Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Robinson.
Hi Joshua, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our church was planted in 2014 as part of a family of churches across the Dallas–Fort Worth area. We were actually the third church in that family, which has now grown to six. Together, our shared mission is simple, to make and mature disciples who love, serve, and share Jesus, and our hope is to be a place where hearts are turned toward God and lives are changed.
One of the main ways that happens here in Denton is through our close partnership with a campus ministry called FOCUS (Fellowship of Christian University Students). FOCUS had already been on the campuses of UNT and TWU for several years, and our church family really had a heart for the city and the students here. They could see the need for community, belonging, and a place where people could learn what it really means to know and follow Jesus.
When the time came to plant a church in Denton, I was actually a senior in college. I joined as a student and just found myself completely shaped by this community, it became the center of my faith, my friendships, and my growth as a person. It helped me learn who God is, who He made me to be, and how to walk through the challenges of early adulthood with faith and purpose.
Years later, after serving and growing here for a long time, I joined our staff as one of the pastors in 2021. It’s been amazing to see how the church that first formed me in my twenties has now become the place where I get to help others find that same kind of transformation and belonging.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, the road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been good. From the beginning, God has always given us what we’ve needed, even when the path hasn’t been easy or predictable. That’s made it easier to keep trusting that He’ll continue to provide.
A lot of the challenges we’ve faced are actually by design. We’ve chosen not to buy a building or sign long-term leases. We like staying flexible as our church changes size or season, and honestly, it helps us keep our priorities straight. The idea of sinking a huge portion of our resources into a building that sits empty most of the week just doesn’t feel like the best use of what we’ve been given. Instead, we meet in local community spaces: first the MLK Rec Center, then the Arts Council building, and now the Denton Senior Center. Every move has brought new challenges, but also fresh opportunities. Setting up and tearing down every week can be tough, but it helps us keep things simple.
We also run very lean as a church. Most of our leaders are volunteers, and some of our staff-type roles are filled by people giving their time freely. That makes things a little disorganized sometimes, but it also means we get to see God work through people’s generosity in really tangible ways. It’s created a community where people carry the weight together, we get to help each other with car repairs, rent, groceries, or whatever the need might be.
Of course, like everyone else, COVID threw us for a loop. We didn’t have fancy tech setups or streaming equipment, so we had to get creative. But what came out of that season was a deeper sense of connection and dependence on each other. When we started gathering again, it almost felt like rebuilding from scratch: our worship team, small groups, lots of things. But the excitement and gratitude people brought back was incredible.
And then there’s the ongoing challenge of walking through life with people. Our time and energy revolve around people, and people go through hard things: health issues, miscarriages, layoffs, conflicts, political divides. Being together in those seasons doesn’t make them easy, but it’s so much better than going through them alone. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is each other.
So no, it hasn’t been smooth. But it’s been faithful. Every step of the way, God has taken care of us, and that’s shaped our church’s personality. It’s made us adaptable, thankful, and more focused on people than polish.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m one of the pastors at Denton North Church, but most everything we do is shared work. We don’t have a single “senior pastor,” our leadership is made up of myself, my co-pastor, two elders, and some volunteer staff who lead different areas of ministry. Most decisions are made together through prayer and conversation, which helps keep things healthy and collaborative.
My main responsibilities include helping plan our sermon series, preaching, working with others on what we teach, helping develop our small group curriculum, editing our website, leading a small group, etc. But honestly, the best part of my job is spending time with people. We emphasize relational ministry, lots of one-on-one time, meals, walks, and conversations about life and faith. Those are the moments where growth really happens. Some days I’ll have five or six of those meetings in a row, and it’s a great kind of tired at the end of the day.
I also meet regularly with our small group leaders and ministry volunteers, helping them think through how to love and shepherd the people in their groups. We try to build a church culture where everyone’s investing in someone else, so nobody’s walking alone.
Outside of work, I’m married with three kids, and our family is very much part of the life of the church, this isn’t just my job; it’s our community. On the side, I roast coffee and co-produce a podcast about chemistry. My background is actually in radio, TV, and film, so that project scratches that creative itch, even if most of my time now is spent with people instead of cameras.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Man, I don’t know if I’ve been doing this long enough to just hand out advice, but the thing I keep coming back to is Jesus’ summary of all the commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Obviously that’s for everyone, but if pastors or ministry leaders aren’t built around that, we’re going to drift. Ministry can get complicated fast. There’s planning and teaching and budgets and volunteers and a hundred other things, but if love for God and love for people aren’t the center of it, everything else starts to feel off.
I’ve known people who got into ministry because they love the Bible, or they’re great communicators, or they’re naturally skilled at leading. And those are good gifts. But they’re not enough on their own. You can’t rely on skill or personality to carry you very far.
At the end of the day, you have to love God deeply, and you have to really love the people you’re serving. If you don’t love God, you’ll burn out fast. And if you don’t love the people, the work will feel like a grind. You’ve got to love the people God’s given you. That’s the heart of it. That’s what makes it worth it.
If you want some practical advice here’s some ideas. Pray while walking. Sing to God loudly alone. Write prayers you can memorize. Read the Psalms and Gospels again. Don’t try to be cool. Actually try not to be cool. We have a saying, “We want to be fools for God, not cool for God.” Don’t worry much about posting on social media. From what I can tell there are plenty of posts and they don’t seem to need more. Wear the same clothes several days in a row and see what happens. Surprisingly nothing will happen. Every day is a gift.
Pricing:
- no we’re a church, not a hot dog stand, jk but that is true.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://dentonnorth.church
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dentonnorthchurch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dentonnorthchurch
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dentonnorthchurch
- Other: https://dentonnorthchurch.transistor.fm/subscribe
Image Credits
Personal photo, and photo with Joshua and his wife Emiliee were taken by Catherine Nicole Photography. The big group photo was taken by Hannah McGinty
