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Among the many reasons I feel deep affinity for my work at Grove City College – including students, colleagues, institutional mission, and the spaces in which I am blessed to operate with students and staff alike – is the knowledge that I am co-laboring with brothers and sisters for purposes much greater than I can see with human eyes or fully understand with finite comprehension. The work in which we are all engaged is ultimately done in service to the Kingdom of God and is itself an act of worship to the risen King Jesus. Working in an environment where this truth is realized and celebrated leads to joy beyond words and fulfillment beyond riches.
When our committee – comprised of members Eric Fehr, Lindsay Luciano, Tori Wright, and myself – commenced the planning of the ACSD Western Pennsylvania Drive-In Conference last summer, we quickly discerned that a focus on the Kingdom of God was imperative. The central theme of Christ’s earthly mission was the Kingdom, and the epistles of the New Testament were instructive to the Church, both past and present, on living in alignment with the principles that undergird its foundation. We believed that the Kingdom, and operating from a vision inspired by it, was the unifying theme around which dozens of student affairs professionals could rally. For us, a Kingdom Vision is comprised of these equally valuable elements: Purpose, Place, and Posture. To live faithfully in the Kingdom, we must understand each of them.
- Purpose: What has the Lord called us, both individually and corporately, to do in this small corner of his Kingdom known as higher education?
- Place: What must we know about this moment in history, and the places in which we work, to serve faithfully right now?
- Posture: What is the right posture of our hearts, minds, and spirits to lead, serve, and love those entrusted to our care?
Our earnest prayer was that those who attended this event would be poured into and encouraged in ways that would empower them to continue serving their institutions and students in faithfulness and with excellence. That vision illuminated every step of our planning, from setting the speaker lineup, to partnering with sponsors, to enlisting the help of many talented individuals at Grove City College and beyond to prepare the way for the drive-in. Above all, though, we understood it would be by God’s grace alone that this effort would accomplish the ends for which it was intended, chief among them was the exaltation of the Lord Jesus, in whose name we would gather.
By the time registration closed the week before the event, we were anticipating 135 guests from throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Western New York would be attending the drive-in. Our aspirations were at their highest, as were our anxieties, as the morning of the event dawned. Our team arrived on campus as the sun was making its first appearance of the day. From the moment we stepped foot into Rathburn Hall, it was evident that the King was with us. As our guests arrived, the atmosphere felt more like a reunion than a regional conference. Friends, both old and new, were joined together for a day of dialogue and development, fellowship and food, shared experience and professional enrichment.
Our plenaries were centered on our three pillars of Kingdom Vision. Dr. Seulgi Byun, Chair of the Biblical and Theological Studies program at Grove City College, used the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) to speak on the topic of purpose. Dr. Byun instructed us to consider the inherent value of the seed the Sower is casting on the ground. Each of us carries these valuable seeds – the gospel – and our purpose is to cast it on whatever ground we find ourselves. Our second plenary was led by Dr. Zach Mills, Senior Data Analyst at Johns Hopkins University, and Scholarship Chair for ACSD. Dr. Mills used Dr. Steve Garber’s text, “The Fabric of Faithfulness,” to inspire us to faithfully serve the places we are positioned by formulating a worldview, finding a mentor, and leaning into community. Our day concluded with Dr. Kris Hansen-Kieffer, Executive Director of Community Wellness and Fitness Initiatives at Messiah University, who used the medicinal impacts of physical posture to illustrate the necessity of the correct heart posture to live out the Kingdom Vision to which we are called.
Between our plenaries were outstanding workshops on topics including belonging, Life Design, collaboration between campus offices, and curating the student experience through Christ-like hospitality. All our speakers challenged and inspired us to connect our daily work to understanding our purpose, knowing our place, and assuming the right posture, all in the name of faithful service to the King and His Kingdom. Words fail to do justice to the blessing they were to us.
As the day came to an end, and the adrenaline gave way to fatigue, we sat back and saw what the Lord had done in our midst. In every conceivable way, our experience outperformed our loftiest of expectations. What gave us the greatest joy was simply being together with our colleagues for the experience. Anecdotally through conversation, and quantitatively through our post-event survey, our attendees reported that they shared in that same joy. Looking back, it is plain to see that the Lord, who is ever faithful, was guiding our efforts from the beginning. And it is due to His grace that we experienced such goodness in our gathering.
Soli Deo gloria.
