By Morgan Mizell

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Andrew Norris is spending the first half of this year participating in a youth pastor internship at Crosspoint Church.

Norris said his path into ministry is a little different than most seeking to enter the field because he is getting hands-on experience first.

“Usually, someone going into (youth) ministry will go to school and then get an internship during the summer,” said Norris, who is from Clearwater, Fla. “I am doing five months, during the school year where I get to be around the kids when they are really experiencing some of the pressures of day-to-day living and school issues.”

Norris said he could relate to kids who are having issues in school because he struggled when he enrolled in college.

“It was a little harder than I anticipated,” Norris said. “I ended up dropping out and attempting to play golf professionally, and after being injured, I figured out that maybe that was not what I was supposed to do either.”

Crosspoint pastor, Andy Blair, who mentored Norris when he was a pastor in Palm Harbor, Fla., invited him and a group to come to Natchez over the summer. The group helped with some of the church renovations during their visit.

“I was back in Florida when pastor Andy called and asked me to come back and be his intern,” Norris said. “I have never felt so strongly about anything in my life, because nothing gives me the same feeling of excitement I get when I share the message with students and tell them who Jesus is.”

Crosspoint has never had a youth pastor intern before.

“Internships are important because they allow you to see if this, the ministry, is for you or not,” Blair said. “Sometimes, people decide this is what they want to do and they get overwhelmed.”

Wednesday night is Norris’ main focus at this point.

“We don’t have a separate service for the youth on Sundays because I feel it is important for them to be involved in the main service,” Norris said. “Wednesday night is the time where students can share, and I get to preach to them, and let them know they can find the solution to every problem they face in the Bible.”

The team has plans for a youth summit Feb. 21, which will be open to all area youth grades 6-12.

“We have been working with other area pastors to provide an event that will allow them to come together and play sports, have lunch, have entertainment and participate in workshops,” Norris said. “We will cover topics such as mentoring, bullying, relationships and accountability. We will have the details finalized soon.”

Norris plans to take a group from Crosspoint to participate in Church on the Street Ministries in Atlanta during the summer. According to their website, the ministry is designed to foster and promote intentional and diverse Christian communities where everyone is welcome, belongs and discovers their gifts of service through face-to-face interaction between volunteers and the most vulnerable members of society including, but not limited to, the poor and homeless, the sexually exploited, the oppressed, and disabled.

“I went to participate thinking that I was going to minister to them about Jesus,” Norris said. “The experience was amazing, and I ended up learning more from them.”

Blair said that Crosspoint is growing and that the youth and young adult groups are growing the fastest.

Norris said he feels this generation of youth will be the generation to change the world in ways we cannot imagine, because they have more say and do about them than generations past, and they want to be heard.

“We are fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with Andrew,” Blair said. “We care about our kids and students, and we want that to show.

“We know that some kids, over 18, leave the church for various reasons, such as not feeling like they are being heard, or not having a purpose, and we want to change that and show them how they are relevant to the church.”

Norris plans to enroll in St. Pete Junior College after he completes his internship.

“There has not really been a lot of talk about what will happen after school,” Norris said. “The best scenario for me would be to return to Crosspoint and be full time, but God works in his own time and that may not happen.”

Norris said he recommends the internship idea to anyone who is interested in youth ministry, and anyone with questions can contact him by email at norrisandrew94@yahoo.com.