MEET JUSTIN KOUBA

Get to Know Our New Worship Pastor

Can you give us a little background information on where you grew up.?

It is with great pride and a bit of trepidation that I say that I'm from the southeast side of the Houston (pronounced YOU-STUN) area. Deer Park to be precise. In college, I wrote a 35-page paper on the history of Deer Park. Fun fact: Deer Park once tried to annex the planet Venus to become the largest city in the world...it did not succeed. Also another fun fact: the Battle of San Jacinto, where Texas won our independence from Mexico, took place in Deer Park. So is Deer Park the most important (and possibly the most significant) city in Texas?

That's for you to decide.

How were you called into ministry?

While attending Baylor University, through events and circumstances that can only be God's provision and guidance, I became a worship leader for a church plant near the campus. God continued to shape my

view of not only His church, but also what it looks like being in full-time church ministry. After college, I attended Dallas Theological Seminary and continued to work in the church as a youth and worship pastor. Over the last two decades, God has remained faithful in affirming every step in ministry.

What led you to FBC Midlothian?

God and Bruce. Sarah and I were open to follow God's leading, and God was clear in His leading to FBC Midlothian. After my first conversation with Bruce, I came home and shared with Sarah that this might be an open door for us. Throughout the nearly three-month process, it was apparent that God was ordering our steps. Meeting with Bruce, the personnel committee, the staff, and finally, the incredible people here at FBC, both Sarah and I feel incredibly grateful that God was faithful in leading us to a place that we can grow deep roots.

We are looking forward to loving a great church and community and building our family here.

What fires you up about leading worship?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Music...will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you." In other words, music can change us. Music can help us get our hearts and minds aligned to focus on God and His goodness so that when He speaks, we recognize His voice and are changed by His words. Honestly, I feel incredibly humbled to be not only a part of that process but also be someone who provides people with the opportunities to do so as well.

How does worship draw you, and others, nearer to God?

My understanding of worship comes from Romans 12:1, where Paul says that we are to respond to God

by giving Him our entire lives because of what God has done for us. Worship is not limited to music or time or any specific activity, but instead offering God every area of our lives. In Ephesians 5, Paul gives the church in Ephesus some practicals in how to live their (and our) faith. There are several things to avoid (put away, flee from, remove altogether), as well as some things that need to be a part of their (and our) lives. In Ephesians 5:15-20, Paul reminds the early church that the Holy Spirit prompts worship (specifically through music). "Making music" should be a response from our hearts, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that draws us closer to God. When we sing, we are fulfilling a longing that is given to us by the Holy Spirit.