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The goal of "Welcome to Student Ministry" is to post interviews that help guide both new and experienced student pastors toward faithful ministry over many years. This 15th interview in this series is with Josh Cnossen. Josh serves as the Director of Youth Discipleship at First Byron CRC in Michigan!
1. Tell our readers some background information about how long you have been in student ministry, how you started, and anything else that you think would be useful.
I went to a small Bible college and majored in Youth Ministry, but never thought I would end up doing traditional youth ministry for any great length of time. I desired to be in camp ministry, and, upon graduation, taught Outdoor Education to 5th and 6th-grade students in the redwoods of California.
After a year of teaching, I got a little homesick, so I returned to my home state of Michigan, and a few months later, traveled to Texas, where I worked in a boys' home with youth who were struggling to make wise decisions. That only lasted about 6 months before I came back to Michigan to do an apprenticeship at a camp, hoping to land a programming role somewhere after finishing my year there.
I applied to different camps, but never really felt like I was finding the place God wanted me to be.
After working on a farm for several months, I reluctantly applied to a church and was hired. Reluctantly, only because I thought I knew where I was supposed to be and did not believe youth ministry was a long-term place for me.
That was 20 years ago, and God still has me in youth ministry. One thing that has remained since my days in camp ministry and my 20+ years in youth ministry is a desire for students to know the good news of Jesus Christ. I have considered furthering my education and have taken a few seminary courses, but have also educated myself through various studies, conferences, etc. I’m committed to my growth, and on-the-job training is a great way to support it.
Youth Ministry has changed over the years, but the need for adults who care about students' welfare has never changed. Throughout my time in youth ministry, I have seen many lives changed, both with students and with leaders. It has shown me over and over again the importance of relationships and what can happen when trust is built.
2. How has your view of youth ministry changed from when you started to now?
A few years into my youth ministry career, I had a pastor friend who invested in me and really helped me understand the significance of the gospel in youth ministry. It’s not that I wasn’t teaching the Bible or important topics to teenagers, but he helped me understand that each of my talks and lessons should revolve around the gospel and what Jesus did for myself and these youth on the cross.
A number of years later, I read a book by Mike McGarry, and a quote I took from that book still sits above my computer screen in my office: “Gospel-centered youth pastors are diligent to ensure that every message delivered highlights the gospel in either the narrow or the broad sense. They regularly ask themselves, ‘Did Jesus need to die and rise from the grave for me to teach this lesson or give this counsel?’”
When I was first in youth ministry, I had the idea from a number of things that I had read that I needed to have the best decorations and the greatest games, or else students wouldn’t show up for what I had to offer them.
It took me a little bit of time, but I began to understand that you can have the best of everything, but if you don’t give them the news that can change their lives forever, it will eventually go away.
3. Share one of your favorite student ministry moments.
One thing that pops into my mind happened early in my youth ministry career.
Every year, we would do a mission trip somewhere, and usually it was somewhere far from home and a destination that students would see as an opportunity to not only serve, but to enjoy the surroundings.
This particular year, we did a local trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Literally minutes from our church.
I remember starting the trip with some of the students, who were obviously forced to go, struggling to see the upside of being so close to home but not being able to go home.
By the end of the trip, a few of these students came back with a great attitude, recognizing the need in their own backyard and understanding that, even close to home, there are different cultures they do not experience on a regular basis.
I started that week nervous about how the students would react, and ended it thanking God for what he could do, even in our own backyard.
Side note: for the first time since that trip, and now at another church, I am doing a similar trip this summer. I am praying that God will use the people that He has attending this week to further his kingdom and make His name known.
4. Share one of your least favorite ministry moments
One thing that I think can get overlooked when a person enters youth ministry or any ministry, really, is the dynamics that you will have with other staff and pastors from the church you are at. I’ve had both wonderful and awful experiences in my time in youth ministry.
These have led to times of great joy and great sorrow. Any time you bring less-than-perfect human beings together, it can result in a fantastic dynamic or a soul-crushing conflict.
I don’t want to get specific here, but I just want to say that God can use the worst experiences to help you evaluate your own life and understand the struggles others face. It’s what you do in those situations that helps you understand that God is present in the good and in the bad.
5. What resources do you find helpful to use in student ministry?
Resources have changed over the years. I used to have a bookshelf full of books from renowned authors and people who have been successful in youth ministry, giving their best tips.
Those items are still of great value, but in the ever-changing world of youth ministry, I have found websites from CPYU, Rooted, and RYM to be very helpful in my ministry. Helping parents and leaders know about trends that are happening with our youth, knowing how to speak with them and how they speak or do not speak at all to each other.
I have appreciated hearing from people who don’t view youth ministry as a one-size-fits-all approach. What might work for me in my setting at my church may not work for another person in their specific area and the teens that they are working with.
More than anything, I have learned that the ministry that I am a part of is unique. The theology and doctrine that I and my church subscribe to is probably going to be a little different from those of another person reading this, but what we can do is learn from each other and take that knowledge and use it for our specific situations. This applies to the studies or curricula we might use, to the mission trips or camps we might attend with our leaders and youth, and to the conferences or trainings that I attend as the leader of the group.
6. What is one or two things that you do to make sure that you do so that you don’t burn out as a youth pastor?
I have one day per week that I will not (as much as I can) answer any emails, take any phone calls or even drive past the church where I minister. Being in youth ministry this is a tough thing to do. There’s always another email that needs answered, there’s always another thing that needs to be communicated, but taking that time to just breathe is very important to me.
The other thing that has helped me with burnout is having a supportive family. Being in youth ministry for this long requires sacrifice from my wife and kids. It requires staying after youth group is done, picking up trash and turning off lights. Now, I have my own kids in my youth ministry, so sometimes they get asked questions about what specifically we have coming up or what we’re going to eat for supper at youth group.
Needless to say, I could not do it without them. My wife has not only encouraged me in youth ministry but has been a significant part of everything I have done throughout my youth ministry career. I could not do what I do without her.
7. What advice would you give to yourself when you started as a youth pastor if you could go back to that time?
Don’t make any of what you are doing about you. At first, I wanted so badly to be liked. I have a personality that desperately wants others to be happy and wants others to approve of me.
However, youth ministry should never be about the person leading it. This doesn’t mean youth ministry can’t be fun or that you can’t make a fool of yourself. But if students walk away from the youth ministry only talking about the game or only talking about how amazing these leaders are, we’ve missed the point. Youth ministry, just as any other ministry, should be about Jesus, what He has done for me, and what He can do for our youth.
I also wish I could’ve told myself that I don’t have to do it alone. I have had fantastic leaders over the years in the three churches that I have been a part of. They volunteered to help because they care about the students. Too many times, I have tried to take things on myself where a leader who was way more gifted than I was in something could’ve done a much better job at it. Utilizing leaders' gifts is huge.
Don’t take it personally when students don’t want to engage with you. One of my aunts once told me that we are all at different points in our journey with the Lord. Maybe someone is struggling and just needs space. Continue to be faithful, check up on them, but give them the room that they need. The Holy Spirit can do his work without any of us, but continue to trust and listen to his guidance with each individual.
Lastly, do not forget to be in the Word for your own relationship with the Lord. It can be easy to write lessons and look for scripture, but make sure you take time for personal growth. If I’m not growing, it’s hard to encourage others to grow.
Thank you, Josh, for taking time to answer these questions. In coming weeks I will post our 16th edition of "Welcome to Student Ministry."
