7 Questions with Danny Strange

Danny Strange is a Christ follower, husband, father and pastor. Danny grew up in the East Bay and ministers at the church where he met Jesus. Danny is married to Jessica and they have six amazing children. Danny is currently the Executive Pastor at 3Crosses Church in Castro Valley. Danny has a passion to help see more people enter a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Danny and I met at Hume Lake back in 2005 or 2006 while we were both serving as Student Ministry Pastors. We went to the camp the same week of summer for years and formed a great friendship outside of the week of camp. When I moved to the Bay Area in 2012 we began hanging out more regularly and eventually formed a pastors group together. Each year we meet with a great group of guys for 48-72 hours and talk about the great things the Lord is doing, share our hearts and pray for each other. I'm stoked Danny answered these questions and think you're going to love learning from him.

1. You’ve served at your church for almost two decades, how has longevity helped you in ministry? 

It's been an awesome blessing to serve in the same church for 18 years now. There's something about being an insider that is super helpful in ministry. It's so fun to know our church's history, legacy, core values (and most of all, our people) at a really deep level.

2. Doing ministry in the Bay Area is fast paced, what is a piece of advice you would give to someone who is thinking about moving there? 

Choose not to get sucked into the fast-paced life. Refuse to put your kids in 5 different sports. Guard your workweek. Go home on time. Honor the Sabbath. Build rhythms for your ministry and your family that trump the rhythm of society around you.

3. You’ve served in a variety of capacities at your church, tell us more about your new role. 

I've been serving as Executive Pastor for the past nine months or so. My role, in a nutshell, is to add value to our church ministry. This can happen through strategic initiatives, fixing problems or helping our staff stay on the same page.

4. Headlines seem to be full with pastors who’s marriages are falling apart. I know that you and Jessica have a great marriage. What is one thing you do to keep your marriage strong and fresh?

Our favorite thing to revitalize our marriage is getting away for a full week every year with no kids. It's the best. We vacation with our kids too, and take smaller trips, but the seven days we spend in Mexico every October is the best.

5. There are many men who don’t have a life outside their work and family. What is one hobby you enjoy doing and that fills you up?

I love travel and exploring. Every year I try to head out of town numerous times with various groups: Myself alone with God, Tahoe with friends, retreats with other Pastors, Mexico with my wife, various trips with my whole family.

6. You recently adopted two amazing girls, how has that changed your family dynamics and given you a glimpse into the heart of God? 

Adoption is a crazy party. Our house is loud and fun and exhausting and we're always cleaning up after someone. Although it's amazing to add some females to the mix (we have four biological boys), the girls have also added a ton of value in their extrovert-ness. Thanks to the twins, our boys are learning how to show emotion and how to come out of their shell from time to time. Sure, adoption reflects what God did for us in adopting us into His family, but for us, adoption has helped us see the messy chaos that is the church in our own home.

7. If you could give your 20 year old self one piece of advice what would if be?

Don't spend so much time dreaming about the future that you miss out on experiencing life in the moment.

"More is Caught Than Taught Ministry"

This line was shared with me early when I got into ministry: "More is Caught Than Taught".  For the last couple years I have thought about how true this statement is.  I have invested the last eight and a half years of my life into spreading the Gospel; mainly to students.  Over these years I have seen hundreds of students come and go through the doors of our church.  As I think back to my internship and the hundreds of students at Eastlake Church that we ministered to there is only one student I keep in contact with.

After Eastlake Church I helped out with a church plant just north is a cool city called Encinitas.  I have to say that I have loosely kept in contact with one family from that church.  Being at South Hills Church for the last, almost, seven years I have had a chance to share the truth of the Bible with lots of people.  I think about these last seven years and I have a hard time believing that any of them can remember more than ten messages that I have shared.  Ok, lets be honest, I think we would be hard pressed to find someone who remembers more than five of the messages I have preached here.  To be honest, I would be stoked if there were a handful of people that remember one of the messages I have preached at our church.

