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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 16th interview in this series is with Nick Hartman. Nick serves as the Next Gen Pastor at Real Life Church in Tennessee!
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’ve been in youth ministry for 8 years. I felt the Lord call me into ministry during my freshman year of college. I was serving as a volunteer at a local church, and one night after small group, the Lord made it clear that I was gifted for ministry but, at the time, was not using those gifts.
I interned for my home church in student ministry in the summer of 2018 while exploring my call to ministry, and began my first youth pastor position in the fall of 2018 at a small church in Columbia, Missouri. I spent two-and-a-half years in a bivocational ministry at that church before moving to the Nashville area in 2021 for my first full-time student ministry position.
I spent five years at a mid-sized church in a small rural community overseeing student ministry, and those were such sweet times for us as I learned how to shepherd and pastor students and their families. Now, I’m at a large church in Clarksville, TN, serving as the Next Gen Pastor since February 2026.
2. How has your view of youth ministry changed from when you started to now?
When I entered youth ministry, my instinct was pragmatic: if we cultivated strong relationships, taught Scripture faithfully, and offered practical take-aways, teenagers would come to Christ. In other words, I assumed most of the heavy lifting rested on us
Over time, digging deeper into the beauty of God, his Word, and the truths from Scripture, I came to see that it is God who sovereignly draws young people to Himself; our task is to plant and water while He gives the growth (1 Cor 3:6). That realization hasn’t diminished my passion—it has sharpened it. Now I work to create spaces where students encounter the riches of God’s Word, knowing that the Spirit alone awakens hearts.
So my aim is still relational and biblical, but with clearer confidence in the Lord’s power: to lead teenagers toward a faith that He roots in them for life—shaping their heads, stirring their hearts, and moving their hands for His glory today.
3. Share one of your favorite student ministry moments.
My favorite student ministry moments are usually seeing God work in big ways during camp, mission trips, and retreats. These intentional times are are so beautiful. One particular moment for me was a couple years ago when my last group was serving at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home in Chattanooga. It was really the first time a lot of our students had served on a mission trip and it was such a sweet time as we learned about and supported the work God was doing at the Children’s home.
4. Share one of your least favorite ministry moments
The hardest seasons of ministry rarely unfold on stage at an event or retreat; they arise in the quiet labor of shepherding hearts. Discouragement seems to strike most sharply just after everything appears to be going well then an unexpected criticism hits hard. That was my story in the fall of 2025. I couldn’t share much of what happened, yet in those hidden valleys I watched God move in remarkable ways.
Even so, those private battles with discouragement—when there’s no one nearby you can fully confide in—remain the moments of ministry I like least.
5. What resources do you find helpful to use in student ministry?
For blogs, my favorite resources are Youth Pastor Theologian & Rooted Youth Ministries. They provide some amazing work from gifted youth pastors and leaders from across the country and the world.
On social media, I enjoy Creeds & Confessions, Dial In Ministries, WTSReads, and Honest Youth Pastor.
My favorite publishers are Reformation Heritage, B&H Academic, and Crossway because they provide some incredible resources for teaching, preaching, and discipleship.
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?
Ministry is a marathon; one thing that has allowed me to continue to endure are surrounding myself with other youth pastors who intimately know the joy and sorrow of ministry. Every week, I have 3-4 ministry friends that I call to check in with and discuss what is going on in ministry and life. Another thing is developing good relationships with youth leaders. This allows trust to grow deeper but also creates a deep sense of community from within. Relationships are the real priority in ministry, the work will always be there but the people you bring into speak into your life matter.
7. What advice would you give to yourself when you started as a youth pastor if you could go back to that time?
If I could speak to the fresh-faced youth pastor I once was, I’d say, “Anchor your identity in Christ alone—then serve as someone with nothing to lose, nothing to prove, and nothing to hide.” Let Jesus’ finished work settle your worth, let His calling silence any need for validation, and let His cross free you to confess failures quickly. From that secure place you’ll minister to teens with fearless creativity, honest transparency, and a joy that outlasts every trend and setback.
Thank you, Nick, for taking time to answer these questions. In coming weeks I will post our 17th edition of "Welcome to Student Ministry."
