Priest in Charge - The Six Benefice, Sittingbourne

Introduction

Priest in Charge – The Six Benefice, Sittingbourne

We are a united benefice of 7 worshipping communities. We have the privilege of worshipping in 6 beautiful rural church buildings in North Kent.  

In recent years the direction of travel for us has been expressed as being, “fruitful, confident church communities of disciples serving each village, growing good by being the people who BLESS, and seeing Jesus change lives” 

   Being rooted in Jesus through prayer and worship,  

   Listening to his voice in leading us,  

   Engaging with each other and our communities, instinctively  

   Serving our communities and always being ready to confidently  

   Share the hope we carry. 

We put Jesus first: it is His work we are doing, which we do in the power of His Spirit.  We trust in Him to provide the skills and the resources. Our worship is marked by the presence of God among us, so that all may see and believe. 

Our vision is to serve and support our local communities. We want to seek new ways to share God’s love with those around us.  

We would like to place a greater priority on prayer. We want to be surprised by God as we see Him at work in ways that we have never considered, both amongst our worshipping communities and in our villages. 

The new Priest in Charge will be:

• A good communicator, encourager and enabler. 
• A skilled team leader and manager, bringing the best out of our ministry and lay leadership teams. 
• A person of prayer, who places a high priority on their own walk with God and is able to nurture faith in others. 
• Adventurous in ideas and able to lead and inspire us as we reach out to develop growth in our churches. 
• A visible part of our communities, leading us as we seek to develop further our engagement with the community and our links with local schools and young people. 
• Committed to the mixed economy, encouraging fresh expressions of church as well as traditional models. 
• Accepting of a warm welcome in the Benefice to make it their spiritual and physical home. 
• Willing to work constructively with the Living in Love and Faith process and to fully welcome those from the LGBTQIA+ community.  

How to Apply

• Application deadline: 7 December 2025
• Interviews: 6 January 2026
• For an initial informal discussion, please feel free to contact the Associate Archdeacon of Maidstone, Revd Richard Braddy, via Lynn Bourne lbourne@diocant.org