Grand Valley State University

Giving Up the American Dream

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 18:35:31 +0000

Jennifer Anderson

Giving Up the American Dream

Lauren had a perfect course charted as she entered Grand Valley State University (GVSU).

“I’d study accounting, apply and get into the FBI, make lots of money, live the American Dream,” she recounted.

Lauren grew up in Metro Detroit with a good foundation. Her relationships with family and friends were strong, she was active in high school sports, and church was part of her life.

“I kind of knew who Christ was,” Lauren reflected, “but that was it.”

A few hours west of Detroit, Grand Valley, like most colleges, offers a plethora of lifestyle options. The only thing Lauren knew was that the party scene wasn't for her, but besides that, she didn't know what she wanted.

So, Lauren went through her freshman year somewhat adrift. Then, something changed unexpectedly through her close friend Sam, who at the time didn't know Jesus or the gospel.

A Surprising Turn

Early second semester, Sam sat in a dorm lounge when ��ñ�� students walked in.

"Hey, we use this room for a Bible study. Do you want to join us?" the students asked.

Surprisingly, Sam stayed for the entire Bible study.

“When you’re away at school, don’t know anybody, and meet a nice group of people who are welcoming—well, that’s rare. Sam clung to that,” Lauren said.

But Sam did have a few misgivings. She condfided to Lauren that though the students were nice, she didn't "understand the faith thing.”

Wanting Sam to feel comfortable, Lauren decided to go with her to the Bible study. This was just what Sam needed, and, ultimately, what Lauren needed too.

From that first Bible study and beyond, Lauren’s life became anchored with prayer, Bible study, spiritual disciplines, and mentoring from ��ñ�� GVSU Campus Staff Minister Betsy Hoisington.

“I was missing the whole relationship aspect that there is in Jesus, that Jesus is so personal, and he wanted to be my friend. Ever since I understood that, everything changed in my heart!”

Lauren continued to develop that personal relationship with Jesus throughout the rest of her time in college. She acknowledges that ��ñ�� gave her the tools and the disciplines to go deeper in her faith than she had ever gone before.

“I joined a Christian fellowship because of a non-Christian...and my life was transformed!” Lauren laughed at the irony of her faith journey (Don't worry—Sam became a believer two years later!) "When I started going to [��ñ��] Bible study and large group, I saw my wants and desires start to change. Instead of chasing after this unrealistic American dream we've kind of put together based on TV...that's totally missing the point for me. I started realizing that the true thing I wanted to bring into the world was Jesus...by sharing the gospel."

Parallel Service

The relationship with Jesus Lauren built while in college was crucial when her mother was diagnosed with and later passed away from leukemia. During her mom’s hospital treatments, Lauren spent hours with her while God revealed more of his plan for her life.

Being from a military famly, each day, a chaplain came to Lauren's mother's hospital room. Lauren saw that, like ��ñ�� staff ministers and students she met, chaplains were serving people in need.

This made Lauren realize that she too wanted to serve our country and serve people who needed it through becoming a military chaplain, taking all that ��ñ�� taught her. She took the next step upon her 2015 graduation from Grand Valley and enrolled in a Master of Divinity in Chaplaincy program at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio to become a military chaplain candidate.

“As a chaplain I’ll get to be mobile, meaning I get to go outside church walls and minster to people exactly where they’re at,” Lauren said.

Looking back now, Lauren knows God charted her course. No longer seeking the American Dream, she can see how the tide has turned.

“Today, my heart’s desire is to serve and love God’s people. Through this collegiate ministry, ��ñ��, God sent staff and student leaders to me when I needed them. I can’t wait to do this by serving in the US Navy.”

Every day, students like Lauren graduate college to go out an. You can be a part of equipping them to use their lives to serve the God that wants a deep, personal relationship with us by giving to ��ñ��. Give so that more students like Lauren can experience and share the real hope of Jesus by clicking the button below.

