the chaplain’s corner · the chaplain’s corner greetings to all of our alum-ni, current...
TRANSCRIPT
Vol. 1, Issue 6
The Chaplain’s Corner
Greetings to all of our alum-
ni, current students, faculty
& staff of VWU and friends
of Marlin Ministries!
Have you ever read and then
reread this Bible
verse? “Do not be afraid,
little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you
the kingdom” ( Luke
12:32). These simple, yet
profound words of Jesus lift
me when I let them soak
in! In just 17 words, we see
the heart of God towards us, and we have a choice, do we
trust Jesus about the character of the Father? Or do we al-
low our circumstances to shape what we think of God’s
character? We are tempted to ‘think wrongly’ about God in
so many ways, and if we buy into a false view, it will lead
us down wrong roads. You are loved, God desires fellow-
ship with you and to give you the kingdom. “The Kingdom
of God” is the rule and reign of God within us! E. Stanley
Jones says that the Kingdom of God is God’s total answer
to humanity’s total need! Draw near. Draw near to know
the love of God in Christ for you and draw near because
there is a higher calling on your life. The world is starving
for people of the Kingdom, women and men walking in the
Spirit with the rivers of living water flowing forth to bless
others. G.K. Chesterton, the bril-
liant British author wrote: “The
Christian ideal has not been tried
and found wanting. It has been
found difficult; and left un-
tried.” Let’s not be among those,
but rather let’s live out the grace &
truth that Jesus demonstrated and
taught!
Graduation has just past and Marlin
Ministries has sent out a few dozen
graduates to be world changers for
Christ! At our Senior Chapel, we
honored them and gave them some
treats, including a packet of seeds (mostly watermelons),
representing the seeds of truth, love and service that they
have planted here.
We launched into the semester with two new leaders in our
Boyd Fellows program, Jason Brugman and Justin Rob-
ins. Emily Testroet, who served in this role for a year and a
half, was doing her student teaching this semester. Of
course Jason and Justin were already active leaders within
Marlin Ministries, but they took on this new, more demand-
ing role of working closely with me to serve Christ and the
campus! They have brought a ton of energy, gifts, organi-
zation and even people into the ministry!
After successful ‘Soul Groups’ in the Fall semester with
our Lead Team, we began 6 ‘Soul Groups’ this spring. We
have an article that shares the story within this newsletter.
Our spring break mission trip to Puerto Rico was a fantastic
experience for all 13 of us. There is an article in this news-
letter that details the trip. For me it was especially good as
my oldest son, Josiah was able to go and serve with us.
I hope you enjoy the Marlin Ministries Newsletter! A very
special thanks to Ashley Kline ’19 who has been the brains
and muscle behind the MM Newsletter for 3 years. She
came in as a graduate to help pull this one together!
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Greg West
Photo by: Regan Kirwin
BY GREG WEST
In the fall semester 2018, ‘soul
groups’ were launched within our
Marlin Ministry Lead Team. We had
three groups of three students each.
The agenda for these gatherings was
to answer the question, “How is it
with your soul?” These weren’t Bible
studies; however, the Bible was cer-
tainly used! “What’s going on at the
intersection of God and your life?”
It’s a chance to celebrate together and
a chance to get honest about our strug-
gles. The atmosphere is always grace
and truth with the welcome to God‘s
Holy Spirit to guide and provide
whatever is needed!
These groups are of course modeled
after the Class Meetings that the early
Methodists required. We Methodists
have a stunning theology of how God
reaches out to each of us with His
love and correction; and we have an
incredibly high view of how God can
transform us in this life, more and
more towards Christ-likeness! Preve-
nient Grace and Christian Perfection!
The positive experiences that our
student leaders had in these ‘soul
groups’ led us to the decision to
launch more groups for more students
in the spring of 2019. Jason Brugman
and Justin Robins, who were instru-
mental in making this a success, serve
as interns with Chaplain Greg West.
They helped launch six ‘soul groups’
with a total of 24 students participat-
ing. The training for group leaders
included instruction on how to create
an atmosphere of grace and truth, nav-
igate when students are in crisis, step
in when someone dominates the
group, ensure confidentiality is held,
and pray for the group.
It is very clear that deep relation-
ships are formed in these groups and
that following Christ in community
has tremendous benefits! It is a signif-
icant commitment though, and not
everyone was ready to follow through
with this, yet others joined mid-
semester. One of the groups never
really got off the ground. However,
another group was so successful that
two groups formed out of it. Disciple-
ship is a journey, and a costly one at
that; but Jesus commanded it, and he
knows what’s best for us!