(Indoor Skydiving with Spencer, Travis and Nick)

If there are a few people that remember one of the messages that I have preached and have acted on that truth of God I would be very excited.  I would more excited to hear about students who have changed the direction of their life because we have spent time with them.  I really do think that preaching on Sunday is super important but I think that people are more prone to remember the things we do off the stage.  See I think that if you spoke with some of the students in our church they would share that they learned more from me on a road trip to snowboard or out on the lake.  They could probably tell you how I acted at Hume Lake when we played paintball or a conversation we had at the lunch table.

I guess what I am trying to say is our lives are an example for Christ and people are watching our every move.  I want to be known for how I lived my life off stage.  I want people to remember how I acted in tough situations because I chose the high road.

My Yellow Watch

Even since I was a wee little kid I have always wanted a Shark watch.  I know... some people want a Rolex but I want a watch with a rubber wristband.  So for my 30th birthday my amazing wife found me a Shark watch in my favorite color (see picture).  This is me wearing my watch the first day I got it as we are heading to watch a movie for my birthday.

This summer we went to Hume Lake and I was so stoked to wear my watch and actually have the time on my wrist!  On Tuesday some of the Senior guys invited me to go kayaking with them.  Once we were on the lake I realized that none of them have ever been to Hume before and told them that we have to head down to the cove to play on the log roll.

We rowed to the other side of the lake, parked the boats and swam over to the log roll.  Now the log roll is an amazing experience that I could not let these guys miss out on.  After playing for a while I knew it was getting late so I looked at my wrist but my watch was gone.  I was so bummed.  I was beyond bummed.

That night, back at camp, I started thinking of how to get my watch back.  I had a pair of googles but I would need help.  Then it hit me; my alarm is going off at 6:23am to wake me up and my watch is waterproof.  That night I asked around and was able to get five guys to help me and four more pairs of googles.  The next morning we woke up before 6am, borrowed a car, drove to the cove and did this:

My watch spent the night at the bottom of Hume Lake but today it sits back on my left wrist as I type this.  The craziest thing about this is something that wasn't caught on video.  Before I jumped into the lake I stopped to pray that God would help me find my watch and sure enough I did!

Encouragement from Hume Lake 2011

This summer was a great year being at Hume Lake.  I think it was my best summer there that I have ever experienced.  Something that added to that joy this summer was two things I received while up at Hume.  This summer I had two parents send me two different things.  One parent sent me a big box of a candy with a cool note in there and the other parent sent a heart felt thank you card.

The first note of encouragement came from a family with this box of candy!  Now the candy was really cool and we figured out that a parent caught my joke (most jokes are half serious) that I shared in our parent meeting prior to camp to send me up some candy while I was gone.  I was not expecting to get what I received but I was so happy.  And when I got that box of candy I let our adult leaders have first pick (after I ate a few goodies).  This box was stacked full of candy!  There was so much candy that I was able to share it with the lead counselors at Hume and even hook up the guys in my cabin.

Now the card I got was very encouraging.  Its interesting how a simple card can encourage someone when they are loving on their child.

Here are some thoughts that any parent can do next time someone takes their child on a trip:

• Send an encouraging card thanking that person for investing in their child's life
• Send a box of candy
• Ask another person on the trip to give the person a card, or gift, while they are away (this option can save money or be useful if mail will not be available)
• Write a hand written note and slip it the person's backpack so they find it later in the week
• Give the person a Starbucks card as they head out of town (most weekends away with students are long and can become tiring)

Here is a copy of the letter that came with my box of candy.  Very creative!

Hume Lake 2011: Meditating on Scripture

This summer at Hume the staff did something different.  Honestly, at first, I was a little annoyed.  I love going to Hume because they have an amazing program and I can trust what they are doing so my team and I can hang out with students.  This summer as we went over the schedule the staff shared an addition to the schedule this year that would give each pastor 90 minutes to spend with just their church.  Some ideas that were thrown out were to play volleyball together, to go to the cove or just do something with your church.

At first I wasn't sure what to do so I needed to seek Jesus.  After taking the night to think/pray about it I came up with the fact that our students needed to learn some spiritual exercises.  I was pretty nervous because our ministry is very evangelistic focused and I felt that we needed to teach our students how to meditate on scripture using a practice that has been used throughout the church for centuries: Lectio Divina.

