Arts Ministry Team Leader for UK & Ireland
Our ministry's vision is ‘releasing culturally appropriate expressions of the arts to see Christ known, loved and worshipped.'
Could you play a pivotal role as the UK and Ireland Leader of WEC's Arts Release ministry, now flourishing in several countries? This is a strategic role which will guide and inspire WEC's growing cross-cultural arts ministry teams operating in the UK and Ireland.
As Ministry Leader you will oversee and guide the full-time WEC ArtsRelease members based in the UK and Ireland, and also supervise our part-time associates and volunteers based in and working from here.
Your role will involve directing, communicating, networking, caring, strategising and facilitating the development of new projects which use the arts in cross-cultural ways to evangelise, disciple, church plant and mobilise.
Qualities & Gifts Sought
You have a heart for Jesus, the arts, worship and the unreached people groups of the world is essential.
Cross-cultural missions training and experience is vital, preferably with an arts focus. Leadership experience is crucial, with proven ability to mentor and guide interns.
You will need good public and online communication skills, administrative ability, a pastoral gift able to support our UK team members (virtually and in person); and eager to network with other WEC and ArtsRelease projects in this country and abroad.
A minimum of a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is recommended. Training in ethnodoxology will be required before or soon after appointment.
Our ref 167
This position is unsalaried, as all WEC personnel look to God to provide their personal needs.
About Arts in Mission
Arts Release is a group of creative arts specialists who love Jesus and people of other cultures. They are reaching the unreached, worshipping, discipling, training and mobilising through the God-given power of the arts, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The ArtsRelease teams (some full-time, some part-time) enjoy expressing God's love through various art forms. Some have professional arts training and others have picked up skills on the way.
WEC currently have teams based in England, France, Germany, Spain and Singapore, but our ArtsRelease members also travel extensively to work alongside WEC teams in other countries.
About United Kingdom
The capital of the United Kingdom is London and is the largest city with a population of 10.3m. London is the fourth-largest city in Europe. Other major urban areas in the UK include Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.
The UK is a developed country and has the world’s fifth-largest economy by GDP. The total area of the UK is approximately 243,610 square kilometres. The country occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago which includes the Republic of Ireland. The UK has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round.
Politics
The UK has a constitutional monarchy. King Charles III is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the Sovereign of 15 other independent Commonwealth countries. The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is the UK's head of government. The UK has sovereignty over 17 territories which do not form part of the UK itself (14 British Overseas Territories and three Crown dependencies).
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved administrations based in their capitals: Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast respectively. Each have their own government or executive led by a First Minister.
[Main source: Wikipedia].
Religious worldviews and unreached peoples in the UK
The population of the UK is around 65.4 million.
57% profess to be Christian and of those 7.91% are Evangelical. Other main religions and belief systems include: Islam - 4.1%, Hinduism - 2.8%, Pagan religions - 0.7%, Buddhism - 0.4%, Non-religious - 34.5%.
The UK contains around 105 distinct people groups, of whom 34 are classified as 'unreached' with little access to the good news of Jesus in their community, language or culture.
[source Joshua Project]
WEC's ministries in the UK
WEC’s primary goal is to take the gospel to the least-reached peoples of the world, and to see churches planted and growing among them. WEC's work in the UK and Ireland has a long history of training and sending Christian workers all over the world, but also of identifying the unreached in our midst.
WEC International is committed to:
• Working cross-culturally among immigrant communities in several cities to see Christian communities established which reflect their cultures through our Neighbours Worldwide teams;
• Encouraging and stimulating prayer for cross-cultural mission around the world, accurately researching the whole mission scene through the Operation World team;
• Partnering with churches all over the UK and Ireland to mobilise their congregations into cross-cultural ministry;
• Offering opportunities for short-term cross-cultural missions exposure and pass on the vision;
• Ministering to those who suffer from drug and alcohol addictions and plant churches among them through Betel’s teams;
• Training and producing media broadcast content through our Radio Worldwide ministry;
• Working with schools and churches to run children’s programmes and youth camps which aim to bring children to faith and to learn about their potential role in God’s world;
• Publishing strategic websites, magazines, pamphlets, Bible Studies, books and social media material to share the vision;
• Hosting events and courses for those wishing to explore God’s call to cross-cultural work or to pray for mission.
Please pray with us for: – integration and support for refugees and immigrants – a national awakening – local churches sharing the good news of Jesus – youth and childrens' work [Operation World, 2010 print edition]
You can also pray for the UK using the online resource: Operation World.