Ask, Seek, Knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

My confidence is pretty high that Jesus will actually open the door for me. There are situations though when I am not so confident, like when the door leads into a faculty member’s office. Most likely a professor would allow me into their office space. My hesitancy comes from being unsure of what I will experience on the other side of that door. This article is to encourage us all to go through that faculty office door with Jesus,taking a risk that could very possibly turn out well.

Lately, I have been encouraged to hear how God is going before a variety of staff, preparing the way for good conversations and shared ministry with faculty.

Audrey Park, InterVarsity team leader for undergraduate and faculty ministry at Sacramento State, has collected names of faculty and administrators. In the course of following up and knocking on doors she discovered an engineering prayer group and a faculty member who is a catalyst for gathering together across academic disciplines. One result has been bringing faculty and undergraduates together to pray for their campus. The students especially experienced this as a gift. Key administrators involved played an important role to help the undergraduate group remain physically on campus during a period of derecognition.

Then there’s a new staff at University of Alabama, Clayton Cullaton, who found Christian faculty already meeting and waiting to welcome him into their offices and faculty group. He found that some were IVP authors and they were eager to engage with InterVarsity in another way. Clayton purchased a couple of the New Faculty Outreach Welcome Gifts for them at the InterVarsity Store, returning the hospitality he received. Relationships and ministry are growing here.

Keeping our eyes open to what God is already up to provides great joy and partnership. The two campuses mentioned above are growing in prayer partnership and finding university allies and mentors. Ultimately they are extending their witness and presence on campus.

As a staff who has served in undergraduate, graduate, and faculty ministry over a number of years, I understand how it is easy to spend most of our campus time in the common spaces. I want to encourage you to go beyond the student union, your favorite coffee shop, or the library hang-out area. Go find that out of the way building and roam the halls to locate a faculty member’s office. This exercise alone will give you perspective on a professor’s life and the context in which they work. They are to be admired for daily walking down an often sterile, poorly lit hallway to a small office full of books and stacks of papers. Many are doing so to be faithful to the gifts and calling that God has given them.

InterVarsity’s undergraduate and faculty Pacific Region has a vision to reach out to over 100 faculty at the universities they serve. I get excited to think of the women and men that will be encouraged by friendly faces, by words expressing interest in them and their work, and the prayers that we can offer on their behalf. That’s just the beginning. In Matthew 5, Jesus takes clear our job to be salt and light. Respecting the variety of faculty on our campuses, the sacrifice and investment they make in students and the university system, these are ways to flavor it up and shine light in tough spots.

Partnerships with professors and administrators will impact us and our students at all levels. We will gain wise counsel in complex situations, encouragement for ministry, and more evidence of the Kingdom of God on campus. This is just the start. Next up a growing investment in underrepresented faculty.

We in Faculty Ministry are here to walk beside you, provide resources, listening ears, and prayer. I look forward to hearing more of your stories as you take risks to knock on faculty office doors.

Pictured below are the area directors in the pacific region who are committed to sending out people to build relationships with faculty.