Jon Nowlin Application Qs for Web.pdf

Qualification
While at Bethlehem, God has carved out a unique place for me both at the North Campus and in the cross-campus ministry to families of young adults. He has given me a passion to flesh out, refine, and implement a vision for the next generations here. He has graciously given me favor and fruit in this ministry and demonstrated that he has a unique fit for me at Bethlehem.

Current Role
Currently, I serve in a role of partnering with parents in the discipleship of their young people. This includes vision casting, strategic planning, teaching, leading, communication, prayer, connecting with parents and students, equipping teams for cross-cultural ministry, creating discipleship resources for families and students, as well as recruiting, interviewing, and supporting interns, mentors, and volunteers.

Vision for Ministry to Children & Youth
By God’s grace the young adults at Bethlehem will pursue Jesus Christ with such robust passion that their children’s children will do the same. They will be radically and continually effected by the gospel, worshipers from the heart, rooted in faith and doctrine, continually delighting in God’s Word, directed by a biblical worldview, deeply enriched by true biblical fellowship, passionately engaging their world with the gospel, compelled by God’s heart for justice and ethnic diversity, excelling in the use of their spiritual gifts, and humble recipients of grace so that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Application Responses Regarding Testimony and Calling

1. When and under what circumstances did you receive Christ as your savior?

My story is a small sliver in God’s story of redemption. Prior to creating the world God purposed ahead of time to send his Son as a perfect atoning sacrifice and chose at that time to give me the benefits of his grace. Upon creating the universe and all that fills it, Adam and Eve the first humans had intimate fellowship with God and each other in God’s perfect world. Yet in time they chose to doubt God’s goodness and reject his authority by breaking his explicit commandment. In this they traded his glory for their own exaltation and received pain, separation and toil.

Their rejection was imputed to all mankind and spread like a disease infecting all future generations including myself. This was most evident in my growing up years. In fifth grade my parents were divorced. That act removed many of the natural restrictions in my life and I pursued comfort and personal satisfaction in many un-godly ways and I reaped the consequences including shame, addiction, and relational strife with my mother.

God was not caught off-guard, even before Adam and Eve sinned God had in mind his intricate plan of redemption. That plan culminated with his son entering real time and space by becoming a man, living a perfect life and dying on a cross in the place of those that he would enable to hate their sin and trust in his work alone for their right standing with God.

In high school God provided a youth worker who cut through my “religious exterior” and help these truths of Jesus Christ to impact my life. When asked why I would spend eternity with God I replied I was a nice guy, and did good things. I did not realize that in truth I was blind, deceived and enslaved by all sorts of passions and pleasures. She explained Ephesians 2:8–9 to me and I left with the realization I could not earn my way to God. I admitted to God that I did not get it, and needed his help.

That was a point of new birth in my life. God slowly began a process convicting me of sin and removing old habits. He also gave me a new desire to spend time with him in Scripture, prayer, worship, and a joy for sitting under the preaching of the Bible. This process continues today and will until the day of Christ Jesus, for there is much more to be done.

2. Describe your call to ministry.

The summer after my first year of college I followed the suggestion of a youth leader to spend the summer working at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp. There I discovered a passion for students and a love of teaching the Scriptures. At the end of the summer I wrestled with God and finally chose to return to Trinity International University and make youth ministry my major.

While receiving youth ministry training I was both affirmed in gifting and provided with the opportunity for practical ministry experience. While volunteering at a church in Libertyville IL I was encouraged to begin a small group with four 8th grade guys. God allowed that ministry to continue for the next four years making a significant impact on all of us. At this time my wife and I left Illinois to enable me to take a full-time job as a youth pastor in Worthington, Minnesota.

In Worthington, God grew me greatly, cemented my passions for full-time ministry, and walked with me through some extremely challenging ministry experiences. I was the only staff person who remained at this church after two other pastors and the secretary resigned. I tried to leave for more than a year, but God closed every open door. In the end, God gave me the ability to provide the church with stability as it transitioned to a new interim pastor. God graciously provided me with the opportunity to see him work in ways that I no longer had faith to believe he could.