Wednesday afternoon we piled our students in the chapel and worked through this exercise:

1) Find a word in scripture (Lectio)
I started out reading Psalm 46:10 and asked students to find a word in that verse.  When you meditate on scripture it is helpful to use the Psalms but you can meditate on pretty much any scripture in the Bible.  I have used this practice while reading the Gospels, Epistles and Psalms.  You can take a few minutes on this part to read through scripture and while reading you find a word that grabs your attention and sticks out to you.

2) Listen to the word (Meditatio)
Now that you have a word in your mind comes the fun part (it can also be the most difficult part).  See we live in a culture that rejects down town and relaxation.  Meditating on scripture is not something that we tend to encourage in the church.  This can be difficult but very rewarding.  After you have found the word take some time to meditate on that word.  When your mind wonders just bring that word right back to the front of your mind and focus on that word and allow it to just speak to you.

3) Pray on that scripture (Oratio)
After you have meditated on that word for a couple minutes take some time to pray about that word.  Ask God what that word has to do in your life right now, how that word can grow you in your walk with Christ and what could happen in your life if you would trust God more.  This is a cool part that just causes you to pray specifically on that certain word.

4) Abide in God (Contemplatio)
Now this is where it really gets cool.  After you have found your word, you have taken some time to meditate on that word, you have prayed through that word for a few minutes now is when you get to do something that can be amazing: spend time with God.  You just chill with God in this portion of the spiritual exercise.  This is where you allow God to speak to you through your word and encourage you in what He would ask of you.

Now its your turn to spend time with God and allow Him to speak to your heart through His word!

Hume Lake Paintball

This week I wanna take some time to dedicate this blog to some of the amazing things that God did while we were at Hume Lake!

Every year we take some of our students to play paintball while at Hume Lake and this year was no different.  The only change was that twenty minutes prior to paintball we had students mediating on God's word and getting super connected to Jesus right before they shot each other!  So its the middle of the week and playing paintball on Wednesday afternoon this year was amazing!

My first year of Hume Lake (summer 2005) some of the students said that the only way they would play paintball would be in shorts and wife beaters (tank tops).  That has been the standard for our paintball attire ever since that summer.  Now you are probably thinking something like this: "That is stupid to play paintball in shorts and a tank top".  You are right.  Its not the smartest thing that we can do but it is so fun!

This year was even better because one of my friends Kurt Johnson is working up at Hume and he brought his Go Pro on the paintball field and made this video.  Make sure to watch it all the way through so you can see how my armpit it bleeding at the end!

Hume Lake 2011: Decision Night

Tonight was an amazing night at Hume Lake... amazing may not be the best word to describe what happened tonight so let me share the story with you.

I love that Hume Lake is all about students growing in their relationship with Christ.  Part of growing means starting a relationship with Christ and that is exactly what tonight was all about.  Chapel started around 7pm and the worship set was really good.

After worship I just felt the need to head outside so I can pray for some students.  I listened in the pastors message while I prayed for some of the students in our group.  That lead to praying for some of the leaders in our group who would be talking with these students later.  See when I was praying I was expecting God to work in these students lives.

After the message I headed back into Chapel and the pastor had already asked students who made a choice for Christ to stand up.  I looked over to my right and saw a handful of students who were standing up.  In that group was a young, 16 year-old, who is in my cabin.  I have been praying for him for the last couple weeks and I was so excited to see that he had stood up!

For the next thirty minutes I was able to talk with this young man, cry with him and just listen.  I am so proud of him and the choice that he made tonight.  It was great to listen to his story and just hear how he was reluctant to come to Hume.  It was great to hear him say how he was fighting with his mom for sending him up here this week and then to hear him say how thankful he is for his mom sending him.

Now that part is the best part of the story but it gets better.  When this young man left chapel there was a group of about forty students waiting for him when he left chapel.  When he opened the doors they cheered for him, hugged him and encouraged him.  They didn't do this for just this one young man but for the other six students who stayed back tonight to make a decision for Christ.

