Senior Seminar Presentations

The Faculty and Senior students of the Christian Ministries Department invite you to the fourth annual Senior Ministry Oral Presentations & Defense.

Where: Creekside South, Room 130

When: Monday, Nov 29-Wednesday, Dec 1

Schedule:

Monday, Nov. 29- 2:00-6:00PM

2:00-3:00- Erin Deremer:  House of Hope; empowering moms and families through the restoring love of Christ.

3:00-4:00- Sarah Kaggwa:  Community Center for homosexuals in Kampala, Uganda

4:00-5:00- Karen Peck:  Discipleship Camp; a new paradigm in camping ministry

5:00-6:00- Rob Kuhl: Family Based Youth Ministry

Tuesday, Nov. 30- 6:00-9:00PM

6:00-7:00- Ashley Berkholz: ConnectionHouse

7:00-8:00- Tiffany Komosa: Gripping Freedom; a recovery ministry for victims of sex trafficking

8:00-9:00- Kelsey Little: Judson World Mission

Wednesday, Dec. 1- 3:00-6:00PM

3:00-4:00- Kiley Helgerson: Dove's Eyes; a parachurch curriculum development organization

4:00-5:00- Phillip Lambert: Service Learning and youth ministry

5:00-6:00- Caitlyn Powers: Equipping and Empowering for World Transformation

Come join us for the Senior presentations this year!

Dr. Dave at Youth Specialties this year!

Dr. Dave will be hosting a booth for Judson U at the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention in Nashville.  The event goes from Nov. 19 to the 22nd.

Make sure to stop by and say hello if you are at the conference!  Find out about the growing department and its recent developments or just to say "Hi!"

Two Students go to Africa for World Conference

Tiffany and Caitlyn in Cape Town!

Caitlyn Powers and Tiffany Komosa returned recently from their trip to Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism.  They both had a great time and were able to engage with others about social justice and evangelism.  Here's what they had to say about the trip.


Caitlyn says: 

Over 4,000 delegates from 200 different nations around the world made history as they united together at the 3^rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. Through Judson, I had the privilege to serve there and connect with evangelistic leaders and fellow stewards.

During the sessions there was singing, dancing, and powerful speakers, both well known names and individuals who remained nameless to protect themselves from being killed for actively participating in this conference. As a steward I literally had to ask people not to take pictures or recordings of certain speakers.

Hot topics about trafficking, poverty, and youth outreach were discussed, but far greater than the speakers or dialog sessions was the indescribable community of love that was build among all the stewards and participants through the power and unity of the Holy Spirit.

Tiffany had this to say about the experience:

Tiffany hosting a table discussion at the conference.

            Serving at Cape Town 2010 Third Lausanne Congress was the experience of a lifetime. It was wonderful to meet fellow stewards from all over the world and hear about what they are doing in their ministry. It was encouraging to meet others with the same passions and struggles in their ministry and be able to uplift each other. Cape Town 2010 was a display of how God is moving and how his people are responding!

Catching up with Jeff Tilson

It's always great to catch up with our alumni. A couple weeks ago I had the chance to interact with Jeff Tillson (Youth Ministry/Adolescent Studies 2004).

What are you up to these days? Living and loving Katy, TX as the Junior High Pastor of Grace Fellowship UMC.  I’m also cranking out as many reviews and articles for Youthworker Journal that I can.  I can’t believe that people would actually care what I think about ministry.  Working on my Masters at Fuller.

What do you love about your ministry?  I love the balance and healthy leadership that Grace Fellowship offers families.  We do Sundays only (the Simple Church model) and our busy community loves it.  How do you do youth ministry without Wednesday nights?!  We do and it works.

What has God been teaching you about ministry?  As I lead a ministry of over 300 kids and a couple hundred volunteers, I must multiply myself.  My volunteers must be doing the work of a youth pastor (mentoring, knowing names, etc.).  I even have high-capacity volunteers for every major ministry thing we do.  I lead the five of them, they lead the rest of my volunteers.  I should have been doing this a long time ago – even in small churches.

What’s the best ministry related book you’ve read in the last year or so? How was it helpful/challenging?  Apologetics for a New Generation by Sean McDowell.  It heightened my view of discipleship and encouraged me to crank up the heat on what I was teaching students. 

Department Preview - November 4 & 5

You're invited to the The Department of Christian Ministries' special overnight preview for students interested in either the Youth Ministry/Adolescent Studies degree or the Christian Ministries degree.