Justin Robins, a founder of the soul
group initiative and group leader said,
“I have found, being a primary leader
in one of these groups, that they help
people be more genuine and vulnera-
ble with other people and with God.
So often in this world we think of
‘confession’ as a scary word that we
should be afraid of, when in reality it
is just another spiritual discipline that
we can use to reorient ourselves to
God. I've seen confessions of broken-
ness as a beautiful, transformative
experience in my soul group. Accept-
ing that we are broken and sharing
where we fall short is a main purpose
of these groups.”
There are numerous other groups
that gather on a weekly basis at Vir-
ginia Wesleyan University. Our pray-
er team grew from 5 students to more
than 15 by the end of this spring se-
mester!
In all of our groups we make room
for those who do not yet believe in
Christ. Young people especially need
places to ask the difficult and chal-
lenging questions of life, of the Bible
and of God! We praise God that we
have seen many receive Jesus as Sav-
ior and Lord here on campus! Ashley
Kline is one of those students. She
trusted in Christ for salvation during
her freshman year and was very active
with Marlin Ministries throughout her
time at VWU. She graduated this
May and is off to Asbury Theological
Seminary this fall, pursuing an M.A.
in Biblical Studies!
We want to make Jesus known,
loved and obeyed so we seek to
spread scriptural holiness across our
campus and land! Remember, Jesus
didn’t start a mega church, he started
a mini church. A small group of the
12 disciples and the women who are
always with him. For the first 100
years of our Methodist movement,
small groups (class meetings) were
required of all! Small groups are the
method of Jesus and the method of the
Methodists!
How is it with your soul? Lake Gaston
BY DIANA JONES
A poem documenting one stu-
dent’s experience on the Wild
Team’s annual retreat to Lake
Gaston
It was a weekend where we disconnected to
connect.
We bonded over stories, adventure, and the
stars.
By ourselves or with one another we had time to
reflect.
Sang songs while Justin and Gavin played their
guitars.
It’s a weekend filled with laughter and tears.
Tried new things, with new people, in a new
place.
Memories that I will cherish for many years.
To be free to worry with only Jesus to embrace.
I still wonder what was going through some
people’s head,
When they jumped in the freezing cold lake
water.
The nights where I wanted to stay up and not go
to bed.
And some advice for next time is to bring a fly
swatter.
Regardless, friendships were made that are for-
ever unbreakable,
And our faith forever more unshakable.
A team of 13 students, faculty, staff, and alumni from Vir-
ginia Wesleyan traveled to Puerto Rico during Spring Break
2019 on a mission to help with hurricane recovery efforts.
The mission, organized by Marlin Ministries, was the sev-
enth mission trip to Latin America led by VWU’s Chaplain
Greg West. West partnered with the United Methodist Com-
mittee on Relief (UMCOR), the humanitarian relief and de-
velopment arm of the Church, to plan the undertaking.
The student missionaries, Adwoa Ankomah-Asiedu, Jason
Brugman, Jacklyn Cheely, Sydney Collins, Destiny Kinka,
Justin Lee, Faith Macwana, Tori Steele and Victoria Zuppa
were enrolled in a one-credit Humanities course (HUM
201) that provided them with actual opportunities to travel
and assist in the rebuilding of homes for families displaced
by the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Alumnus Jim Hickling '95, a building contractor, Associ-
ate Professor of Biology Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson and
Chaplain West’s son, Josiah, were also a part of the VWU
mission team.
While in Puerto Rico the team stayed at one of five camps
supported by the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico in Areci-
bo, a town on the northern coast of the island. The Church
continually hosts volunteers willing to give of their time and
energy to improve communities left almost unrecognizable
nearly a year and a half ago.
“It’s amazing that the Church is taking on this initiative,”
said West. “Because of this, groups from all around the
country have been pitching in to help with relief efforts. As
we were arriving, we met a team from New York who had
just completed a project and as we were departing, a team
from Minnesota was just arriving to assist in rebuilding
homes and helping families.”
Sydney Collins ’22 said that prior to this trip, she had no
experience with mission work and limited construction
skills, so she did not have lofty expectations. She wasn’t
sure what she had to offer; however, she was determined to
“let go and let God show her and teach her.” She said what
she loved about being in Puerto Rico on this mission was
that people were willing to give so much with no expecta-
tion of getting something in return.
