Dear friends,
As the summer winds down, we want to share with you the special story of our friend, Josh Heaston, and the incredible work he is doing in our city.
Don & Greg
As the summer winds down, we want to share with you the special story of our friend, Josh Heaston, and the incredible work he is doing in our city.
Don & Greg
BACKGROUND
What goes into the making of a man? What part is Creator-wired and what part Creator-circumstance? In either case, it is God who gets the glory; we are only those who either mess up what He has created or fall in step with where He’s going.
Such is the story of Josh Heaston. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, he was an early champion at the pool table, placing third in the U.S., and fifth at the Junior World Pool Championship in Taipei, Taiwan at age 18. But as he continued to follow that path, it led to addiction and despair in his life – a series of local and regional victories complete with a hollowed-out spirit by age 23.
But God.
On June 20, 2000 (a date that flows easily from his lips), Josh had a radical conversion and fell in step with the Creator’s plans. Two short years later, he married Jessica and together they have five children, ages 11 to 21.
His story is filled with “but God” moments after bowing a knee. Moments like marrying Jessica in 2002, a 22-year marriage that has given the world five wonderful kids, including an adopted daughter. In 2003, he was asked to fill a new role by the YMCA of Greater Toledo – Director of Christian Mission, only the third such director in the US.
Another big “but God” moment in 2002 was his introduction to Gus Yeager, a Toledo-area Christian businessman who would mentor and shape Heaston for the next 15 years.
“We didn’t just sit around and read books, he let me watch his life, giving me time and great intentionality.” Gus took Heaston to meetings and appointments, and shared his own spiritual journey (which included reading through a different translation of the entire Bible every year for 40 years).
In 2013, Heaston was tapped to do the same thing in Indy that he had done for the YMCA in Toledo, helping the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis be more intentional with its Biblical underpinning in its locations throughout the city.
The Indy metro has 3,000 YMCA staff members for Heaston to “love, serve, and care for,” (his slogan) and 17 volunteer chaplains whom he has recruited and trained to minister to YMCA members. In addition, he builds relationships with local churches, and has become a force for finding church-planting pastors of various denominations who’ve started churches inside YMCA branches in Indy. There are already eight church starts in place, and three more on the drawing board this year. The church he and Jessica attend, City of Lights, began in a YMCA and has grown to the point that they now have their own building.
“I have a deep desire to plant a life-giving, mission-minded, Biblically-based church in every YMCA across Central Indiana,” he says.
Heaston’s job doesn’t stop even at the border of Indiana. He has been tapped over the years to help YMCAs across the country follow the model for adding Christian mission directors to their staff. When he started, there were three; now there are 34. A quarter of his job is dedicated to helping other YMCAs in the US and globally thrive spiritually. Globally, he serves on the Christian Mission Network team and has the privilege of being in charge of planning the teams’ next event in 2026 when six continents of YMCA mission directors come together in Toronto to further explore their unique positions as a platform for sharing the gospel.
In 2017, as an ordained pastor in the Vineyard denomination, Heaston had the sorrow and the joy of preaching Gus Yeager’s funeral. Part of his mentor’s legacy has shown up in his life by way of his desire to affect the next generation. His method has been building into young people physically and spiritually through coaching basketball for the last 23 years.
“I want to have the same impact on another generation that Gus had on me,” he says. Whether at the YMCA, in a homeschool network, or at a Christian school, Heaston’s coaching sessions include a weekly devotion, frequent texts, and showing up for “his kids” in other areas of life. He now has more than 200 young men in his “basketball family,” and a sweet bonus is the time he has spent with his sons through coaching. Both are outstanding basketball players, helping their high school team, the Northside Lions, become the 2024 ICBA State Champions. His oldest, Joey, who just graduated in May, now plays for Taylor University.
HEASTON'S IDEAS FOR A BETTER INDY
JOSH HEASTON TRIVIA
Favorite hobby besides work? The pool table
Go to snack? Rocky Road ice cream
Favorite restaurant, locally? Tacos at El Mr Camaron on Sherman & English
Favorite places for a vacation? Any place with sun, sand and waves. Staring at the water helps bring rest to his soul. Waianae, Hawaii (just outside of Honolulu) has been his favorite location so far.
Secret Dream? Becoming a grandfather… with five kids, he may have more opportunities than he could ask, think or imagine.
Connect with Josh Heaston at jheaston@indymca.org.
What goes into the making of a man? What part is Creator-wired and what part Creator-circumstance? In either case, it is God who gets the glory; we are only those who either mess up what He has created or fall in step with where He’s going.
Such is the story of Josh Heaston. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, he was an early champion at the pool table, placing third in the U.S., and fifth at the Junior World Pool Championship in Taipei, Taiwan at age 18. But as he continued to follow that path, it led to addiction and despair in his life – a series of local and regional victories complete with a hollowed-out spirit by age 23.
But God.
