Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Schultz.
Hi Justin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey into web design and entrepreneurship began unexpectedly in the early 2000s while I was serving as a youth pastor in ministry. Our youth group needed a website, and with zero background in web design, I thought, “I think I can figure that out.” I dove in, taught myself the basics, and successfully built it and that’s when I discovered my passion for design and the creative possibilities of the web. From there, I started taking on freelance web design projects, primarily for other churches and a few businesses, honing my skills along the way.
In late 2014, my family and I moved back to West Michigan. A job I had lined up fell through, but we proceeded with the move anyway. Faced with that uncertainty, I decided to take a leap and turn my freelance work into a full-time business. That’s when JPIXEL was born (www.jpixel.net). Over the past 12 years, JPIXEL has grown to help hundreds of businesses across the United States strengthen their online presence through thoughtful design and marketing.
As a full-time pastor myself, I’m deeply connected to the church community, and my true passion and calling has always been ministry. I love helping others grow and reach people effectively. One key insight I’ve gained is that over 70% of people searching for a local church start their journey online. With my growing expertise in web design, I saw an opportunity to serve churches by creating websites that truly reflect their unique identity as an extension of their ministry, while also ensuring the backend is optimized to rank well in local searches. This led to the creation of The Best Church Websites (www.thebestchurchwebsites.com), an umbrella under JPIXEL. Because this is a ministry first and a business second (not the most traditional entrepreneurial approach, I know!), we operate on a “pay what you can” model because I never want finances to prevent a church from reaching their community online.
Through years of working with various businesses, entrepreneurs, and church leaders (plus coaching other business owners on marketing and design) I’ve learned that organizational and administrative work is often overlooked yet one of the hardest areas to master. This rings especially true for pastors. Many have strong theological training but limited preparation for the day-to-day admin demands. With the average U.S. church size around 50-70 people, most are led by a single full-time senior pastor, perhaps with a part-time or volunteer admin if they’re fortunate. They lack the resources for extensive staff and desperately need practical support.
This realization came from my own experiences in ministry and my personal need for better tools. That’s why I launched The Pastor’s Desk (www.atthepastorsdesk.com), another umbrella under JPIXEL and a platform designed to help pastors and ministry leaders save time on administrative tasks, organize their pastoral care and ministry operations more effectively, and ultimately free up bandwidth to engage deeply with their congregations and communities.
Today, through JPIXEL and its specialized arms, I’m blending my love for design, marketing, and technology with my heart for ministry, empowering churches, pastors, and businesses to thrive in meaningful ways. It’s been an incredible, faith-guided ride from that first youth group website to building these platforms that serve others on a national scale.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, far from it. Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve faced plenty of challenges, but I’ve learned a great deal from each one.
The biggest struggle has been the slow pace of growth. I was committed to building JPIXEL and its ministries with minimal debt (only a few small family loans) and bootstrapping everything myself. That meant tight cash flow, unpredictable projects, and wearing every hat while balancing full-time pastoring and family life.
I’ve also navigated the tension of blending ministry and business, experienced failures like projects that didn’t land or features that missed the mark, and dealt with overcommitment and burnout risks. Those setbacks were tough but invaluable teachers, helping me refine processes and build more sustainably.
Overall, the bumps and slow climbs have shaped what we do today which is ministry-focused businesses rooted in perseverance, faith, and a refusal to cut corners. I’m grateful for the journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m the founder and lead designer of JPIXEL, a web design and digital marketing agency based in West Michigan, with two specialized arms: The Best Church Websites and The Pastor’s Desk. My work sits at the intersection of creative design, technical strategy, and ministry and is all about helping organizations (especially churches and pastors) build a strong, authentic online presence while streamlining the behind-the-scenes work that often overwhelms leaders.
I specialize in crafting custom websites that don’t just look good but actually serve the mission of the organization. For churches, that means sites that reflect their unique personality and culture while being optimized to show up when people search for a place to worship locally. For broader businesses through JPIXEL, it’s all about clear branding, user-friendly design, and marketing-driven sites that convert visitors into customers.
What I’m most known for, and most proud of, is The Best Church Websites. We’ve built hundreds of church sites across the U.S. on a “pay what you can” model because I truly believe no church should be limited in reaching their community due to budget constraints. It’s ministry first, business second, and that approach has allowed us to serve small rural congregations and larger ministries alike in ways traditional agencies often can’t or won’t.
The Pastor’s Desk is another project I’m deeply proud of. It is a platform I built out of my own needs as a full-time pastor. It helps ministry leaders organize sermons, pastoral care, administrative tasks, and team communication in one place, saving time and reducing stress so they can focus on people, not paperwork.
What sets me apart is the dual perspective I bring: I’m not just a designer with over a decade of experience but I’m also a full-time lead pastor who lives the realities my clients face. I understand church culture, pastoral pressures, limited budgets, and the urgency of digital outreach in today’s world. That empathy, combined with professional-grade design and strategy, allows me to create solutions that are beautiful and deeply practical. I don’t just build websites… I help ministries and leaders thrive online and off.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, success isn’t measured primarily by revenue, growth metrics, or the size of our client list (though those are nice and help sustain the work).
I define success by the real impact we’re making on the people and ministries we serve.
– When a small church with a limited budget gets a beautiful, effective website through our “pay what you can” model and starts seeing new families walk through their doors because someone found them online… that feels like true success.
– When a pastor tells me The Pastor’s Desk has saved him hours each week on admin tasks, reduced his stress, and given him more time to counsel, visit the sick, or just be present with his family… that’s success.
– When a business owner I’ve coached or built a site for shares that their online presence is finally reflecting who they really are and helping them grow in a way that aligns with their values… that’s success.
At the core, because my life and work are rooted in faith and ministry, success means faithful stewardship: using the skills, opportunities, and resources God has given me to help others fulfill their calling, remove obstacles in their path, and ultimately help people connect with Christ and community.
If churches are reaching more people, pastors are healthier and less overwhelmed, and businesses are thriving in ways that honor their purpose, then I feel like we’re succeeding, regardless of how big or small the scale looks from the outside.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jpixel.net, www.thebestchurchwebsites.com, and www.atthepastorsdesk.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpixel_websites, https://www.instagram.com/thebestchurchwebsites, and https://www.instagram.com/atthepastorsdesk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePastorsDesk, https://www.facebook.com/JPIXELwebsites, and https://www.facebook.com/TheBestChurchWebsites