“I had a moment in Puerto Rico that hit me hard,” said
Collins. “God took the opportunity to show me that you
don't have to have it all in order to give your all.”
And give their all they did. From power washing floors
and building doors to painting walls and constructing roofs,
the Virginia Wesleyan team divided into two groups to help
two families repair and rebuild their hurricane-ravaged
homes. They got to know the families and their neighbors
which made the mission even more personal and memora-
ble.
"I'm always impressed that though those we are helping
have a lot less materially than we do, generally, they are
more joyful and extremely grateful,” said West. "Our next
mission trip will be during Spring Break 2020; however, if
those in our community have a heart for serving others, they
don't have to wait until then. Little mission teams can hap-
pen all over the place; just look for opportunities to help
others.”
GIVING THEIR ALL: Associate Professor of Biology Deirdre
Gonsalves-Jackson (right) works alongside students to re-
build a home damaged by Hurricane Maria nearly a year and
a half ago.
MARLIN MISSIONARIES: A Marlin Ministries team traveled to
Aricebo, Puerto Rico during Spring Break 2019 on a mission
to assist with hurricane recovery efforts.
Spring Break Mission Trip: Puerto Rico! BY LAYNEE TIMLIN
Studying Abroad in Jordan
Calling 21 BY ASHLEY KLINE
Calling 21 is a program
through the Virginia Con-
ference of the United Meth-
odist Church that provides
those called to ministry with
internships at local church-
es. Justin Robins from Vir-
ginia Wesleyan University
will be participating in Call-
ing 21 this summer.
Robins has been assigned
to serve at Cave Springs
United Methodist Church in
Roanoke, VA. Robins, an
aspiring seminarian, says
that through Calling 21 he
hopes to get a glimpse into
the daily life of a pastor in
the United Methodist
Church. During his intern-
ship, he aspires to gain ex-
perience preaching and par-
ticipating in church meet-
ings.
My name is James Harrod,
and I just finished my first
year at Virginia Wesleyan.
This past year Marlin Minis-
tries has helped me grow
closer to Christ.
Initially I very nervous to
do anything religious. I had
not been raised in a church
setting and was scared of
being judged.
Instead of being judged for
my lack of knowledge, in
Marlin Ministries I was sup-
ported and given the
knowledge I needed to go
deeper in my faith.
I went from being nervous
to being involved in a group
of some sort every day of the
week. The friendships I
formed allowed me to cele-
brate the good times and deal
with the bad times during the
journey that was my first
year of college.
In Marlin Ministries, I
found a family that is uncon-
ditionally supportive and
helps me learn what being a
Christian actually means.
Hello from James
BY JAMES HARROD
Studying abroad in Jordan al-
lowed me the opportunity to grow
as a person and develop further
confidence in my career choice. I
decided a long time ago to pursue
Social Entrepreneurship. During my
time in Jordan, I explored issues of
city planning, social, and communi-
ty development, trickle down ef-
fects of international decisions such
as economic disarray, along with
difficulties in the cultivation of na-
tional identity and peace. This
helped me develop a broader frame-
work for my desired work in Social
Entrepreneurship. One of the oppor-
tunities my internship experience
afforded me was attending the con-
ference on Economic Freedom in
the Arab world. During this conference, I listened to recom-
mendations of efforts to encourage economic growth in the
Arab world. One of the speakers was a woman from Algeria
who spoke on Social Innovation in her country. She spoke
about economic growth and social development through
building relationships between civil
society and small business. This is the
work I have told myself I wanted to
do for a long time. It was encouraging
to see someone doing this work, espe-
cially at a time in which I felt unsure
as to whether my career goals were to
idealistic. This inspired me to obtain
her contact information and investi-
gate graduate programs specifically
for my career in Social Entrepreneur-
ship/Innovation.
The most important takeaways from
my experiences were:
Look at issues holistically. We
must look at the larger picture of the
causes of our issues and their effects
to truly see change in the world
Inner Peace. From the individual
to the nation to the sovereign state,
peace is necessary at all levels if we
wish to create a peaceful society.
People aren’t all that scary.
We fight more battles in our mind than in reality.
These experiences have made me more confident, excited
and open about life and my academic future.
BY SELENA CHAMBERS
Post college seems to be the start of
a new life. When people picture life
after college, they imagine starting
graduate school or already having a
career set up after graduation. How-
ever, not all graduates face this reali-
ty. I am a graduate from Virginia
Wesleyan University, class of 2018.
