Director of Kids Ministry

About The Church at Tuscaloosa

The Church at Tuscaloosa exists to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to be a church where people far from God find belonging and all people encounter the grace of Jesus, build life-giving relationships, and step into their God-given purpose.

TCAT Kids serves children from birth through fifth grade in safe, engaging, gospel-centered environments designed to help children know Jesus, build meaningful relationships, and begin owning their faith.

The Opportunity

TCAT is seeking a spiritually mature, relational, and organized leader to provide vision and day-to-day leadership for TCAT Kids and TCAT Kids Jr.

The Kids Ministry Director will build environments where children are known, loved, safe, and spiritually formed. This person will recruit, equip, schedule, and care for volunteers; partner with parents; oversee curriculum and programming; and ensure that Sunday mornings and special events are prepared and executed with excellence.

This role requires both pastoral warmth and operational ownership. The right person will be able to care for a child or parent, develop a volunteer leader, communicate vision, and also manage schedules, supplies, facilities, budgets, calendars, and Sunday readiness.

We are open to both an experienced kids ministry leader and a gifted emerging leader. A perfect résumé is less important than demonstrated character, leadership capacity, organization, communication, love for families, and willingness to learn.

Primary Responsibilities

Lead the vision and strategy

• Champion a clear vision for kids ministry that supports the mission and values of TCAT.

• Collaborate with the Lead Pastor and staff to integrate kids ministry into the life and direction of the church.

Create excellent Sunday environments

• Oversee the planning and execution of all Sunday kids ministry environments.

• Ensure rooms, curriculum, supplies, technology, check-in systems, and volunteer assignments are ready before children arrive.

• Evaluate the ministry regularly and make improvements that help children, parents, and volunteers succeed.

Build and develop the volunteer team

• Recruit, screen, train, schedule, coach, and care for kids ministry volunteers.

• Develop team leaders who can own significant areas of the ministry and help develop others.

• Establish clear expectations, dependable communication, and healthy systems for volunteer scheduling and substitutions.

Partner with parents

• Communicate consistently and proactively with parents and guardians.

• Provide resources that help parents disciple their children at home.

• Respond to parent questions and concerns with empathy, wisdom, and appropriate follow-through.

Protect children and volunteers

• Maintain and consistently implement TCAT’s child-safety, security, check-in, classroom, and emergency procedures.

• Ensure volunteers complete all required screening and training.

• Cultivate a culture in which safety concerns are taken seriously and communicated immediately.

Manage the ministry responsibly

• Develop and manage the kids ministry budget.

• Maintain an accurate ministry calendar and plan events far enough in advance for staff, volunteers, and parents to participate successfully.

• Oversee family events, ministry milestones, service opportunities, and seasonal initiatives.

• Participate fully in staff meetings, planning, evaluation, and churchwide ministry efforts.

Required Qualifications

• A growing personal relationship with Jesus and demonstrated spiritual maturity.

• Alignment with the mission, beliefs, values, and ministry philosophy of The Church at Tuscaloosa.

• Demonstrated experience leading people in a church, school, camp, childcare, nonprofit, volunteer, or comparable environment.

• Ability to recruit, organize, equip, and encourage volunteers.

• Strong planning, organization, communication, and follow-through.

• Ability to manage multiple responsibilities without losing attention to people or details.

• Emotional maturity, humility, teachability, and the ability to receive feedback.

• Sound judgment and a strong commitment to child safety.

• Ability to communicate effectively with children, parents, volunteers, and staff.

• Availability to work a full-time Sunday–Thursday schedule, along with occasional special events.

• Willingness to complete all required reference and background checks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two or more years of experience in kids ministry, family ministry, education, volunteer leadership, or a related field.

• Experience recruiting, training, scheduling, and supervising volunteers.

• Experience overseeing preschool and elementary ministry environments.

• Familiarity with Orange or another established children’s ministry curriculum.

• Experience with church-management, check-in, scheduling, or volunteer communication systems.

• Experience managing a ministry budget and annual calendar.

• A degree in ministry, education, child development, organizational leadership, or a related field.

A degree and paid church experience are helpful but not required. Significant volunteer leadership or relevant experience in education, camps, childcare, nonprofits, or other ministry settings will be considered.

We encourage candidates to apply even when they do not meet every preferred qualification. We care more about demonstrated character, leadership capacity, organizational strength, and readiness to grow than about a particular title or number of years.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year:

• Sunday environments are consistently safe, staffed, prepared, and welcoming.

• Volunteers understand their roles, receive schedules in advance, and feel supported by their leaders.

• Parents receive clear, proactive, and dependable communication.

• A growing number of volunteers are being recruited, trained, and developed into leaders.

• Curriculum is executed consistently while remaining relational and engaging.

• Events, budgets, supplies, and ministry initiatives are planned and managed responsibly.

• Children are known personally, connected relationally, and taking meaningful steps in their relationship with Jesus.

Application Process

To apply, complete the initial application below and submit a résumé. Selected candidates will be invited to participate in interviews, reference checks, and other assessment tools.

Applicants should review TCAT’s statement of beliefs before applying.