The Water’s Edge Church
The Water’s edge is a dynamic and growing church in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska. Their mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and each other.
Expected Work Hours: 40-45 hours/week
Expected Pay: $2,000/month plus housing (flexible)
Here are some Q & A with their staff:
What are your greatest hopes and dreams for the next couple of years for your organization?
Water Edge (WE) are in the process of building a 15,000sf addition to our facility. This addition will give us 60% more space to our facility enabling us to better provide WE Kids and WE Youth ministry opportunities during the week, expand our capacity for worship options during the weekend, and enable us to better serve many of the schools, community groups, outreach ministries, and para-church ministries we have partnered with over the last 15 years. It is our hope this addition will help us to provide a fun, safe place where our youth, adult small groups, and others can gather and grow in their relationships with Jesus Christ and with each other.
WE are more than a building. Since WE moved into our facility, our impact with local schools has expanded. We currently sit in the middle of three large school districts and draw families who have children in or that will feed into 10 different high schools. Our hope is to continue to expand our reach and impact into the school districts within our immediate area and be a blessing to their students, staff, administrations, and the families within our community.
And WE want to be more than our local community. WE strive to have both an outreach and missional impact in the Omaha Metro Area, across our nation, and internationally. One dream we have is to be able to say we have mission impact that expands to every (inhabited) continent in the world. WE currently send people on mission trips here in the U.S.A., Belize, and Africa, and WE support missionaries in Nicaragua and the U.S.A. WE hope to grow and impact our missional reach in the coming years to include Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Why did you choose to do a residency & what are you hoping will happen through this process?
Our Mission Vision and Values express our desire to be a church that is continually expanding and growing God’s kingdom. WE believe that extends not just to our congregation, but also to the development of those who will be the next generation of church leaders. WE feel that adding a resident to our Youth Ministry team will be an opportunity to develop a new leader and hopefully be a springboard that sets the stage for additional residencies and ministry development in the future.
What is it like to work on staff there? The ministry staff here is very collaborative. Regardless of one’s job description, there is generally great communication and involvement across the board in our ministry functions. In many ways, while everyone has specific job descriptions, we also assist whenever possible in other areas of ministry. Our ministry staff are long serving (averaging over 10 years on staff), fun, lighthearted, supportive, and caring people who look out for and care deeply about one another.
Does your church’s website state the mission, vision, values and key distinctives of your church? Please paste the link:
weomaha.com/about/mission-vision-values
What qualities does it take to “win” on staff at your church? Those who take initiative in both learning and doing, tend to have the most success, gain the respect of our congregation, and get the most out of their experience. You must be a team player and willing to “lend a hand” wherever the need is. We are a team. At times, events, and activities, ministry opportunities are ALL HANDS ON DECK. If you want to win over the staff, be a team player.
Who will the resident report to? Will there be a different person acting as coach?
The resident will report to the Director of Youth Ministries. This person will also serve as his/her coach.
Are you affiliated with a particular denomination or tribes/association of churches?
No we are not.
What are the key doctrinal and theological issues where alignment is essential?
Prefer understanding and ability to relate to Wesleyan/Arminian Theology.
What is your average weekend attendance?
600-700 in person
150-300 online
Youth Ministry fluctuates between 70-110 depending on the time of year
In general, what is your church demographic?
Suburban Upper Middle Class. Mostly caucasian.
What is your church known for in the community?
We are definitely known as a church who strives to support and partner with the community, local schools, and families. Our VBS is exceptionally well attended, we host multiple events for local neighborhood groups, preschools, and high school clubs and organizations.
How much are you planning on financially compensating your resident? Is it set or is it flexible
$2000/month plus housing. This could be flexible depending on the candidate.
What are the expected work hours and what does a typical workweek look like for this resident?
The resident will be expected to work 40-45 hour per week.
Hours are somewhat flexible but a typical work week is Sunday 7:30AM-12:00PM, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 9am-3pm, Wednesday 10am-9pm plus church, community, & events.
Youth Ministry meets Wednesday evenings.
What else would you say to a resident considering joining your team?
Our congregation is very supportive of our Youth Ministries and they have been incredibly generous and supportive of past interns. There are great opportunities for building and growing new ministries with our youth while also engaging and building outreach into the community. We also have solid relationships with local parachurch ministries including Youth for Christ (which has a huge imprint in our area), and Young Life (we have partnered with them for Middle School Summer Camps).