Every year, hundreds of qualified and talented leaders pass through our ministry. We are committed to seeing these leaders—and everyone that participates in GFM ministry—be a redeeming influence in both the university and professions. This begs the question:
Which of our student leaders may God be calling to impact academia by serving on GFM staff?
As a grad student at Duke, Stephanie Holmer was preparing for a career in cell biology. There were multiple career opportunities for her to consider given her degrees, a B.S. in Chemistry from Kent State University and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Duke University.
One career path she hadn’t considered: Fulltime ministry. That is until Steve Hinkle, GFM Area Director in North Carolina and Stephanie’s staff at Duke, began asking her to consider joining GFM staff.
Her reaction?
“I don’t remember exactly what I said because I was so surprised,” Stephanie recalled. “I remember thinking ‘that’s a crazy idea’ while also thinking ‘that sounds like my dream job.’ I’d never considered it a serious possibility before Steve mentioned it.”
Observe: Who has the gifts and calling?
Steve saw in Stephanie leadership skills during her time as a leader with GFM at Duke, and knew she’d make an excellent staff.
“Stephanie was an ideal leader in many respects,” Steve said. “She valued the academic work of other students, was good at developing and implementing vision, and was an active learner. The icing on the cake was her capacity to also focus in on individuals, to care for and pastor them. She has great relational courage.”
Stephanie attributes much of her leadership skills to serving on the leadership team with GFM at Duke. “I learned you’re not a leader unless people are following,” Stephanie said. “I realized it was important to listen to people, find out what their needs are, and help them be confident in leading the things they were passionate about. Leadership is also about taking time to consider how things could be better instead of always operating by the status quo.”
As her staff, Steve observed this gifting in Stephanie and helped her grow in her leadership. “He didn’t shoot down ideas,” Stephanie recalled. “He gave feedback and shared wise counsel but never said ‘you shouldn’t do that.’ He was really supportive and approachable.”
Affirm: What do I say?
Stephanie remembers Steve being direct, but low pressure, as he invited her to join GFM Staff. As she was considering jobs after school, she’d already wrestled with many questions around science and faith. And she knew God was calling her as a woman in the sciences to have an impact in academia, but not as a faculty.
“I felt strongly there was a lack of Christian mentorship (in the university), especially for women,” Stephanie reflected. The possibility of considering InterVarsity Staff would allow her to be a Christian woman mentor in the university, without being on faculty.
While Steve was low pressure in his ask, he was also persistent.
“Steve encouraged me to think about it, but I didn’t have the head space to process at the time. I had other job applications going,” Stephanie said. “When he mentioned it again a few weeks later, it made me realize he was serious, which was also affirming.”
Invite: What’s the next step?
For Stephanie, while joining staff in a way felt like her “dream job,” it was also a “crazy idea.” But Steve continued to invite her, and he provided opportunities for her to interact with other staff and discern if this was her calling.
Stephanie had two main questions during her discerning process.
“First, I needed to work through identity issues around being a Ph.D.-trained scientist going into ministry,” she said. “How would family and peers perceive me? Would they think this is a waste of my degree?”
“Secondly, I needed to consider what it would be like to be a single, younger woman on InterVarsity GFM staff.”
Steve connected Stephanie with two leaders in GFM—Lynn Gill (RD, West Region) who also has a Ph.D. in the sciences, and Melodie Marske (RD, Midwest) who has served as a single woman on InterVarsity staff for over 25 years.
“Both conversations helped me process through these two questions, and gave me more exposure to InterVarsity staff, especially as a woman within GFM,” Stephanie added.
She prayed a lot about the decision, connected with a few other staff, and confided in trusted friends. All of the responses she received were positive. She ultimately felt it was where God was calling her and she took the job!
It’s impossible to summarize Stephanie’s journey to InterVarsity staff in a few hundred words, but throughout the journey, God led her on a discerning process and ultimately made clear to her the calling to ministry with GFM.
As her staff, Steve played an instrumental role in observing and affirming her leadership, and ultimately inviting her to staff. What would have happened if he’d never asked Stephanie to consider staff? We’ll never know for sure, but this is one example of how God can call our students to be a redeeming influence in academia!
Equipping you to recruit student leaders to GFM staff
It may be easy to turn away from the idea of inviting your student leaders to join staff, thinking “they’re overqualified” or “they’d never consider this.” But God may have other plans as he did with Stephanie.
How is God leading and calling us—as staff ministering to these leaders—to help them think through his calling in their lives?
One of the goals of the 5-year GFM Strategic Plan is focused on increasing our recruitment of new staff. The Staff Recruitment Task Force was established to help lead this process.
We’ve created a brand new resource to help as you identify staff candidates among your student leaders. Look for a postcard coming in the mail soon with tips on what to look for in prospective staff and how to approach a conversation with them. And if you’re interested in ordering more, they’re on the store free of charge.
Which students could you invite to consider God’s call to GFM staff?
May Stephanie’s story encourage you to keep this front-of-mind when mentoring student leaders. And may God bless our efforts and continue to multiply our ministry as we encourage and equip grad students and faculty as they follow Christ in the university and professions.