The journey after graduating at first
seemed fun and exciting.
There seemed to be
endless opportuni-
ties and also
some uncer-
tainties. I
was a Biol-
ogy major
with a
concen-
tration
in pre-
medical
studies.
My first
goal
was to
relax and
go on a
vacation as
a reward for
all of the hard
work during
my undergrad.
Afterwards, I
planned my steps to go to
medical school. I knew I wanted to
prepare myself for a gap year. It
seemed to be the right avenue to con-
sider. I decided to try searching for a
part-time job, that way I would have
enough time to study for the Medical
College Admissions Test (MCAT). It
seemed like a very well thought out
plan, except for the obstacles that
came rolling along. The jobs I would
apply for, I would either have too
much of a skill set or too little. I had
3 jobs respond after applying to 20+
jobs. I did not accept their offers,
because the jobs required more than I
could give. I never have been the type
of person to accept a job when I can
only put in half the effort. Since the
search did not go nearly as well as I
would have hoped, I decided to try
online jobs. Those did not work out
so well either at the time. Eventually,
I decided to start tutoring children in
my neighborhood to earn money. It
was fun, but not the best pay.
Therefore, I had to do the very thing
I promised myself I would not
do, which was to seek help
from my family. It was
hard. Although all of
these obstacles
seemed to get in
the way, my faith
in God strength-
ened me through
it all. I had to
realize that I
needed to be
patient.
I am still pursu-
ing a career in
medicine, hope-
fully as a pedia-
trician. I have
taken the MCAT,
and I am finishing
up my application for
the Eastern Virginia
Medical School Master’s
Program. It has been a long
journey, and I am hoping that I
will start school in the fall. I would
not say my path after graduation was
simple.
However, I believe there were some
things that I could not necessarily
prepare for. Life does not always go
as you plan and it is important to fo-
cus on your mental and physical
health instead of solely on the steps it
takes to reach your goals. I realized I
needed to do lots of networking and
communicating with others in my
field. That alone has been a wonder-
ful experience and has only strength-
ened my focus and my vision.
BY ASHANTIANA JACKSON
First year post-VWU
Forrest Teague '16
was our guest speak-
er for 'Soar on the
Beach' our last gath-
ering of the spring
semester. God had
bigger plans than we
could have forseen
as a group of 5
young men joined
our time of wor-
ship. One was cele-
brating his 21st
birthday and it's fair
to say they had been
drinking a fair
amount of beer to
celebrate. However,
the Lord pulled them
in and they partici-
pated in the conver-
sation around For-
rest's teaching. They
sang with us and two
of them shared about
their own broken-
ness. We laid our
hands on the young
man celebrating his
birthday and had a
powerful time of
prayer. It was sup-
posed to be a wor-
ship gathering and it
turned into a power-
ful time of outreach
and worship!
Forrest and Emi-
lee Teague '18 are
moving to northern
Virginia. Forrest
has been serving as a
Campus Minister at
Christopher Newport
University. He will
begin serving as the
associ-
ate Pastor at St. Ste-
phens United Meth-
odist Church in
Burke. Emilee will
continue work as a
para-legal in north-
ern Virginia.
Forrest Teague ‘16 BY GREG WEST
Oh baby George and Emily Scott welcome
Nathaniel Isaiah Scott, born
March 3, 2019.
Emily Testroet
B.A. in Comprehensive Liberal Studies, Curricular Emphasis
Emily is considering taking a position at Saint Patrick Catholic School.
“Don’t strive for perfection or performance, just whole-hearted obedience.” - Emily Testroet
Hannah Weber
B.A. Religious Studies with a minor in Psychology
This summer Hannah will move home to Richmond and care for a girl with Down Syndrome. She’ll then begin applying for other positions where she can serve adults and/or children with special needs.
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.” - C.S. Lewis
Ashley Anne Kline
B.A. in Religious Studies and Psychology
Ashley will begin graduate studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, located in Wilmore,
KY, this fall in pursuit of a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies.
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” - Philippians 1:3
Jonathan Joyner
B.A. in Psychology with a double minor in Business and History
Jonathan will take a break from school to work and see the world. He is considering going to graduate school in a year or two.
“No matter where or how far you go, know that family is always with you.” - Jonathan Joyner
Sending off our seniors Join us as we congratulate the class of 2019 and pray for their success post-graduation.
Featured are a few of our spectacular seniors who have served Marlin Ministries at VWU.