A Common Call: Missionary on Campus

And yet, there I sat on the stage, not only attending, but pounding on a cajon, while my colleague, Janet, played the guitar and led the 40 attendees in some praise songs. How did I get here?

I had wanted to be a psychology professor since high school, although I freely admit I had no idea what that meant at the time. In preparation, I attended a Christian college, so I would be well equipped with a Christian worldview. It was there, in the early 1990s, that my philosophy professor, J. P. Moreland, presented an argument in Chapel one morning that shaped my vision:

“Any local church with Christian faculty in its fellowship should commission them as missionaries to the campus.”

The Road Was Harder Than Imagined

“That’ll be me one day,” I thought. “That’s my calling!” I was determined to become a Christian professor at a secular university so that I could be a missionary on campus.

The decision to become a professor came easily; the road to get there was harder than I ever imagined, and finding employment seemed nothing short of a miracle. But by God’s grace, I made it.

A “Messiah Complex?”

Getting engaged in ministry was another heavy hurdle. I encountered roadblocks and suspicions by Christians and felt hugely misunderstood.  They thought I had a “messiah complex;” why would I want to jeopardize my career by being involved in ministry?

I questioned it myself. What exactly am I supposed to do as an ambassador for Christ on my campus? (2 Corinthians 5:20)

With God’s help, my wife and I had an open door to help lead a small college group through a church for 15 years. Then the pandemic (and other issues) slammed it shut. 

What now, Lord?

A relaunch took place after COVID through a para-church college ministry with the help of my daughter, who was now a student at Kent State. Was this what my ministry was to look like? 

A Common Call Conference

A faculty and staff prayer group sprang up seemingly out of nowhere during the pandemic. There, I was encouraged to attend the Faculty Commons A Common Call conference in Columbus. Were there truly other professors who also had this vision, who saw themselves as called to be a missionary on campus as a faculty member? I was about to be blown out of the water.

The keynote speaker spoke of his own journey as a Christ-follower engaging in science, faith, and Christianity in academia. A panel of professors discussed legal issues, how they’ve sought to be salt and light on campus, ways they’ve created opportunities for ministry, and the challenges of academic life as believers. We had robust discussions around our tables.

Genuinely Understood

I needed that conference more than I realized. I learned that I am not alone, and that there is a lot of diversity in the way Christian faculty can minister in academia. I had only understood ministry as being with students, but there were many other ways my colleagues were living out their faith in the university. I was inspired and stretched. And there, among this group of Christian professors, I felt genuinely understood by a group of true peers.

We truly have “a common call.”