Calvary

Connecting people to God

Bio for Pastor Josh van Gorkom
 

My name is Josh van Gorkom and I am the Pastor of Youth Ministry at Calvary!

 

I was born into a 3rd generation pastor’s family and I am currently serving as the fourth generation pastor. For many years I denied that I was called to ministry but once I surrendered that decision to Christ, I quickly realized that my heart is in youth Ministry. I knew that God wanted me in ministry when I was in junior high but I had felt the pressure from family and friends for so long that I felt like I needed to “define” myself elsewhere in a career. I surrendered my heart to Christ when I was 5 years old so I was familiar with what His voice sounded like but I had to overcome my own stubbornness before I realized what He wanted me to do! It wasn’t until May of 2005 that I decided to finally listen to the call to ministry on my life. I transferred colleges and started attending Crown College in Minnesota.

 

I graduated from Crown College with a B.S. degree in Christian Ministry-Youth Ministry in May 2009.

 

The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife who helps me with the youth ministry and 2 children that are a blessing everyday in a new and exciting way. We are also expecting our 3rd child in February 2010.

 

In the last few years, the Holy Spirit has taught me many lessons and guided me through many rocky roads. However, through it all He has never failed or changed even though I have. My teaching is dedicated to always maintaining God’s truth through His Word and never compromising it, even if that means being unpopular.

 Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:8, “join with me in the suffering for the gospel.”
 

My ministry at Calvary is exciting everyday because the Lord is in charge, not me. I am a willing servant of Christ ready to do whatever He wants and whatever will bring Him the glory, not me.

 

In His Service,

 

Pastor Josh
Youth Ministry Objectives


At Calvary there are 2 main areas that should be the focus of Youth Ministry - Outreach and Discipleship.

 

            Outreach- Extending God’s love to those who do not know Jesus

Ø  Demonstrating God’s love through actions and lifestyle to all regardless of race, gender, home life, etc.

Ø  A leadership style involving caring, acceptance, humility, service, forgiveness, and encouragement

Ø  Youth requirements following the above mentioned leadership style

Ø  Challenging outreach according to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20

Ø  Focus on winning the lost souls to the Kingdom of God regardless of the requirements of time, effort, and resources

Ø  Fellowship time on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for relationship building

 

Discipleship- Developing and advancing a personal relationship with Christ with the purpose of being well equipped enough to defend personal faith and Outreach and Discipleship

Ø  Using the Bible, God’s written word, as the primary teaching source and basis for all other resources of teaching

o   Demonstrating a passion for the Word of God

o   Teaching that Truth is important and a standard for living

Ø  Modeling a Godly life by being transparent

Ø  Having a knowledge of the teachings of God’s Word and how to use that knowledge

o   Defend your faith

o   Grow in your faith

o   Encourage others in their faith

Ø  Teaching an understanding of who you are in Christ and what your purpose is in that role

Ø  Personal time with students through mentoring and bible study

 

Result: In my High School ministry equipping for outreach and defending your faith will be the focus. At the end of the High School stage the students will have the opportunity to put to practice what they have learned by teaching at the Middle School level.