On June 20, 2000 (a date that flows easily from his lips), Josh had a radical conversion and fell in step with the Creator’s plans. Two short years later, he married Jessica and together they have five children, ages 11 to 21.
His story is filled with “but God” moments after bowing a knee. Moments like marrying Jessica in 2002, a 22-year marriage that has given the world five wonderful kids, including an adopted daughter. In 2003, he was asked to fill a new role by the YMCA of Greater Toledo – Director of Christian Mission, only the third such director in the US.
Another big “but God” moment in 2002 was his introduction to Gus Yeager, a Toledo-area Christian businessman who would mentor and shape Heaston for the next 15 years.
“We didn’t just sit around and read books, he let me watch his life, giving me time and great intentionality.” Gus took Heaston to meetings and appointments, and shared his own spiritual journey (which included reading through a different translation of the entire Bible every year for 40 years).
In 2013, Heaston was tapped to do the same thing in Indy that he had done for the YMCA in Toledo, helping the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis be more intentional with its Biblical underpinning in its locations throughout the city.
The Indy metro has 3,000 YMCA staff members for Heaston to “love, serve, and care for,” (his slogan) and 17 volunteer chaplains whom he has recruited and trained to minister to YMCA members. In addition, he builds relationships with local churches, and has become a force for finding church-planting pastors of various denominations who’ve started churches inside YMCA branches in Indy. There are already eight church starts in place, and three more on the drawing board this year. The church he and Jessica attend, City of Lights, began in a YMCA and has grown to the point that they now have their own building.
“I have a deep desire to plant a life-giving, mission-minded, Biblically-based church in every YMCA across Central Indiana,” he says.
Heaston’s job doesn’t stop even at the border of Indiana. He has been tapped over the years to help YMCAs across the country follow the model for adding Christian mission directors to their staff. When he started, there were three; now there are 34. A quarter of his job is dedicated to helping other YMCAs in the US and globally thrive spiritually. Globally, he serves on the Christian Mission Network team and has the privilege of being in charge of planning the teams’ next event in 2026 when six continents of YMCA mission directors come together in Toronto to further explore their unique positions as a platform for sharing the gospel.
In 2017, as an ordained pastor in the Vineyard denomination, Heaston had the sorrow and the joy of preaching Gus Yeager’s funeral. Part of his mentor’s legacy has shown up in his life by way of his desire to affect the next generation. His method has been building into young people physically and spiritually through coaching basketball for the last 23 years.
“I want to have the same impact on another generation that Gus had on me,” he says. Whether at the YMCA, in a homeschool network, or at a Christian school, Heaston’s coaching sessions include a weekly devotion, frequent texts, and showing up for “his kids” in other areas of life. He now has more than 200 young men in his “basketball family,” and a sweet bonus is the time he has spent with his sons through coaching. Both are outstanding basketball players, helping their high school team, the Northside Lions, become the 2024 ICBA State Champions. His oldest, Joey, who just graduated in May, now plays for Taylor University.
HEASTON'S IDEAS FOR A BETTER INDY
- MENTOR SOMEONE WITH TIME AND INTENTIONALITY. His own life is testimony to those who took the time and were intentional about sharing their lives with him, and the rewards he receives for mentoring through coaching are rich.
- GET INTO THE WORD EVERY DAY. “Make it a daily habit to consume, meditate on and practically apply God’s Word to your life, ministry and/or business. It is the only book on the planet where you can sit with the Author every time you read it,” he says.
- DIG INTO FRIENDSHIPS AT C7. “I have a deep love and appreciation for seeing like-minded leaders doing something together in a city,” says Heaston. It’s something he did in Toledo too, meeting with Christian business leaders and pastors, and hosting events to just get people talking. “You don’t have to do a project, and no one’s asking for money,” he says. “There’s great value in just growing relationships.” It’s a long-standing passion, and C7 has scratched that itch. “Working together to make a collective difference – that is something I am proud to be a part of and help build in Indianapolis.”
- REALLY SEE PEOPLE. Heaston believes the gift God has given him is not just looking at, but seeing people, remembering them, listening for their stories and life events, taking note, and following up. “Life moves so fast,” he says, “you can pass hundreds of people in a day without really seeing them.” He keeps a large whiteboard in his office and about half of it is devoted to cryptic notes about who to pray for and who to reach out to. He also keeps calendar notes in his phone to remind him when it’s time to ask someone how the concern they shared with him has turned out.
JOSH HEASTON TRIVIA
Favorite hobby besides work? The pool table
Go to snack? Rocky Road ice cream
Favorite restaurant, locally? Tacos at El Mr Camaron on Sherman & English
Favorite places for a vacation? Any place with sun, sand and waves. Staring at the water helps bring rest to his soul. Waianae, Hawaii (just outside of Honolulu) has been his favorite location so far.
Secret Dream? Becoming a grandfather… with five kids, he may have more opportunities than he could ask, think or imagine.
Connect with Josh Heaston at jheaston@indymca.org.
