Assoc. Professor - Liberal Arts jobs in Richmond, VA

Title: Worship Artist in Residence

About East End Fellowship

East End Fellowship is a multi-ethnic, economically diverse worshiping community in the east end of Richmond. We are a network of house churches who gather together on Sundays for public worship. Our mission is to see that every person in the east end of Richmond has multiple opportunities to become part of Jesus’ spiritual family. We are committed to the witness of the gospel in our context, specifically called to racial healing, biblical justice, and proclaiming the radical and counter-cultural ways of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Our values are:

• Holy Spirit Power
• Biblical Discipleship
• Biblical Justice and Mercy
• Spiritual Family
• Intentional Evangelism

East End Fellowship has a long history of appreciating the value that the arts, broadly construed, bring to spaces and practices of worship. We remain committed to fostering spaces for creative expression that deepen communal discipleship and strengthen our collective witness to the world. The Worship Artist in Residence will further this commitment by both building on current congregational assets and bringing their own gifts, passions, and skill sets to forward God’s mission in the east end of Richmond.

Relationships & Supervision:

• The Worship Artist in Residence reports directly to the Co-Lead Pastor and meets weekly for supervision and support. The Worship Artist in Residence also works closely with the Worship Team Leader, A/V Technician, and Family Ministries Pastor.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Execute creative projects as determined in collaboration with their supervisor and relevant staff
• Participate in Sunday worship services as a band leader
• Organize worship team volunteers in creative projects
• Assist Family Ministries Pastor in creative activities for kids during monthly “Family Sunday”
• Assist Family Ministries Pastor in organizing creative projects for Youth Group participants
• Draft list of artistic activities for house churches that can engage adults as well as youth for inclusion within house church leader digital folder and present ideas at quarterly house church all-leader gathering
• Meet weekly with supervisor
• Attend staff meeting at least twice a month
• Attend each house church at least once

Sunday Service Collaboration: Work collaboratively with the Co-Lead Pastor, Worship Team Leader, A/V Technician, and other staff members and volunteers to integrate artistic elements seamlessly into Sunday worship service, helping to craft a cohesive, creative, and meaningful worship service every Sunday morning. Work with Family Ministries Pastor to organize artistic activities for children during monthly Family Sunday services.

Weekday Resourcing: Work collaboratively with the Co-Lead Pastor to develop meaningful artistic activities/resources for house churches that can engage youth as well as adults. Work with Family Ministries Pastor to organize monthly artistic activities for weekday Youth Group programming.

Training and Workshops: Provide guidance and training to individuals within the congregation who are interested in incorporating their artistic talents into the life of the church, fostering a culture of creativity and inclusion. Assist Ruakh Arts in developing and facilitating a church workshop that discusses the role of the arts in Christian discipleship.

Stewardship of Artistic Resources: Conduct an inventory assessment of current artistic materials and equipment. Manage and maintain any artistic resources, props, or equipment needed for worship, ensuring they are used effectively and responsibly.

Community Engagement: Facilitate opportunities for the congregation to express their creativity and talents, fostering a sense of community through artistic expression. Organize and coordinate annual church retreat Variety Show (May) and annual Art Gallery (Jan/Feb).

Qualifications & Experience

• Artistic Proficiency:
• Required: Worship Keyboard with proficiency in Gospel styles
• Preferred: Creating music tracks, songwriting or musical composition, writing of liturgies
• Innovative Thinking: Creative and innovative thinking with a passion for exploring new ways to engage the congregation through artistic expressions.
• Collaborative Spirit: Ability to work collaboratively with the Lead Pastor and/or Worship Director and other team members to integrate artistic elements into the worship service and church culture seamlessly.
• Flexibility: Willingness to adapt to the dynamic nature of church ministry, including occasional evening or weekend commitments for special events.
• Passion for Worship: A passion for worship and a desire to create meaningful, formative, and spiritually enriching experiences for the congregation.
• Compatibility: Agree to the core values and goals of East End Fellowship, have basic familiarity with the Bible and Christian Doctrine, and be intentional in pursuing God through their own personal spiritual growth.

Hours and Duration: This position is in tandem with Ruakh Art’s Richmond Worship Arts Fellowship (RWAF) which is a 9-month residential program that spans from late August/early September to late May. The Worship Artist in Residence will work part-time, 24 hours each week. The rest of their time is spent participating in other programmatic elements of RWAF (see last page).

Compensation: The Worship Artist in Residence will be paid $1000 monthly, adding up to $9000 overall. They will have free housing through a host family as well as free seminary level courses, RWAF retreats, mentorship, conference attendance for Calvin Symposium of Worship and The Breath & The Clay, weekly roundtable dinners, and more.

Richmond Worship Arts Fellowship

Program: The Richmond Worship Arts Fellowship (RWAF) is a unique vocational and Christian discipleship program for artists (generally recent college graduates), as well as a coaching and training program for churches who want to better utilize artists. It is a 9-month program beginning in August/September of 2024 and ending in May of 2025. Through graduate courses, a paid internship as a worship artist in residence, one-on-one mentoring and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in congregational settings while learning how to survive and thrive in church work.

Themes for Fellows:

• Worship Innovation

Through positions as worship artists in residence, fellows are empowered to be truly creative and innovative in how they use their artistic skills to build thriving congregations. They will work with creative leaders at their host churches, receive vocational mentorship, and collaborate creatively with the other fellows.

• Combatting Church Disillusionment

Church work is not easy. Jesus chose a very imperfect method - the Church - to serve as his body and yet there is no Plan B. Many Christians already have a level of disillusionment with the Church and/or with Christian community because of toxic church experiences, significant conflict and lack of reconciliation within Christian communities, and/or burnout. RWAF will provide fellows with practical tools and discipleship through a weekly roundtable dinner to combat church disillusionment head on so that they can go on to survive and thrive in church work.

• Theology and the Arts

RWAF is partnered with the John Leland Center for Theological Studies to provide this unique program. They are offering a Graduate Certificate in Worship Arts upon completion of this program. Fellows will take several graduate level classes during the fellows program that will focus on equipping them in Theology and the Arts.

• Collaboration and Community Partnership

Artists work best in collaboration, not in vacuums. Many worship artists do not have the opportunity to regularly collaborate with a diverse set of artists, particularly at a diverse set of churches. The fellows will spend dedicated time each week working collaboratively with the other fellows on projects related to this church internships. They will also be coached through putting together a small local conference on worship, arts, and justice which will require them to form community partnerships with local artists and Christian leaders.

Job Types: Part-time, Temporary, Internship

Pay: $1,000.00 per month

Expected hours: 24 per week

Benefits:

• Professional development assistance

Ability to Relocate:

• Richmond, VA 23223: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person