The Pull Toward the Pressure-Cooker

There’s been a narrative unfolding for the past 18 months that I’ve been waiting to share with you. Well, the wait is over: God has clarified a new layer of focus and calling in my work with InterVarsity!

Back in the fall of 2009, InterVarsity began looking for a new director of the Los Angeles Urban Project. “LAUP” (pronounced “lay-up”) is InterVarsity’s six-week intensive immersion experience in which college students partner with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the urban poor in Los Angeles. On a whim one afternoon, I filled out the application…the more I wrote, the more excited I became.

After being told I was an ideal candidate for the role, I started to really consider it. The more I thought and prayed, the more drawn I felt to this intersection between college students and the urban poor. “Before I get carried away,” I thought, “I should really experience this.” Within my first week as assistant director in the summer of 2010, I was hooked. I saw fruitful teaching flowing from my lips, I was re-energized by the transformation I witnessed in students…I felt that I’d found the role for which God made me.
As of March 1st, I have stepped into the role of full-time director of LAUP. My task is to lead college students into immersion experiences of urban ministry, spiritual formation, and leadership training that change them forever. I will lead our six-week summer internship, will develop additional weekend-long and spring break experiences, and will speak at campuses all over the Greater Los Angeles. My role of supervising the campus works in Los Angeles has been divided up between several supervisors to release me to invest more deeply in student leaders, and to expand the scope and impact of LAUP over the next two years.

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this excited about campus ministry. LAUP is like a pressure-cooker of high-octane, accelerated, intensive transformation in the lives of students: exactly where I feel like I was made to be. And if that were not enough, the result of this transformation is that students consistently dedicate the rest of their lives to creatively caring for the poor and combating the social problems of urban America. I feel honored and humbled by the way God has led me to this dream job.

Please pray for me and for LAUP! There is a lot of work to be done preparing for the summer. Over the next three months I will be designing our summer curriculum, recruiting leaders, networking with urban ministries, and attempting to raise $50K to fund the project. As excited as I am, I am a rookie in this role, and need wisdom, partnership, and encouragement. As you have ideas, contacts, or resources, as well as questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I am so grateful for your support and partnership in the work of investing in the next generation. Thank you.