Josh Knorr: A Day In The Life

Josh Knorr Called To Be a Disciple Maker

TC Christian alumnus, Josh Knorr (Class of 1999), and his father, Doug, are partners in both business and ministry. Josh shares his reflections on life from those early days at TCCS to today.

Traverse City Christian School opened in 1995 as I entered 9th grade. At that time, the school met in an old church at the intersection of Keystone and Hammond Roads (now the campus of City Church). We soon moved to the new facility on Emerson Road, and in 1999 I had the privilege of graduating from Traverse City Christian School - just the third graduating class, and the very first from the new building. TCCS had a huge impact on my life. Even though I only attended the school for four years, I look back and see how God used those years to shape my life. TCCS prepared me with strong academics. The school was small as it was just starting out, but teachers would challenge us to attain greater levels of learning.

The heart of the school was in the foundation we received in the Word. Bible was not just a class that we had to take, instead, it became essential to every area of study. I learned how God’s Word is vital to science, culture, history and so much more. I recall studying worldviews, and how that would shape the thinking of my generation and the world.

Towards graduation, my class was challenged with 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

TCCS Class of 1999: (L- R, Back) Josh Southwell, Grace (Brauer) Blackmer, Shawna (Hyrman) DePeel, Isaiah Kline, Micah Wise, Jenny Patrick, Josh Knorr (L - R, Front) Janelle (Shev) Wylie, Alicia Niblick, Trish (Pardini) Novak

During the summer leading up to my senior year, I went on a mission trip with my youth group to Mexico. I experienced the joy of serving Christ during that time, and God spoke to me so clearly, He said, “Nothing else in life will bring you joy like serving me!” He laid on my heart that I was to go into ministry. And so, I attended Cedarville University to study Youth Ministry, Christian Education, and Church Music.

After serving as a Youth Pastor in Richmond, IN, my wife, Syndi (who I met at Cedarville and married in 2003) and I went back to school at Liberty Theological Seminary in 2007. There I pursued an MDiv, MRE, and MA in ministry. Upon graduation, Syndi and I moved to Charlottesville, VA to work with a church plant team to begin a new church from the ground up. It was an incredible and exciting time for us but, little did we know, God was preparing to bring our family back to my hometown, Traverse City.

In 2010, I was asked to lead a church relaunch in the Forest Lakes area with my father, Doug Knorr. My Dad and Mom (Sally) were part of the small group of parents who envisioned and started TC Christian all those years before. Now here we were in ministry together. We launched out on Easter of 2011 as LifePoint Bible Church and have seen God work in some pretty incredible ways since that time. When I moved back to T.C., I knew I would be bi-vocational, working at our family business, Knorr Marketing, as Vice President of Company Culture, managing the Broadcast department, and pastoring alongside my father. It’s been a neat journey for my family, along with some challenges. My workplace at Knorr Marketing has opened up many opportunities to share my faith in Christ and counsel with others. We’ve seen co-workers baptized and growing in their walks with Christ. My time during the week is shared with ministry at the church, leading our discipleship ministry, leading worship at Crossroads Farm (youth ministry), and preaching on occasion. I am also the Chairman of the board for the Association of Bible Churches in Guyana, working with Partners In Evangelism International (P.I.E.I.).

My dad, brothers, and I also share a hobby of classic and collector cars. For as long as I can remember, we’ve enjoyed visiting car shows and determining which vehicles were our favorites. We’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on several car builds/restorations together. The most memorable was a 1956 Continental Mark II that my father owns, which won the Henry Ford “Past Forward” award at the 2018 Detroit Autorama. We all enjoy taking our cars out for that quintessential mid-summer’s cruise, and you’ll find us thundering around the scenic backroads (and somehow always finding a good ice cream pit stop). So what does a day in my life look like? I used to drop my children off at TCCS each morning, but now my wife, Syndi, has the privilege to work at the school as a teacher’s aide. She takes Caleb (6th grade), Charis (3rd grade), and Christian (1st grade) each morning. I still get to see familiar faces, and love having some of my former teachers interacting with my children. TCCS has been such a blessing, not only in my life, but now in my family’s as well.

My time at Knorr Marketing is spent managing our broadcast department, and shaping the culture of the company. Company growth always brings opportunities and challenges, and my focus has been to refresh and integrate our Vision/Mission/Purpose and Core Values. Knorr Marketing is a fullservice marketing and advertising agency that works primarily with furniture retailers around the country, in Canada and Grand Cayman. My department creates all the radio and TV spots for each client as well as videos for online and social media platforms. It is certainly a fun and rapid-paced environment, and I enjoy telling my kids that “Daddy watches a lot of TV at work!”

Fridays, evenings, and weekends are my time for ministry. We begin Friday mornings with a small group leader training, as we are focusing on making disciples that make disciples. I work with and help lead community groups that meet throughout the week, and organize and lead our worship ministry. I also have the opportunity to preach multiple times throughout the year. Ministry happens throughout the week and weeknights, and of course, on the weekends. Work and ministry are not compartmentalized though. On many occasions, a co-worker might need to talk, or ask for prayer. Both my dad and I receive phone calls during the day that are ministry related. We often have lunch meetings and short conversations throughout the day as ministry opportunity presents itself. What I have found to be true is that God has called each one of us to be disciple-makers. We just do other things to pay the bills. I am a disciple-maker/pastor who happens to also work at Knorr Marketing - not the other way around. We are all called to the same Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. We are called to be disciple-makers no matter where God has planted you and me. I am sure you can agree that, with the busyness of life, it is too easy to miss quality family time. That has to be intentional for each family, and mine is no different. We place a great value on our dinner time together, discussing the day, seeing what the kids learned at school, talking about dreams and aspirations, and just plain laughing and having fun together. Each evening, we have a family altar time, where we learn from God’s Word and pray together - but more than just the evening, it’s with every situation that arises where we can teach our children about the majesty and glory of God (Deut. 6:4-7).

I am so grateful to God for life in Christ, for His plan that He would choose to involve us in reaching the world for Christ, and for my family and community. Syndi and I could not imagine having our children at any other school, and we are so thankful for the teachers and staff who not only love our children well, but also impress God’s Truths into them in an environment of academic excellence.