Related update April 13, 2008
It was announced today at Blacknall, that my wife, Amy Rowell, 
will be the new Director of Children's Ministry (20 hours per week) starting May 5th. Amy has a BA in Christian Education and Psychology from Taylor University and an M.Div. from Regent College. She worked as a director of children's ministry at Granville Chapel in Vancouver, British Columbia from 1999-2002 and served as a professor of Christian Educational Ministries at Taylor University from 2005-2007. Amy and I hope that Blacknall finds a great Director of Youth Ministries. See below.
Original Post April 6, 2008
There is a full-time youth ministries position open at Blacknall Presbyterian Church, the evangelically-minded PCUSA congregation, where Amy and I are members. They are only taking applications until April 30, 2008 so forward this to people who are interested right away. I have placed the official job position announcement at the bottom of this blog post.
June 1, 2008 UPDATE: The deadline has been extended. See new job description below.
Why Blacknall would be a great place to serve.
I have listed four reasons below about why Blacknall is a great church. Maybe I can help persuade some great people to apply. Below my reasons I have posted the official announcement and details.
- It is a theologically strong congregation. Blacknall is a very evangelical PCUSA congregation. The PCUSA denomination is more liberal on the whole than the Presbyterian Church of America but at Blacknall, Scripture is taken very seriously. Music and sermons are theologically rich. Long-time Senior Pastor Allan Poole is a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary graduate who regularly takes summer courses at my alma mater Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Allan teaches a course called "The Pastor's Vocation" at Duke Divinity School with Dean Greg Jones and Dr. Susan Jones. A couple of Duke Divinity School faculty, a number of theology and biblical studies doctoral students at Duke, and a few parachurch staff attend Blacknall. The congregation also has
high degree of involvement in ministries of social justice and
missions.
- It is a growing congregation. They have had great growth in the number of youth involved and so they have made the decision to increase their staff in youth ministry. According to the 2006 PCUSA online statistics, Blacknall's worship attendance was 535 then. It is probably about the same or larger now.
- It is has a great location right by Duke. Blacknall is situated one block from Duke
University, next door to the cheapest (and some say the best) burritos in
town at Cosmic Cantina, across the street from the trendy Whole Foods,
and just off 9th Street (a great little strip of coffee shops and
restaurants).
- It has a family atmosphere. Though with an attendance over 500 Blacknall is getting large, it still has a family feel. One example of this is that congregation members are given the opportunity to stand up and share prayer requests with the rest of the congregation before the Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession in the worship service. The congregation has a mix of older and younger people. Worship services have a mix of traditional liturgical elements such as the Lord's prayer and Nicene/Apostle's Creed but are otherwise quite informal. The pastor wears a tie and blazer but unlike many other PCUSA congregations, not a robe. The congregation dresses informally. The church permits both infant baptisms and baby dedications - many PCUSA churches just have infant baptisms. This demonstrates the number of people who attend Blacknall from free church backgrounds.
The official posting from the April 6, 2008 Blacknall bulletin:
Director of Youth Ministries Job Announcement - Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time Director of Youth Ministries position to provide successful leadership and vision for middle and high school students. This individual will have primary programming and ministry responsibilities for all aspects of the high school ministry, work with an existing part-time middle school staff position, develop a comprehensive vision and sequence for Christian growth, and provide direction and leadership for this important relational ministry. For more information, please contact Artie Kamiya, Search Committee Chair (919-818-6486). Closing Date: April 30.
The official posting from the June 15, 2008 Blacknall bulletin:
Director of Youth Ministries Job Announcement
- Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church is seeking qualified
candidates for a full-time Director of Youth Ministries position to
provide (1) a programmatic ministry to our high school students, (2) work with the existing part-time middle school staff position, and (3) provide overall direction to the middle and high school youth programs. This individual will be responsible for supporting a committed cadre of approximately 20 adult volunteer youth leaders, developing a comprehensive vision and sequence for Christian growth for approximately 75 middle/high school youth, making curriculum decisions for Sunday morning and Sunday evening youth groups, and providing direct service for this important relational ministry. For more complete information (job description and qualifications), please contact Artie Kamiya, Search Committee Chair
(919-818-6486); artie@greatactivities.net Applications will be accepted through July 15, 2008.
Update: Bulletin announcement May 3, 2009 Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church
New Director of Youth Ministries Announced – The Blacknall Session and Search Committee are pleased to announce that Brad Turnage will join the staff as Director of Youth Ministries effective June 15. Brad is currently Director of Youth Ministries at Grace Fellowship in Asheboro, NC, and comes to us with an extensive Young Life background. Brad was an intern with Young Life (Durham/Chapel Hill) for two years and was Young Life Area Director for Asheboro (Randolph County) for three years. Brad grew up in Bunn,
NC, and is a 2001 graduate of Elon University. He is married to Jamie, a first grade classroom teacher for Randolph County Schools. We rejoice in God's gift to us: this couple who love Christ and teenagers.
. (You can only read the article online if you have a First Things subscription). It is not an entirely flattering review. Hays didn't mention the review in class but I saw it at the library. If you haven't heard of Hays, he is a well-known (though not to you), New Testament scholar who has written a lot about: the use of the Old Testament in Paul's letters, the Pauline phrase "faith in Christ Jesus vs. faith of Christ Jesus," the ethical teachings of the New Testament; and has written commentaries on Galatians and 1 Corinthians. I was definitely drawn to Duke because of Hays. Though an outstanding scholar, he has a heart for the church. (See his books 
by April Wilson. I have made and used 
