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.