Music Director
Position Specification
Thank you for your interest in the Music Director Position at NCC. The job description can be viewed below, or a downloadable job description can be found HERE.
WHO IS New Covenant Church?
New Covenant Church is a warm-hearted community of people united by God’s grace, enlivened by Jesus’ death and resurrection and the empowering presence of the Spirit. Our aim is to see Christ preached, love extended, and lives transformed by the power of the gospel. We believe NCC has been strategically placed in Naperville to make a life-changing impact here, in greater Chicagoland, and around the world.
Christ Preached from All the Scriptures
The biblical portrait of salvation is centered on the person of Jesus Christ. This good news develops from the first chapter of Genesis and culminates at the end of Revelation. All of Scripture tells this story—the wondrous truth that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead, and now reigns as King. We, therefore, seek to make this message clear through expository preaching, teaching, and various forms of discipleship so that God’s people would be rooted, built up, and established in the faith.
Love Extended to the Church, the City, and the World
"The goal of our instruction," says the Apostle Paul, is "love from a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith" (1 Tim. 1:5). Such love is not a philosophical abstraction or sentiment. It is an embodied reality that God extends through the church to people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Therefore, we are committed to equipping the saints for tangible service in our families, neighborhoods, urban centers, and in the remotest areas of the globe.
Lives Transformed by the Power of the Gospel
Our natural sinful tendency is to base our relationship with God on religious performance. Spiritual growth, however, is not a personal achievement: it is God's gracious gift that comes to us through the gospel (Rom. 1:16). By embracing this gift each day, we find our affections turned from the idols of this world toward the true and living God. In addition to providing freedom and hope, this spiritual movement also conforms us to the image of Christ.
History
New Covenant has existed in its current form since 2011, when two existing congregations decided to merge: the Naperville Congregational Church, which had been meeting on the corner of Washington and 75th streets in Naperville since the completion of its facility in 1970, and New Covenant Church, a church plant from College Church in Wheaton. By combining their resources, leadership, and ministries, these two bodies became the New Covenant Church of Naperville, an independent church located at One Bunting Lane.
As we grow, our central aim is to realize a greater measure of Christlikeness. Similar to the city and metro area in which we live, NCC is multicultural and has members in every stage of life: singles, seniors, young families, empty nesters, and everything in between. Together, we seek to grow in spiritual maturity, to bear one another’s burdens, and to encourage one another to share God’s love among our neighbors, colleagues, and friends.
Naperville is a vibrant, growing, multicultural suburb that values family, professional excellence, the arts, and so much more. Our desire at New Covenant is that the city increasingly would value the Lord Jesus Christ above all as the way, the truth, and the life.
MUSIC at New Covenant Church
Our theology of sacred music is concerned with offering to God the praise and worship that he alone deserves. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,” said the twenty-four elders surrounding the throne, “to receive glory and honor and power” (Rev. 4:11). Such music, centered on the Word, lifts our gaze to behold God’s majesty to recognize our unworthiness, to experience conviction of sin and the need for salvation. At the same time, it draws our attention to the certainty of forgiveness and renewal in Christ and the hope of eternity. Such worship cannot help but elicit heartfelt responses of faith.
But corporate worship is more than the words we confess. We are also discipled by the music itself. When sung in faith, it sets the truth of the gospel on our lips and in our hearts. Such music includes three central qualities:
Physical – It invites a fully embodied form of worship. More than simply ensuring that congregational music is singable (which is essential since congregational singing is an important aspect of worship), the music should call the people of God to full engagement in their participation, heartily expressing songs of praise to the Lord.
Memorable – Music puts the words and idioms of Christian faith in our minds and hearts and thus disciples us throughout the week. Melody is, therefore, a key component that allows God’s people to carry songs of worship with them from corporate gatherings into our daily rhythms and routines.
Beautiful – Our musical arrangements, instrumentation, and striving for quality are all intended to stir the hearts of God's people and encourage reverence for the Triune God. Through beauty, we declare that the Lord is our honored guest.
NCC is committed to traditional worship music focused on congregational singing of hymns and songs with a Biblically based text accompanied by choir, instrumental musicians (acoustic, non-electronic instruments including strings, woodwinds, brass), organ, and piano.
Our worship contains a mix of classic, historical hymnody and gospel songs, the core of which is found in our hymnal, The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD Music, 1986), and select newer songs.
We want everyone at New Covenant to participate in the ministry of music-making, whether in the choir, as instrumentalists, or in our most significant musical ensemble, the congregation.
