Will Strong
Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries

 
I grew up in Gothenburg, Nebraska; and once I graduated high school, I attended a small Bible college in Moberly, Missouri and graduated with a Degree in Youth and Family Ministry. I took my first youth director job in Greenwood, Arkansas and have also worked in Coupeville, Washington. I moved to Scottsdale to be the Youth Director at Saint Anthony in 2012. In 2015 I moved back to Lincoln, Nebraska to be closer to home but I got tired of shoveling snow. I came back to the valley in 2018 with my partner, Ty.
 
I came back on staff at Saint Anthony in 2021 as the part-time Director of Youth Ministry and now expanding my role to full time as the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry. When I’m not at Saint Anthony I enjoy reading, watching tv, hiking and finding new places to eat in the valley. Ty and I have a French Bulldog named King Louie Porkchop (Louie), and he enjoys sleeping and eating.
 
I am excited to be the Director of Children, Youth, and Family, I see this role as a holistic approach to bring together all ages. I believe through prayer and listening to the teachings of Jesus when he says, “let the children come to me” (Matthew 19:14). Studies have shown that growing churches are leaning into intergenerational connection. For example, by inviting an older adult to be a “mentor” to a young adult and the young adult being a “mentor” to a youth and youth to a child, we can walk with each other in all the stages of life so that no one is falling through the cracks.
 
Too often, we (Big Church) graduate seniors in high schools, and then expect that they will come back when they have kids. That shouldn’t be and isn’t always the case. By thinking creatively and strategically, we need to set ourselves and our campus up for growth. It is a process and will not happen overnight. At times it might will feel impossible, but as we read in the Holy Scriptures, “with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26).
 
I am grateful for this opportunity and believe that God has big things in store for us here at Saint Anthony!