Our Pastor
Justin Rossow
justin@t-rkd.org
(231) 882-6325
Rev. Dr. Justin Rossow was born in Flint, Michigan. He graduated from Concordia, Ann Arbor (class of ’94) and earned a Masters of Divinity and PhD in Theology and Culture from Concordia Seminary— St. Louis.
Pastor Justin has served as Director of Worship and Music at Trinity Lutheran Church, Clinton Township, MI; Part-time Associate Pastor at Salem, Affton, MO; Guest Instructor at Concordia Seminary—St. Louis; Pastor for Adult Discipleship at Peace, Hurst, TX; Site Leader and later Senior Pastor at St. Luke, Ann Arbor; and Part-time Pastor for Strategic Discipleship at St. Paul, Ann Arbor.
Pastor Justin left full-time parish ministry in 2019 to found Next Step Press, The Next Step Podcast, and The Next Step Community— ministries that focus on cultivating innovation, collaboration, and delight in the perpetual adventure of following Jesus. He continued to serve congregations by leading workshops, providing online discipleship training, and working directly with pastors and lay leaders locally and around the country.
His numerous books and resources include Delight! Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved, which received the 2020 BIBA® Award for best independently published book in the Christian category. His most recent publication, Escaping the Assembly Line: The Tools to Notice (and Power to Change) the Discipleship Defaults that are Killing Your Faith, received the same award in 2025.
Justin and Miriam have been married for over 30 years and are blessed with four children: Naomi (Patrick), a PICU nurse at Detroit Mercy; Liz (Adam), a Director of Christian Education in Minnesota; Kate, a student at the Chicago School for the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University; and Caleb, who attends Frankfort High School.
You can find more from Pastor Justin Rossow on Amazon.com or at findmynextstep.org.