Jon Campbell as Youth Minister for New Life Assembly of God

Article written by Derek L. Davis

                You see him walking around Galilee with twelve other men.  He is known for charging into things without thinking, but there is one thing he didn’t charge into without thinking, and that was when he met Jesus for the first time.  Simon Peter was one of Jesus’ first representatives, but in today’s age, another Peter emerges.  This “Peter” lives in Valley City, North Dakota.  His name isn’t Peter, though.  This guy is named Jon Campbell, the new youth pastor over at New Life Assembly of God.

John Campbell with wife Natasha
Used by permission from John

                “I tend to be pretty thick headed and charge into things without thinking,” Jon said in a recent phone interview when asked what disciple he relates to the most. “Sometimes God has to smack me upside the head to reveal some purpose to me.  Peter was one of the most passionate followers of Jesus, and with that passion, he sometimes lost the order and thought process needed for situations.”
                Jon Campbell is a 2009 graduate of Trinity Bible College, and since graduation, he has been looking around for ministry jobs.  When Pastor Lucas of New Life Assembly of God went to the college to recruit some potential employees, it wasn’t Jon who walked up to him.  “His fiancé approached me and let me know he was looking for a place to minister.  That was my first contact with him,” Lucas reminisces.  Since then, Jon has been working at the church for about two months and a half.

This is Jon’s first ministry job.  Before graduating from Trinity Bible College, he had a number of different jobs.  For a while, he washed “nasty tubs with a pressure washer,” painted for a number of years, and tinted windows.  Now that Jon isn’t working these jobs anymore, he can focus on the passion set forth on his heart. 

Youth ministry is something Jon is very passionate about.  His vision for working with the youth is a bold statement of the pain and hurt teenagers go through regularly and how they need Jesus.  This observation plays a huge role in his decision to work with the youth.  “Seeing the state of the teenagers around me, there was a lot of pain and hurt and confusion. They were abandoned and were searching for purpose and meaning.  I want to be a role model for those people who didn’t have somebody to look up to and be an encouragement to them,” John says with passion.

 Within the confines of the church, Jon has a strong goal in how he wants to work in the lives of the youth attending church. “My goal is to give them a solid foundation of information so they know why they believe what they believe. Not only that, but so they can defend their faith in times when they are questioned about it.  I want them to grow into strong believers and good people.”  Pastor Aufenkamp shares the same goal and heart for the youth Jon is working for.  He has seen how excited the youth are with Jon’s plans, he is also excited for the plans Jon has for the youth, and the youth at the church show great enthusiasm and excitement for his plans.