Stories from teaching (II)

"You have no idea how your class changed my life!" Linda Ference said as I passed her going into the dorms. Linda is a CCO campus staff ministering to students at Indiana University of PA. Linda, along with 15 CCO staff, had just completed the class called, “Design and Integration” which Sean (left), Paul (right) and I team taught at the CCO's annual Summer Institute.

The class was three intensive days geared towards helping campus ministers think about experiential design and ministry. We asked,

“ How does the way you plan ministry events reflect the richness of God's creation?”

If most of communication is non-verbal, did the design (the environment, the sequence of activities, etc...) of their bible studies, their leadership meetings, or their fall retreats match the words students would encounter during those events? Did the design of the events support their intended goals and testify without words to the redemptive story of God's work among us?

The class participants heard Sean Purcell share his doctoral work on the Christian imagination. Paul Harbison who is the director of the CCO' s experiential ministries taught on models of integration, the result of over 30 years of thinking about faith integration in experiential education.

Already the CCO staff who were part of the class are applying what they learned. On Monday I will have a meeting with a CCO staff at Youngstown University to talk with him about how to design a student panel on sexuality he is planning for this fall.

Thanks be to God for eager learners and a chance to equip staff that love college students and yearn for them to know Jesus.

Thanks for your prayers and continued support.