Cylife Church

POSITION SUMMARY
The Connections Director leads the strategy, systems, teams, and environments that help people take meaningful next steps in their journey of following Jesus. This role exists to ensure every person who engages with CyLife Church has a clear pathway toward connection, discipleship, and mission.
The Connections Director owns the church's front-door strategy and is responsible for helping people move from anonymous attendee to engaged disciple-maker. This leader oversees guest experience, assimilation, volunteer mobilization, leadership development, baptism processes, and connection systems while ensuring every next step aligns with CyLife's mission to make and send disciples who love and live like Jesus.
Reports To
This position reports to the Senior Director of Communications, Creative and Connections.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Guest Experience, Connections & Assimilation

• Lead all guest-facing environments, including greeters, hosts, hospitality, welcome teams, and the Connections Center.
• Create and maintain a dynamic onboarding experience that helps first-time guests move toward meaningful connection and discipleship.
• Oversee all connection card follow-up processes and ensure timely engagement through Planning Center workflows.
• Route prayer requests, salvation decisions, and care needs to the appropriate ministry leaders while ensuring follow-up is completed.
• Serve as the primary connector between new attendees and ministry leaders, helping individuals discover groups, serving opportunities, studies, and next steps.
• Oversee Sunday lobby operations, ensuring the Connections area is welcoming, organized, and effectively staffed.
• Monitor and improve the church's assimilation pathway, removing barriers that prevent people from taking next steps.
• Maintain inventory and supplies necessary for guest experience environments, including Bibles, printed materials, pens, hospitality items, and coffee shop supplies.

Discover CyLife

• Lead and continually improve Discover CyLife.
• Help people understand CyLife's mission, vision, values, and disciple-making culture.
• Connect people toward partnership, groups, serving, and next steps.

Baptism Process & Next Steps

• Own the end-to-end baptism process and experience.
• Manage baptism registrations, interest forms, communication, scheduling, and follow-up.
• Connect personally with baptism candidates to answer questions, assess readiness, and coordinate interviews with pastoral staff.
• Ensure every baptism candidate is cared for, prepared, and celebrated.
• Coordinate volunteers, ministry teams, and operational details necessary for baptism services.
• Oversee day-of-event execution, creating an organized and meaningful experience for participants and families.
• Maintain inventory of baptism supplies including apparel, towels, certificates, and event materials.
• Evaluate and continually improve the baptism process, ensuring a seamless pathway from initial interest to ongoing discipleship and engagement.

Volunteer Mobilization & Leadership Development

• Recruit, train, coach, and develop volunteer leaders throughout the Connections Ministry.
• Build sustainable leadership pipelines that identify and develop future Team Leaders, Coaches, and Ministry Leaders.
• Match volunteers with serving opportunities that align with their gifts, passions, and calling.
• Develop and support specialized connection coaches who help people take next steps toward community, serving, and discipleship.
• Foster meaningful relationships between guests, volunteers, members, and ministry leaders to strengthen community and belonging.
• Create multiplication-focused leadership structures that develop leaders rather than simply fill volunteer positions.
• Champion a culture of hospitality, disciple-making, and relational engagement throughout all Connections teams.

Care & Shepherding

• Partner with pastors and ministry leaders to connect people with appropriate care and support.
• Ensure people do not fall through the cr acks during critical life moments.

Data & Ministry Health

• Monitor pathway health and key ministry metrics.
• Evaluate engagement, retention, volunteer growth, and discipleship movement.
• Provide recommendations for improving effectiveness and removing friction points.

What Success Looks Like

• Increasing numbers of people taking intentional next steps.
• Strong guest retention.
• Increased Discover CyLife participation.
• Growth in partnership and volunteer engagement.
• Greater group involvement.
• More leaders being developed and multiplied.
• More people actively engaged in disciple-making relationships.

QUALIFICATIONS
Required

• Growing and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with CyLife Church's mission, doctrine, DNA, and leadership values.
• Proven leadership experience in ministry or volunteer-driven environments.
• Strong relational and communication skills.
• Ability to recruit, develop, and coach leaders.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to build scalable systems.

Preferred:

• Experience in a large church environment.
• Experience with Planning Center and ministry systems.
• Experience leading volunteer teams.
• Experience building assimilation and disciple-making pathways.

Character & Leadership Attributes
Candidates must demonstrate spiritual maturity, a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, and alignment with the mission and values of CyLife Church. Also, has a warm, welcoming presence and a genuine joy in serving and connecting with others.
The ideal candidate will also demonstrate:

• Model spiritual maturity and integrity.
• Champion disciple-making.
• Develop leaders rather than simply manage volunteers.
• Protect and strengthen team culture.
• Lead with humility, accountability, and excellence.
• Maintain a team-first mindset.
• Fully embrace CyLife's mission, DNA, doctrine, and leadership values.

CORE VALUES, COMPETENCIES AND ABILITIES
CyLife Staff Core Values
We expect this leader to model and live out the CyLife Church Core Values in their work and to help support staff in living out these values as well.

1. Fighting for Relationship: We are committed to fighting for authentic relationships and traveling light by extending grace and speaking truth in times of conflict and accountability. We stay curious first in order to express trust, honor, and respect to one another. We choose to call one another up and not out. We will be known by our love for one another.
2. Servant Leadership and Humility (I am third): We strive to set the standard as servant leaders by modeling Jesus' life of coming to serve and not be served. We do whatever it takes to get something done, no matter our role or title. We consistently seek input and feedback and humbly receive it so we can grow personally and as a church.
3. Team and Collaboration (Better Together): We are committed to a team-first attitude. We are stronger and better together, which is why we value people over programs. Silo ministry is unacceptable, so we collaborate to achieve the best outcomes and the greatest Kingdom impact.
4. Fun: We believe in having joy in what we do. We do not take ourselves too seriously and enjoy laughing, especially at ourselves. We use humor responsibly so relationships are never harmed.
5. Grit and Resiliency: We persistently pursue excellence and go the extra mile in all matters. When things are hard, we dig deep, support one another, and courageously finish what we set out to do.
6. Be Responsible (Own It): We take full responsibility for our part in all matters. We are responsible, respectful, and accountable to one another. We take initiative, seek solutions, and pursue constant improvement in our personal, spiritual, and leadership development.

Competencies and Abilities

• Communication: You speak and write effectively using appropriate conventions and communication channels based on the situation. You actively listen, ask questions to verify understanding, and use tact and consideration when delivering feedback.
• Flexibility: You respond positively and adapt to change initiatives and demonstrate ongoing support for change efforts.
• Collaboration and Partnership: You encourage and embrace dialogue, anticipate and resolve conflict by exploring mutually agreeable solutions, and share key information with others involved in projects or efforts. You follow the biblical model for resolving conflict in accordance with Matthew 18.
• Managing Work: You are methodical and efficient in structuring and completing tasks. You are self-motivated, able to work with minimal supervision, and demonstrate initiative.
• Quality: You set high standards and ensure quality and accuracy in every aspect of your work.
• Coachable: You receive constructive feedback without defensiveness and promptly adjust behavior to meet expectations.
• Maturity: You are able to separate emotional responses from real issues and put the needs of the ministry above personal preferences.
• Accountability: You take personal responsibility for adhering to policies and completing work in a timely and effective manner, while also taking ownership of your spiritual development.
• Responsibility: You independently make and meet commitments, keep promises, and acknowledge and accept the choices you have made, the actions you have taken, and the results.