¶ 120. The Mission—The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches and extension ministries of the Church provide the most significant arenas through which disciple-making occurs (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016, Part IV, The Ministry of All Christians; emphasis added).
In honor of this year’s graduates and their schools and campuses, I celebrate the work of The United Methodist Church through its extension ministries, especially Wesley Foundations.
My wife, call to ordained ministry, and primary life direction are all blessings of my journey in United Methodist campus ministry. I was a student at CMU’s Wesley Foundation 1979-83. I served as the Director of the Wesley Foundation of Kalamazoo 1993-2002. And I am currently Chairperson of the West Michigan Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry (BHECM).
CMU Wesley Foundation had Sunday night gatherings in 1981. It must have been the first meeting of the fall semester. I noticed Beverly sitting across the room. We talked afterward with a small group of people and convinced her to come on the New York City Mission Trip in October. On the trip, there were four of us in a car, including Beverly. I remember sitting in the back seat and wanting to talk with her while she was in the front seat, but I could not remember her name. I had never met anyone my age named Beverly before so I called her “Doris” which also was the name of no one my age. She was kind in her reply, repeated her name, and we talked. I should have written down her name because several miles down the road I wanted to talk with her again, had forgotten her name, and called her Doris a second time. She asked me to repeat myself which added to my discomfort. Again, she was kind, repeated her name, and we talked. After the trip, our friend, Rob, played matchmaker with us and our relationship developed in wonderful ways. We were married August 13, 1983.
My faith gained a social conscience at the CMU Wesley Foundation with the inspiring and irritating ministry of Rev. Tom Jones. I brought a personal, evangelical faith to campus nurtured in Three Oaks United Methodist Church with Rev. Larry Irvine. I considered attending a Christian college, but consciously decided that if my faith was going to be worthwhile to me, it needed to develop on a secular campus. Tom, Beverly, Rob and so many others provided an incredible atmosphere of grace and prophetic challenge as we lived and grew in the contexts of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, Apartheid in South Africa, hunger and homelessness in New York City (Catholic Worker and Taize Community), poverty in Appalachia (Thousand Sticks, KY), and discrimination against lesbian and gay sisters and brothers. My call to ordained ministry deepened through these experiences and a growing desire to study the Biblical foundations of such a life.
Campus ministry continued to impact me after graduation and seminary. Tom baptized our oldest daughter, Lindsey, at Center Park UMC, my first appointment. Sarah and Amanda were baptized by pastor friends while we were at the Wesley Foundation of Kalamazoo. 
Our time at Western was transformational as I was blessed to be a companion and guide for incredible people coming to their consciousness of God and vocation and finding life partners.
Serving as the current Chairperson for BHECM in West Michigan, I have yet another perspective of being an advocate for campus ministry and higher education, now in the life of the Church. We are in the right place and doing the right thing to provide for United Methodist Christian faith communities with the most concentrated population of young adults in our culture on our campuses.