Who's Dirk?

Dirk Helmling is the Founder and Executive Director of 29.11 Student Ministries. He's committed his life to challenging and equipping high school and college students, parents and youth pastors to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ. He travels extensively nationally and internationally. He also serves as a contract College Pastor for Woodland Hills Baptist Church and is interim College Pastor at Biltmore Baptist Church.

Since Dirk is the product of a broken home, he knows first hand the destruction and devastation caused from divorce. Like many students today, Dirk struggled with alcohol abuse, sexual immorality, low self esteem and many other issues that seem to plague so many students today. Although Dirk spent much of his time in school hanging out with the popular kids, more often than not Dirk was battling deep issues of insecurity and fear. With no direction or hope for the future, Dirk was heading nowhere fast. But that's when God stepped in and changed it all. On a Wednesday, two weeks before graduation, a friend (Stephen Berry!) invited Dirk to his youth group. He went to church with Stephen that night. Later that same evening, Dirk's phone rang. It was Stephen. He asked Dirk if he'd like to drive from West Palm Beach to Orlando Florida the next day with him and a few friends. They were attending an RC Sproul seminar. Dirk didn't know who the heck RC was, but he knew if he went he could miss 2 days of school (he was pretty quick when it came to planning ahead). So, he went. That Saturday on the way back from Orlando to West Palm Beach, God sovereignly grabbed Dirk's heart. Right then and there Dirk surrendered everything he knew about himself to everything he knew about God (which wasn't very much!). A few weeks later at youth camp, in the summer of 1988, Dirk sensed God's call into full time youth ministry. Specifically, he knew God was calling him to communicate to students. Since he opted out of all his oral reports in high school, Dirk didn't feel like he had much to offer, but he knew he heard God's voice and he knew what God was saying. After getting counsel from some godly men that God brought into Dirk's life, he enrolled at Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, Florida. He crammed 4 years of education into 4 and a half years and finally graduated in December of 1992 with a degree in Biblical Studies and Christian Counseling.

Dirk taught 9th, 10th and 11th grade Bible for several years at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach and then served as a youth pastor in North Carolina for a couple years before diving in head first and launching 29.11 Student Ministries in September of 1999.

Dirk met Julie at Palm Beach Atlantic College in 1988. They've been happily married (most of the time anyway!) 12 years now and have 3 children - Dawson, Cassie and Sydney. The Helmling's make their home in the beautiful mountains of Mars Hill, North Carolina and are members at Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Weaverville, North Carolina.