Q: How long has youth pastor been your calling?
A: I've been here at Eagle's Landing for 15 years. I've been a youth pastor for 25 years. I started when I was 21 or 22. My goal is to be the world's oldest youth pastor.
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Q: How has that work changed over the past 25 years?
A: Everyone's base needs are the same, but kids want approval. They want to be loved and they want purpose, like we all do. The enemy has always been attacking the family so the family is a mess in a lot of homes. Usually one of the biggest struggles is kids not having a dad in the house. That's something we deal with a lot. A lot of time, youth pastor is Papa No. 2 for a lot of kids. With the way media is now, everything is so much more accessible. Things are faster and more available. When you were a teenager and I was a teenager, you had to jump through a lot of hoops to do something really bad. You had to really work on it and now the world is literally in your pocket. It's a tough world for kids.
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Q: What do you get from Casting Crowns that you can bring back to the youth?
A: It's really the other way around. The songs I write come out of what I teach here throughout the year and then message sort of simmer up out of those. The ones that rise to the top become songs. If it wasn't for the church, I wouldn't have the songs. Casting Crowns is more the overflow of what's happening in the church. Then on the road, we're just a blip on the radar to a person. We're just a couple of hours one night in their life. Our goal there is to encourage people and give them a break from the world for a little while and point them toward Jesus.
WANT TO GO?
Who: Casting Crowns with opener Zach Williams
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19
Cost: $30-$45 in advance, $35-$50 at the door
More information: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com
Artist info:https://castingcrowns.com
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