Music Director
Position Specification
FLSA Status: Exempt
Work Location: Primarily onsite with some remote work
Part-time: 12-15 hours a week
Salary: $18,000 per annum
How to Apply:
A cover letter is required and should be attached as the first page of your resume. Your resume should include a link to an online worship service or musical performance for which you had a leadership role.
The cover letter should address:
- Your specific interest in the position and working at New Covenant Church of Naperville (NCC).
- Your skills and experience that directly relate to the responsibilities of the role.
Email materials as a single PDF file to office@newcovenantnaperville.org. The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and on a rolling basis. Priority will be given to those applications received by October 30, 2023.
Position Summary:
The Music Director of New Covenant of Naperville is responsible for developing and facilitating an inspiring, beautiful, and comprehensive music ministry consistent with the overall mission of the church. Through thoughtful and collaborative planning, the Music Director will be responsible for implementing, coordinating, and providing overall direction/leadership for the Sunday morning worship services, including but not limited to congregational singing, adult choir, children’s choir, and instrumental and other ensembles. The director will conduct effective weekly rehearsal in preparation to lead the Sunday worship service and will work with the Lead Pastor to develop an order of worship that supports the weekly sermon. Additionally, this position directs the adult choir and plans/leads special seasonal services. This part-time position requires in-person activities on Sunday mornings and meetings or coordination as needed during the week.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
A. Worship Service Preparation
a. Work closely with the Lead Pastor to carry out NCC’s philosophy of worship as it pertains to the music ministry and corporate worship.
b. Work with the preaching pastor each week to understand the sermon topic and scripture; select service music/hymns accordingly.
c. Coordinate with the Lead Pastor in planning seasonal services, including but not limited to Advent, Christmas Eve, and Good Friday, etc.
d. Work with the office administrator to ensure all materials are available for the bulletin; provide musical scores, texts, titles, composers, etc. Proofread bulletin before printing.
e. Organization of Instrumental Musicians:
i. Coordinate and lead rehearsals on Sunday morning.
ii. Schedule and recruit instrumental musicians as needed for Sunday services, including for preludes, postludes, and interlude music. Determine music assignments for Sunday and seasonal services; communicate with musicians; distribute service information and necessary music; determine any sound reinforcement needs and communicate those to the sound team. Coordinate with the video team regarding live stream needs.
iii. Assemble all music needed for instrumentalists. This may include published scores and any newly arranged music required for services.
iv. As desired and appropriate, invite guest musicians to contribute to worship services.
v. Send bulletin, instructions, and music to all musicians involved in each week’s service.
B. Worship Service Leadership
a. Lead Congregational Worship
b. Direct Adult Choir
i. Set rehearsal dates and times; select and obtain needed music; manage calendar; make sure someone is taking care of robes, and folders; communicate with choir as often as necessary regarding music and schedules.
ii. Recruit and support choir members, as appropriate.
iii. Work with choir accompanist(s) as needed.
iv. Oversee Children’s Choir and/or other NCC ensembles.
v. Collaborate with children’s choir and/or other ensemble director(s) and assist as needed.
C. Music Committee Service
a. Serve as an “ex officio” music committee member.
b. Attend meetings as they are called by the committee chair.
Required Qualifications:
- Genuine commitment to the gospel ministry and a sense of divine call to worship ministry
- Proven experience in leading church worship, vocalists, and instrumentalists.
- A member in good standing of an evangelical church, in agreement with NCC’s Articles of Faith and desire to become a member of NCC
- Ability to plan, organize, direct, and lead the music ministry of a dynamic and growing church
- Experience leading a volunteer choral ensemble
- Experience in mentoring or teaching a wide age range of individuals
- Proficiency in singing to be able to lead corporate worship
- Sufficient skills, knowledge, and demonstrated ability to provide overall direction and leadership in traditional worship style
- Ability to recruit, train, empower, and lead a team of ministry volunteers
- Advanced musical studies
Preferred Qualifications:
- Formal education in Biblical Studies
- Ability to play at least one musical instrument at a high level
- Ability to arrange existing music for available instrumental/vocal complement
Traits and Characteristics:
- Commitment to musical excellence
- A heart to shepherd those who serve in the music ministry
- Strong communicator
- Teachable and exhibits a spirit of cooperation, teamwork, and flexibility
- Detailed-oriented, organized, and gifted at multitasking.
- Sense of urgency and propensity for timeliness
- Leadership presence
- Appreciation for working with volunteer musicians of varying musical skill levels
- Ability to motivate others
Position Reports to: NCC Lead Pastor