Our New Youth Ministry Director
Joshua is a proud native of Chicago, where he grew up in Albany Park — one of the city’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. You should definitely ask to see his prom photos sometime: he met his wife Melody after sitting behind her in their high school literature class, finally mustered up the courage to ask her to prom, and the rest is history.
Joshua and Melody have spent most of their lives in Chicago, with a sojourn out to the West Coast for graduate school at Fuller. Most recently, they’ve been in ministry at Trinity Gospel Church in Elk Grove, IL — and now they’ve made their way out to San Francisco. Joshua is our new Youth Ministry Director, and we want to introduce you to him: be sure to say hi when you see him and Melody around!
I was raised in an immigrant Filipino American church, where my grandfather was the founding pastor, and where my parents faithfully attended as far back as I can remember. While I was brought up in Christianity, faith only became real later on in high school. In a summer camp, my youth pastor told me about Jesus in a way that freed me to experience the love of God for the first time. Until that time, I had never quite understood Jesus or how the Gospel could possibly be good news.
I hold degrees from Moody Bible Institute (BA in Theology), and Fuller Theological Seminary (MDIV in Worship, Theology & the Arts). Although both experiences were uniquely formative in their own ways, the common theme that ties them together is how I learned to value conviction over certainty, finding the right questions rather than right answers, and a faith motivated by love not fear .
When I graduated from college in 2011, providentially my home church in Chicago offered me a youth pastor position. There I cut my teeth doing youth ministry for 4 magical years, and fell in love with our leaders and students who became a little family to me and Melody. What fired me up about youth pastoring was cultivating a community where students could be known, and where their faith could flourish. I lived for moments when I got to see students make steps of faith, whether it was breaking down their barriers to faith or helping them to see Jesus and His Kingdom as more beautiful than they could imagine.
The millennial and Gen Z generation has too often been annoyingly and unfairly portrayed as narcissistic or entitled. But Don Miller has this quote that I believe is really true: when you really challenge the younger generations with something compelling—a real purpose to build towards— they rise to the occasion better than anyone else.
For people who might be interested in youth ministry, but don’t feel like they can connect with teenagers: At the end of the day, what matters most to students is for them to know that their leaders love them and are committed to them. If you learn to do that well, and if you are patient and willing to learn, finding connection has a way of falling into place.
It was a real sacrifice to leave negative-degree weather in the Midwest for the ocean and gorgeous hiking options! Melody and I love exploring new city neighborhoods together. So having SF as a new urban playground is heaven. We are eager to eat our way through the SF food scene. Suggestions are always welcome!
When you get to know me, I’m a total goof (just ask Melody). Seminary left me with the bad habit of reading 4-5 different books simultaneously. So in my spare time, chances are you can probably find me sitting in a coffee shop surrounded by my books. I’m an avid crossfitter and a fan of music and film. I dabble in writing, songwriting, and poetry. I’m drawn to people who are selfless, who are kind "Without Why" (as Jack Caputo says), and who are full of hope.