ministry that happens as a result of our Worship Ministry is happening within the people involved, not just in what they produce for the rest of the congregation.  Because of this, the Director is seen as the pastor-shepherd for this group of people. Worship Ministry probably has the most number of volunteers when compared to every other ministry at GCC (currently around 35 active volunteers).

Some other parts of this role that make it somewhat unique include:

Directly participating in the service-specific and long-range planning of our worship experiences together with the pastoral staff (i.e. not just the "music part").

Responsibility/oversight of our "Technical Arts" and the volunteers who make that happen (Sound, lights, video projection). This includes producing the on-screen visuals for song lyrics (MediaShout is our current software).

Responsibility for drama and video production/editing (something we are only starting to push into).

Responsibility for minor graphic design (primarily the graphics for sermon series).

Responsibility for driving our social media presence (although not our website).

Direction of the Adult Choir for the Traditional service.

Direction of the Handbell Choir for the Traditional service.

All of the planning of music, scheduling of musicians and technical arts, and recruiting of those volunteers.

Part of the overall team of Directors which provide leadership for the church as a whole. There 10 Directors and 3 Pastors that make up the church Staff. Some of our staff are paid employees, others are volunteers.

Responsibility for organizing (not necessarily personally providing) music/worship support for other ministries like Preschool, Student Ministries, VBS, Alpha, etc

Big picture, we need more than just a skilled musician.  We need a ministry leader.  We are much more likely to choose the person with the most mature overall ministry leadership abilities (among the candidates who have a baseline of musical gifting) than we are to choose the best musician at the expense of leadership maturity.  To put it bluntly, someone looking primarily for a platform to showcase their performance abilities will not be successful in this role.

 

 
Position Information:
Position Title:Director of Worship and Creative Communications
Time: Full Time
Category: Worship Leader, Music Minister, Worship Pastor
Salary:
Denomination: Non-Denominational
Worship Style:
Church Size: 250 - 500
 
Contact Information:
Organization Name:Gurnee Community Church
Address1:4555 Old Grand Ave
Address2:
City:Gurnee
State or Province:IL
ZIP Code:60031
Country: USA
Map this Organization: Map
Contact Email:Contact this Organization
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Director of Worship and Creative Communications  job in Gurnee, IL




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