After another year of ministry there, my family and I left Worthington late in 2004 to attend Bethel Seminary, which provided education in a location close to my mother who has Multiple Sclerosis. I entered seminary knowing without a doubt that I desired to pursue full-time pastoral ministry but due to opposition to the vision that God had called me to implement I had doubts as to an ongoing call to youth ministry. Throughout the past five years, God has confirmed a heart passion, gifting, and a fit at Bethlehem that is truly of him. He has shown me that ministry to students and parents is the place for me.

Through this journey it has been God’s leading to ministry rather than at my initiation. Along the way, he has affirmed my gifting in this area, refined me, and taught me greatly. Finally, he has allowed me to be broken to the point that I could have easily left the ministry, yet by his sustaining grace I am still pursuing it today. In that, he has confirmed that this is the only place I want to be.

3. How do you see this position fitting with your call to ministry?

God has called me to long-term life on life pastoral ministry to students, leaders and families in the local church. He has excited me along the way with his vision for ministry. I believe that this position is an ideal match for the calling he has placed on my life.

4. Please identify up to three of the most attractive and least attractive aspects of this job opportunity for you.

The most attractive elements of this position are the shared foundations, God’s magnificent arranging of the body, and the people of Bethlehem.

The attraction of a shared foundation among the Family Discipleship Department (FDD) leadership in regards to vision and the wider unity of the leadership’s shared theology make this position very attractive. I cannot state clearly enough my excitement to seek, by the gracious gift of God, to implement a biblical vision for young adults and their families. In recent days my heart has been filled with joy as I have worked with parents, interacted with the pastoral team, and spoken about strategies to implement vision with a fellow co-laborer. Furthermore, the depth of the shared theological convictions in the Elder Affirmation of Faith is truly a magnificent blessing. It gives us great camaraderie to hold up the same glorious truths about Jesus. It also gives us focus. We are able to press into the critical battles without being distracted by theological skirmishes.

The second attractive element is God’s gift of fit and trust amongst our team. 1 Corinthians 12:18 says that, “God has arranged the members of the body…as he chose.” It is exciting to look at the different teams on which I serve (campus-specific and all-campus) and see God’s great orchestration. Each of us brings our own God-given gift mix, no two are alike. Furthermore, it is God’s incredible gift to be entrusted with the vision and given the freedom to flesh out in the manner that best fits the people and in a style that is uniquely mine. The past years of residency here has demonstrated to my heart that this position is where, by God’s continued favor, I can thrive.

Finally, the people of Bethlehem make this position attractive. God has given me a love for this people. It has been a joy to work with our pastoral team and I sense a true camaraderie and respect in ministry. It has been a joy to work with the FDD team and the North Campus team. Again it is a sweet blessing to work with such wonderful and talented people. Finally I love the greater people of Bethlehem, those that I have interacted with from other campuses and especially the North Campus people. It has been a joy for me and my family to be part of this people.

Challenges in this position are really few and far between. Yet here are two that I have observed. First, it takes effort to flourish in unity with a large staff. This is an even greater challenge when our heart callings represent so many of God’s heart passions. I do feel a keen sense of unity within the staff team but I have also seen the persistent desire of the Accuser of the Brethren to attack us in this area. Secondly, we can struggle as a people with priorities in the pace. At times the pace at which our staff runs and fills our collective schedules tempts us to give into the tyranny of the urgent and miss what is critical. It will be a constant battle for me in this position to prioritize personal outreach, unhurried intimacy with Jesus, and shepherding my families. These are real pitfalls in any ministry. We are a church that functions with incredible grace for each other. We are also aware of these two enemies and are seeking to move forward by God’s grace in both of them.

These responses are excerpts taken from the full application packet submitted to the elders. To request a copy of Jon Nowlin’s résumé, application for pastoral ministry, or any related document, please e-mail or call the North Campus receptionist at 612-455-0800.