Donate to Bring Real Hope to Campus

News Keywords

American Dream

Grand Valley State University

Prime Time for Transformation

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 17:05:09 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

Prime Time for Transformation

Before he even knew that ��ñ�� existed, Derek DeKam knew he wanted a career that involved working with college students. “College to me was an amazing time of transformation: socially, mentally, obviously spiritually,” he said. “I love all of the changes that happen in those four years.”

Derek’s undergraduate years at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Michigan were exemplified by the title of one of his college papers: “My Search for Truth.” After trying church for two years in middle school, he stopped going amidst the confustion and frustration he experienced from not understanding the Bible and some critical comments from church leaders. But when he got to college, his hunger for knowing God resurfaced as he searched for answers to his questions about purpose and meaning.

At GVSU he started attending two different campus Bible studies that were not affiliated with any national ministries. His best friend joined him in his quest, and the more that he learned about Jesus the more he was captivated by the Christian faith. He also found professors who were willing to mentor him in the faith.

A week after graduation he entered graduate school at Western Michigan University (WMU) with the goal of becoming a college counselor. By then a friend had told him about ��ñ��, so he connected with the grad fellowship at WMU. ��ñ��’s Campus Staff Member at the time, Scott Erbe, discipled him. Derek learned how to study Scripture, be a small group leader, and share his faith. And that’s when he discovered what he really wanted to do.

He knew that, as an academic counselor he would be able to have a small influence on a large amount of students. But he would only be able to talk with them about Jesus if he worked on a Christian college campus. As an ��ñ�� staff worker, however, he would get to meet with students regularly and mentor them, just as he had been mentored. “That seemed to be a lot more compelling to me than influencing students by just seeing them a few times a year,” Derek said.

Today, ten years after coming on staff, Derek is the area director for west Michigan, overseeing staff at both GVSU and WMU, as well as five other campuses. He and his wife Alicia, also on staff, live close to the GVSU campus, and he still meets with students. Rather than spending all his time on administration, as he feared, he’s discovered that being an area director gives him wider influence, and opportunities to develop more students in Christian discipleship and leadership. “Impacting more students and more campuses was very appealing to me,” he said.

Working in Grand Rapids, which he calls a “highly churched area,” allows Derek to reach out to students who have a Christian faith background but haven’t developed a personal relationship with Jesus. “Cultural Christians, nominal Christians, are our biggest mission field,” he said. “[We don’t] assume these people that have gone to church here or there or maybe even weekly know Jesus.”

Every year, for the past seven to eight years, the students whom Derek has been working with have become more intentional about sharing their faith as a culture of risk-taking and faith-sharing has steadily taken hold and continued to grow. But creating that culture didn’t happen until Derek and some of his students became increasingly frustrated over their fruitless evangelism efforts.

As Derek and the students spent time in prayer and fasting, humbling themselves before God, they began to see things they had missed. “We were sharing the gospel but we weren’t really inviting people to respond,” he said. “We didn’t want to offend anyone so there was no clear invitation. And we weren’t expecting that God was powerful enough that they could respond.”

At the same time, they also developed a stronger prayer foundation. “When students are faithful in prayer and faithful in taking risks, and they see God work in powerful ways, it changes their expectations and helps them be more dependent on God, and more prayerful,” Derek said.

The area team’s goal is to have 300 students make decisions to follow Jesus over a three-year period. At an area retreat recently, they celebrated 109 decisions made during the first year!

“It’s exciting to see nominal Christians come to true faith, but it’s also exciting to see those come who know nothing about Jesus,” Derek said. That includes international students. Derek is thankful for volunteers from local churches who have developed deep relationships with these students who often come to the U.S. eager to learn about Jesus.

Derek has achieved what he wanted, a job that helps students discover what he discovered in college: answers to their questions about meaning and purpose in life.

News Keywords

Western Michigan University

Grand Valley State University