The preview will begin with a dinner with prospective students, parents, current student hosts, faculty, and a few alumni on Thursday night, November 4th. Visiting students will spend the rest of the night in with our current student hosts and will sleep in the dorms.  On Friday, visiting students will participate in Campus Preview activities for all prospective students.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.judsonu.edu/preview/.

So if you're interested in preparing for a career in vocational Christian ministry, please attend the preview!

PS - Sorry, parents, you won't be staying the night in the dorms and will need to find your own accommodations....which will likely mean a better nights sleep! :)

CM Students Leaving for South Africa

On Saturday, October 10, two students from the Christian Ministries Department, Caitlyn Powers and Tiffany Komosa, will be leaving for Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization where they will be representing Judson University by serving as stewards for the conference.

"Cape Town 2010, held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance, will bring together 4,000 leaders from more than 200 countries to confront the critical issues of our time – other world faiths, poverty, HIV/AIDS, persecution, among others - as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization."

 

We're excited for the opportunity that Tiffany and Caitlyn have to interact with Christian leaders from around the world...and then to come back to share what they've learned with our community. Please be praying for them as they travel and serve. 

Kelsey in Uganda

I had the opportunity last week to sit down with Kelsey Little and talk about her semester at the Uganda Studies Program. It was great to hear about her experiences and the many things she learned. So I asked her to write up a couple of sentences to post on our blog:

"This past semester I had the once in a lifetime experience of living with a Ugandan family and attending a Ugandan University. I learned to live without electricity or running water and to love it. I learned to sit in silence and enjoy the presence of my host family, to enjoy the vivid colors of red dirt, green banana leaves, and huge blue sky, to love the sound of giant raindrops on the tin roof, to cook almost anything over a fire, to view my mosquito net as an impenetrable barrier against all crawly creatures and to share literally everything I had. The African spirit is beautiful and contagious and I was blessed to get to be a part of it."

For those of you interested in intercultural ministry, I'd highly recommend the Uganda Studies Program....Actually, everyone would benefit from this type of cross-cultural immersion experience!

There is so much going on with our two majors. Students are doing their practicums in a wide variety of ministry sites, many of them are also involved in university ministry teams and dorm leadership, and a bunch are playing on Judson sports teams!! What an actively involved group.

We had a great first 'majors meeting' on Monday and e got to interact, meet new people and hear words of wisdom from our seniors. This was following a cookout at my house a couple of Fridays ago, so we're definitely social creatures! We LIKE hanging out together.

Coming up we have the National Youth Workers Convention that some of us are going to, AND our annual Christian Ministries scholarships will have a awarded some time later this semester! Be on the lookout for more info on these two upcoming events.

I love teaching and learning with all of you in the major. You give my life purpose. In fact, I put that on my Facebook this morning....I get to go to class and teach!!

Haiti Trip Highlights 2009

Intercultural Ministry Team

Every other year, Profs. Kim Budd and Dave Sanders teach Intercultural Ministry Studies I & II. This pair of courses is designed to prepare students to effectively lead short-term ministry teams by developing a strong theology of sustainability in missions service connections in intercultural settings as well as the practical skills needed to plan, conduct and lead such an experience. The course also involves one week (usually over spring break) where the students have an opportunity to put into practice what they're learning. Past classes have gone to Costa Rica, India, & Los Angeles.

In March 2009, the class will be heading to Haiti to work with an orphan-focused ministry called The Apparent Project. We are attempting to establish a long-term, sustainable connection that involves our efforts beyond the classroom, beyond a period of one week, and beyond simply our own personal involvement. As always, we are excited and terrified as to what God may do through our availability and willingness.

Youth Specialties: National Youth Worker Convention

Every year, a group of students and faculty attend one of the National Youth Worker Conventions sponsored by Youth Specialties. As members of Youth Specialties’ educational network, our students and faculty have the opportunity to attend the convention at a steeply discounted rate. While the convention speakers and seminars are always informative, the opportunity to build community and have fun together is always a highlight.

Global Youth Initiative: Israel 2008 Summit

Recognized as a program with a strong emphasis and involvement in intercultural youth ministry, the department of Youth Ministry & Adolescent Studies was invited to take a group of students and staff to participate in Global Youth Initiative’s Israel 2008 Summit. With over 230 youth leaders from 50+ countries, this was an amazing opportunity to learn about youth ministry as well as to explore the Holy Land. Daily activities included sessions from GYI leaders, breakout sessions where we learned about what God is doing among youth around the world, tours of historical locations from the life of Jesus, and much informal interaction with people from around the world with a heart for youth.