STUDENT MINISTRY

Tyler Tollefson, Student Ministry Director

Does student ministry matter?

As the new Student Ministry Director, I believe with all my heart equipping students with the experiences and resources they need to live as faithful disciples of Jesus matters. Adolescence is a life stage where establishing an identity independent from their parents is not just the desire of every teenager, but an important need.

Leaving childhood behind and looking ahead to adult life is exciting and frightening. Testing limits, challenging authority, and questioning values is normal behavior for the emerging adult. My role in student ministry is to serve students and parents as they develop strategies for placing all the pieces of the puzzle in the context of a relationship with Jesus and a love for God’s word.

I am most excited when students discover how God has created them to be unique (just like everybody else!) and has gifted them with passions and interests perfectly suited to serve God and others. God has given me an outgoing personality capable of relating with just about all students. I love the outdoors and build ministry activities based on students’ interests.

My wife, Gentri, and I along with our three daughters are thrilled to make Texas and Salem our homes. We are confident God has led us to Salem to make a difference in a very distinctive generation of young believers.

I am most excited when students discover how God has created them to be unique.

Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Ezekiel 16:60