interlínc : Maximizing Music and Media in Youth Ministry

Skillet has been working with youth leaders for ten years now to maximize the impact of their music for ministry. Recently, interlinc’s own Danielle Kimmey
had a conversation with Skillet’s lead singer, John Cooper. Here’s a bit of what they talked about.

Danielle Kimmey: What was your main focus while writing and preparing for the release of Awake?

John Cooper: When you’re a Christian musician, you’re not just writing songs – you genuinely want to say what God wants you to say. I kept feeling the “Hero” idea. All these situations were going on at the same time: investment scandals, Catholic Priest scandals, scandals on the cover of every teen magazine – and I got upset. I remember looking at a magazine that was talking about another teen idol going into rehab and I thought, “Where are all the heroes? Who’s a young person able to look up to?” That’s where the song “Hero” came from. I felt that God was saying to us as a band, “You don’t need to look around for heroes, you need to BE the heroes.”

I was also remembering being a teenager, driving with my buddies in the car, and desperately wanting them to like the Christian music I was listening to. They made fun of me when all I wanted was for them to think it was cool. I decided that’s what I want to do, I want to make music that kids can feel good about listening to and that’s credible to their friends. I want to encourage young people to not be ashamed of their faith – that’s why we decided on the title Awake. It’s basically saying, “I’m going into this world awake and alive; I’m not gonna back down from my faith, I’m not going to be embarrassed about it, I’m not naïve. I know it costs me my life, and I’m ready to do it!

Skillet has been a youth leader favorite for over a decade. How has your philosophy about music and your place in the industry changed in that time?

Our philosophy has actually changed a lot, but our passion hasn’t changed at all. Initially all I wanted to do was play good rock music and have a platform to share Jesus with people. We were extremely evangelistic, and that passion hasn’t changed, but the way we go about it has changed a lot.

I live in a little town in Wisconsin. While I had some time off there was a city- wide youth rally. I attended it with my church youth group because I was helping to lead in my down time. At the rally they were going to do a human video – where different teens act out or dance to a song. This particular youth rally did a human video to a Linkin Park song. I was shocked because it was a secular band and all of the kids were crying! I realized that Linkin Park was singing more relevant music than I was singing. Their song was talking about hurt and pain and wanting to heal from the pain – and I compared it to our then-current song that said, “Worldwide Jesus domination, we’re taking over the world, we’re the alien youth.” I realized that most Christian people have no idea what I’m talking about. I thought, “Maybe these Christian kids are going through the exact same issues as non-Christian kids. Is it really that different?” God started speaking to me about not just singing songs to a select few but to people in general. I want to write songs that people can relate to. We have changed our philosophy on how to evangelize, and we’ve seen that sometimes, less is more.

What about student ministry makes you tick?

I have a love for young people. I never knew that was a gifting, I just thought everyone else did too! When I was about 18 or 19 I wanted to work with the junior high youth group at my church. I “get” young people and I think that the most fun you ever have is when you’re young. I like movies and video games and rock music and being loud, immature, and obnoxious. That sounds like a good night to me! Also, I went through some really hard stuff when I was young. My mom got sick with cancer when I was in the sixth grade, so a lot of my young years – when I was supposed to be having the time of my life – were spent in really difficult times. My mom passed away when I was 14, my Dad remarried – he had three kids and my stepmom had three kids. My dad and my stepmom argued a lot. My dad and I also fought a lot and there came a time when I said I would never talk to him again. When I look back at these things, I am amazed that all of that happened in a Christian family! What if we didn’t have Jesus in the midst? What if I didn’t have Jesus, because that’s the time when I got to know Jesus as a friend? With my mom’s death and my Dad and I hating each other, I began to lean on Jesus. Without Him, I don’t know what I would’ve done!

My heart for student ministry stems from wanting to make young people’s lives better, to give them hope, and to be a role model for them.

What does your “off stage” ministry look like these days?

The biggest chance we get for ministry is when we play with mainstream bands. The other bands always know that we’re a Christian band, but they don’t really know what that means. We play with them and they realize that we’re a rock band and nice people – that we can all have a good time. That’s usually when I have a great conversation with one of the band members or one of the crewmembers. (Sometimes it’s even our own crewmembers, because not all of them are believers.) Our face-to-face ministry is always venue-related because we’re always playing concerts. People often say, “You guys are a Christian band?” – which gives us great opportunities to share.