I remember leaving Northern Ireland in 2003 with a very misguided confidence in my preparedness for my life’s mission. I’d studied the King James Version of the Bible for seven years; I’d trained how to work inside a Northern Irish independent evangelical village church and was experienced as an evangelist reaching the urban and rural poor of a war torn land divided by religious fanaticism. How deeply naive I was about how little of that “expertise” would translate directly into my new life. 9 years later and I’m still coming to terms with the fact that a fulltime evangelist needs skills and gifts more commonly found in a small business entrepreneur. Strategic plans, administrative skills, management skills, financial planning, fundraising, public speaking on the vision and mission purpose of the new ministry. The capacity to contextualize and translate that vision and mission for a multitude of unique audiences.
I once thought my job was to tell people about Jesus. How utterly quaint and old fashioned an idea that is now. My job is to help create, lead and sustain a multi-generational, multi-cultural, multi-faith ministry for college students in St. Louis. To find a way to produce a safe place for students and those in the community with a heart for students to discuss and explore spirituality. “Telling people about Jesus” is transactional. Creating a safe place for people to do their own exploration into Spirituality can be Transformational. Because of the possibility of Transformation I’m delighted to develop a multitude of skills and competencies that will help create a concise opportunity for young Christian men and women to enter in a conversation about spirituality with their peers from a multiplicity of world-views.
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