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2008-01-22 issue:

A passion for youth ministry

Jon Heinly returns to Lancaster Mennonite School as youth minister.

by Fern Clemmer

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When Jon Heinly was a student at Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite High School, he knew he was interested in some kind of mission work, but he never dreamed the mission field was right under his feet. Four years after his 2003 graduation, he is back, serving as a youth minister.



Jon Heinly (in white dress shirt) talks with students.








His main goal is to build relationships with students and provide a safe place for them to talk.

“I hope to be present to them in such a way that they know they can seek me out as challenges arise,” he says.

Specifically, this will mean being engaged with students in places such as the lunchroom, hallways and prayer room.

Lancaster Mennonite School (LMS) serves about 1,550 PreK-12 students at four campuses.

It seeks to have a warm, ecumenical spirit, valuing students from many different denominational and cultural backgrounds and, through its seven-day high school residence hall, a mix of students from urban centers beyond Lancaster and around the world.

In his part-time position, Jon relates to high school and middle school students. In addition, he serves as youth pastor for Lancaster Mennonite Conference. In that assignment, which brings his work to full-time, he helps youth pastors and leaders network with each other. He also plans conference-wide youth events.

He received a degree in youth ministry and theology from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., where he served as a chaplain and resident assistant. Other post-high school experiences include several short-term missions trips, including a summer assignment with Eastern Mennonite Missions in Cuzco, Peru, and two service trips to Costa Rica. He also served as a youth pastor intern at Wesley United Methodist Church in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Jon attended LMS’s Kraybill campus for grades 3-8, and the high school (Lancaster campus) all four years. He is a member of Mount Joy (Pa.) Mennonite Church and is married to Megan (Leaman) Heinly, LMS class of 2004.

LMS is one of 37 Mennonite Schools Council schools serving students from preschool through grade 12. There are MSC schools in 12 states and Puerto Rico and in Ontario.

In partnership with Mennonite Church USA, through its Mennonite Education Agency, MSC advances Christ-centered PreK-12 education by networking schools and equipping them to implement the vision of Anabaptist-Mennonite education.

MSC schools offer students a distinctive, nurturing educational experience that is Christ-centered, features educational excellence, provides faith-infused opportunities, takes place within a caring community and emphasizes peace and service.

MSC supports many annual events, some in conjunction with Mennonite Education Agency, to bring together students, faculty, administrators and board members to worship, learn and grow together.

Jon talks about his experience with and role in Mennonite PreK-12 education.

Why is your work important?

I believe having a youth minister is a great move for LMS. As humans, we crave meaningful relationships. This is becoming increasingly pronounced in the postmodern society in which youth today are growing up. These youth desire to be in relationship with someone they can trust.

Already I am finding that many students are willing to talk about the things they are facing or struggling with. Sometimes they just want to share a lesson God is teaching them.
What excites you most about LMS and Mennonite education?

Middle school, high school and college are crucial times because we decide our niche in life and society. It is possible to change later, but for the most part our life course is decided in our teens and early 20s. At LMS, the faculty and staff have the opportunity to help shape the future for these students. We can teach them how to think critically about ideas and engage in rigorous academics and extracurriculars. As a Christian school, we have the chance to do all these things from the Christian worldview and teach and model what it means to follow Christ in our lives. This means we can teach them what it means to “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8).

What led to your having a passion for this job?

My passion for ministry developed out of a clear call of God during my time at Lancaster Mennonite. The passion to work with youth came from having many people who were influential in my own teenage years.

What are your other passions?

International missions and urban ministry and development. I find the diversity in these environments exciting and formative as I am stretched to see life from the perspective of another culture. Most of all, I am passionate about my faith in Jesus Christ. I want to know God better and grow in my ability to love others as he has loved me.

How did your Mennonite education experience influence you?

First, the teachers and administration at LMS care deeply about their students. I learned a lot through my relationships with the faculty. Second, LMS provided some significant leadership opportunities for me through Student Council and the student-led Friday Morning Bible Study. These were great places for me to experience leadership in a setting where I had significant responsibility but also faculty I could fall back on.

What teachers influenced you?

At Kraybill, Mr. Steckbeck. He made classes interesting and fun. At the high school, Myron Dietz. I was always amazed by his ability to relate to students who were so much younger and had such a different lifestyle from his. Yet I truly believe he allowed the love of Christ to transform him in such a way that it flowed out of him as he related to students.

What was the best thing about your Mennonite education experience?

Relationships. I learned a lot through my relationships with teachers both inside and outside the classroom. The friends I made as a student are also the ones still most important to me.

Fern Clemmer is communications coordinator at Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite School and a member of Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster.

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