Women's Street Outreach Care Minister - Christian Ministry - OurCalling

Position Title:  Street Outreach Care Minister

Department: Program Department

Reports to: Street Outreach Manager

Direct Reports: None

FLSA status: Full-Time Exempt

APPLICANT REQUIREMENT: We request that you submit both a Cover Letter AND Resume that demonstrates your interest and qualifications for working in a ministry position. You will not be considered without both of these. 

Please complete the application form in its entirety as we are unable to extend an offer of employment for incomplete applications. Some volunteering with the ministry as part of the assessment and qualification process may be requested.

The Ministry: The mission of OurCalling is to glorify God by leading homeless individuals to Christ and making disciples on the streets. OurCalling is a ministry specifically focused on the unsheltered homeless community. We operate an outreach center for the homeless community near downtown Dallas. We are passionate about loving and helping the unsheltered homeless transition to better lives. We are a faith-based ministry where every job is a ministry position. Each staff member should be able to clearly share the Gospel and communicate their own testimony. While everyone on the team wears multiple hats, our primary function is getting people off the street and helping them walk with Jesus. We want everything that we do to point to Jesus. We serve 200-400 guests daily. We are a “no-barrier” facility that is welcoming and compassionate to all who enter.

Job Summary: We primarily serve the chronically, unsheltered homeless population. Our homeless friends, or guests (Guests), are survivors who have experienced vast amounts of trauma. We use resources, services and relationships to create opportunities for gospel centered conversations. We are careful in our interactions to demonstrate to our Guests and volunteers how to live out the truths of the gospel and let the love of Christ control our actions. This position, while ministry focused, is not like traditional church ministry, but deals with the “rawness” of life on the streets. Our Street Outreach Ministers actually crawl under bridges and hike out into the woods to find our homeless friends, bring them resources, share the Gospel, pray with them, show them love, and build trust in order to bring them to a place where they can and want to seek help getting off the streets.

Job Responsibilities:

• Engage in relational ministry with our Guests, building long-term, one-on-one relationships; this is critical to our work
• Both initiate conversations and consciously turn conversations to focus on Christ
• Prioritize prayer with our guests, inviting them to exercise their own relationship with God through prayer
• Become knowledgeable of placement solutions and utilize motivational skills to help our guests consider and make decisions to get off the streets.
• Serve guests at times, through crisis intervention and/or emotional de-escalation
• Use active listening, coming into conversations as a humble learner, taking the time to listen carefully to our guests rather than simply suggesting solutions to problems
• In conversations with guests, discern what their deeper needs are, and what needs we are capable of meeting
• Advise and advocate for homeless guests who are navigating social services in Dallas, developing relationships while walking together through the process
• Track and record relationship-building through in house case management systems
• Utilize technology (Filemaker) to effectively build relationships with guests via documenting pertinent personal and situational background information
• Collaborate with OurCalling’s Placement Solutions Team by following the established referral and placement procedures to create exit plans for homeless guests
• Actively manage personal self-care to remain fresh and strong as a minister to our guests

Skills & Abilities: 

• Because many of our Guests have been addicts for years or experience various levels of mental illness and trauma, Street Outreach Ministers should:
• Be patient and longsuffering while showing discernment
• Show grace to those who feel defeated by their own desires and cycles of destruction or are unable to articulate more than their frustration
• Able to interact gently and with empathy as needed
• Be able to establish and manage boundaries, to deny requests regularly and overlook or navigate through entitlement attitudes, demonstrating self-control, not easily offended
• Be sensitive to cultural differences such as race, ethnicity, and neighborhoods of origin
• Knowledge of the Bible and comfortable teaching, witnessing, discipling and encouraging
• Must have a demonstrable track record of maturity, integrity, taking personal initiative, being flexible in a busy and fast-paced environment, and as a trusted team member, working effectively across the ministry
• Able to lift boxes up to 20lbs, drive a van, walk long distances, regularly stoop and kneel, able to climb stairs, converse in loud environments, and work in uncomfortable Texas climate
• Able to use an ipad to track pertinent information on guests
• Humble with the ability to listen well and accept constructive feedback from ministry members

A Street Outreach Care Minister’s motivation to serve must be:

• A commitment to build deep relationships
• A love for Jesus Christ and a desire to see His kingdom and glory increase
• A love for those in the homeless community, and desire for them to be won to a fruitful relationship with Jesus Christ, and to escape homelessness

Education & Experience:

• A bachelor's degree in psychology, counseling, sociology, social work, philosophy, theology or other similar degree programs is preferred
• Three years of related “life” or ministry experience required
• Experience in pastoral care toward those struggling with addiction, mental illness, abandonment, homelessness and poverty, desired

Additional Qualifications:

• Upholding a close and growing relationship as a disciple of Jesus Christ

Our Benefits: We offer an excellent Total Rewards benefit package that includes over 3 weeks Paid Time Off plus Holidays to start, as well as Health Reimbursement Benefit of up to $800 per month, Parental Leave, Life Insurance, Retirement Plan with matching, and more.