Dear Friends,
God has a way of pushing us into
things we never thought we would ever do.
Have you noticed that? When I was
a sophomore in high school, I dropped out of church thinking that it wasn’t for
me. I went to the University of
Minnesota intending to leave the Christian thing as far behind me as
possible. At the University of
Minnesota, God graciously sought me out through a friend in marching band and I
began hanging out with a community of Christians whom God used to get through
to me that He loved me and wanted me as His child. When I began to wonder whether I could serve
as a campus minister, He provided an opportunity to do an internship at a
church there in Minneapolis to see whether I had the capacity to do ministry at
all. Next, I transferred to Minnesota
Bible College, met and married an amazing woman, finished my bachelor’s degree,
returned to the Univ. of MN as an interim campus minister and then went to
Emmanuel School of Religion (now Emmanuel Christian Seminary) to continue my
education in order to be equipped to serve full time in campus ministry. When I was about to graduate from seminary,
Reach Out on Campus invited me to consider serving at Ohio University. This is my 22nd year with
ROC. God has led each step of the
way.
I have never really considered serving
in any other sphere of ministry than campus ministry since the late spring of
1981. There were a couple of times when
I felt discouraged and began to wonder whether I should explore other
possibilities but I didn’t feel comfortable seriously considering other
options. God called me to ROC for these
years of ministry and they are precious to me.
God has pushed me and pulled me and formed me through these years of
walking with students and faculty here at Ohio University. I am delighted to have known so many quality
people with whom I’ve been able to follow Jesus. During this time I have always thought of
myself as a campus minister and I didn’t see myself as ever serving in a local church
congregation. I often thought to myself
or said out loud, “I could NEVER do that!”
I think God chuckled.
A few months ago a friend asked me
to consider joining him on staff at Fern Creek Christian Church in Louisville,
KY. I laughed at his suggestion thinking
he was kidding but he responded that he was serious. Typically, I say no to these sorts of
conversations because I’m a campus minister.
That “no” wasn’t on my lips this time. I said that I would be willing to enter a
conversation about the possibility of considering the position in order to seek
to hear God on the matter. We have been
chatting, emailing and been in face-to-face conversations for some time
now. In the process, I have sensed that
God is inviting me into a new challenge, one that I never planned on
considering. The elders of Fern Creek
Christian Church have asked me to come on staff with the congregation there as
a discipleship minister. Having had many
conversations with God, with my wife and family as well as with the ROC board
of advisers and trusted, wise Christian friends, I have accepted this
invitation from God and this church. I
will continue to serve as Director of Reach Out on Campus through May 2014 and
then move to Louisville in June. One
friend pointed out to me that my call to make disciples will not change, just
the context.
For the past 33 years I have sought
to follow Jesus wherever He leads. He
has used the past 22 years with ROC to shape me in particular ways of His own
design. I sense He is leading in this
direction and trust that He will do whatever He desires with us in this new
adventure. We are all on the quest of
following Jesus and are formed by Him for His use all along the way. Thank you for your partnership with ROC that
has enabled me (and several others) to serve full-time with students and
faculty at Ohio University. You know
that the ministry of Reach Out on Campus is important to this campus and to
many people. I trust that God will
continue to use ROC to glorify Jesus for many years to come. As he leads me into another context in which
to make disciples, I will continue as a ROC financial ministry partner. I trust that you will also and that together
we will be able to continue to encourage the staff and students of Reach Out on
Campus to make disciples of Jesus who can make more disciples of Jesus.
If you don’t financially support
ROC’s ministry, now would be a great time to start! The ROC board needs your partnership and
encouragement as they seek a new director.
It’s an important time to provide a solid foundation for the
continuation of ROC’s ministry. Your
partnership really is vitally important.
Would you please consider becoming a monthly support ministry partner? (You knew that I couldn’t pass up the
opportunity to ask this, right?)
Finally (at least for now), thank
you! Thank you for your partnership,
your friendship, your encouragement and your prayers. Alumni, thank you for being part of the ROC
(or CSF—before my time) community and for your ongoing ministry in Christ’s
body. Faculty who have been part of
Faculty Fellowship, thank you for your friendship and challenging me to think
more clearly and for your important mission on campus to love as Jesus loves
and help students to grow in intellect and spirit. Your example has been a huge encouragement to
me. Current ROC students & young
professionals, God bless you as you continue to seek first His kingdom and
righteousness and as you continue to grow in Christ and in community. May you faithfully follow Jesus now and into
your own futures continuing to serve through the local body of Christ after you
graduate. I have thanked the ROC board
of advisers in person but wish to do that here also. Serving with the men and women on the ROC
board has been a high point in my service with the ROC community. They have sought to follow God’s lead and
they are humble, faithful servants who have given so much of themselves and
their resources over the years. It has been
an honor and a privilege to serve with such fine men and women who earnestly
yearn to see Jesus glorified on campus and for others to be drawn to Him. Their care and leadership over these many
years has buoyed me through challenges and many joys. Thanks also to my co-workers, current and
former, for your service in Christ’s kingdom and for being used by God to teach
me many things (too many to list here!).
Thanks be to God for creating us,
sustaining us, redeeming us and calling us to be His in Christ Jesus our Lord. All praise and glory to Him now and always!
--Rich