I love seeing High School students being the church!

Hume Lake 2010

(Hume Lake in the morning)

From July 18th-24th I had the privilege of leading a group of leaders and students to Hume Lake Christian Camp in California.  This was my sixth summer heading to Hume for camp and I think every year it has gotten better and better.  Some would say that bus ride is a long 9 hours there but I look at it as a rad time to connect with students who I normally don't get to see.  After leaving Vegas and arriving to some temperature much less than 110 degrees I love to make, or encourage, all our guys to take a quick swim in the lake right when we get there. 

(The soon to be senior boys)

Then during the week we compete in some pretty crazy recreation games that help break down the "I'm too cool wall" that some students put up (I never did that in high school).  Hume breaks the entire camp into 2 huge teams each having 14 sub-teams; let the competition begin!  During the week your team can earn points for: cleaning your cabin, competition, spirit, memorizing Bible verses, and other things.  The whole thing is to use healthy competition to break down walls and it works! 

(What were we thinking)

Some free time activities we like to do are: play ultimate frisbee, you can rent a boat and go out on the lake (no gas motors allowed), there is a High Adventure course, a sick paintball course and much more.  Every year we let the students know that we will be playing paintball in tank top shirts and shorts.  I know it sounds totally stupid but I am in shock at how many love it!  We get out there; have some fun and get crazy on the field.  The welt stores are great (I still have a scar on my neck from three years ago) and this year my first hit was on the top of my head. 

(The entire crew)

The week was a huge success and we had multiple students make a first time choice for Christ.  I was so excited at how many leaders came up to me and said something like: "I forgot to tell you, but when I was doing my one-on-one with ___________ he/she gave their life to Christ for the first time."  I was so pumped to see all the hard work we have put into sowing the seeds for Christ reap a reward! 



The leaders this year were amazing (not that they haven't been) but this year we took 6 leaders who were previous students of ours.  I have to just end this with a huge thank you to everyone who prayed for students, prayed for me, helped with transportation, gave us a contact to make camp less expensive, shopped the garage sale, played in the golf tournament, worked anything we did to raise money and just encouraged our team while we did camp this year.  Thank you for loving God and liking students!

A Great Pastor

I work with a great pastor on the team here at South Hills.  I know there is a difference between good pastors and great pastors; so I want to make that distinction upfront that I am aware of the language of I am using in this post. 

I didn't always think he was a great pastor and I'm sure he had similar feelings for me but in the last six months I have come to realize that I work with a great pastor.  He is talented.  He is passionate about what he does.  He is willing to take risks.  He steps out in faith because he wants to see God work.  He is a learner; and leaders are learners.  He cares about the teams that he works with.  He encourages our church to be a better place.  And most of all I think he has the hardest job here on staff; he works with middle school students.

This last week Chase Feindel was down in San Deigo at Hume SD and I heard some great things about the ministry that he was doing down there with the team of leaders he brought and the students that he ministers to.

While Chase was gone I had a youth pastor buddy there tell me something to effect of:
"You have a great team here"

Another friend at the camp texted me and said:
"Chase is a really good youth pastor"

To which I joking replied:
"Did he steal your phone and say that?"

As much as I love to joke around with Chase I have to let the rest of the world know that he is not just a good youth pastor but, in my mind, he is a great youth pastor!  Chase I am honored to work with you and see the growth that God has done in your life in the last almost 4 years we have been working together.

Thank you for loving Jesus, loving your wife, caring about the local church and all you do here!  Thanks too for being uncle Chase to my daughter.

Student Ministry Garage Sale

This week is our Annual Student Ministry Garage Sale! This garage sale has helped us for the last eight years to off-set the cost of summer camp and allow students to reduce the price so they can attend. This year will be no different!

Please swing by the sale and find that item you cannot live without (seriously; if you are looking for it, we probably have it). The location is:
South Hills Horizon Ridge Campus
2520 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy
Henderson, NV

If you have any questions please call:
Amy Robledo @ 483-3741
Neal Benson @ 483-3740

See you soon!