Campus Pastor Will Ride Across the U.S. to Promote Campus Ministry
Contact: Jon Jensen, 314-497-2400
ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 4, 2012 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Saturday, June 2, Kent Pierce of Columbia, Mo. set out from Anacortes, Wash. on a coast-to-coast bicycle trip. Pierce has a lifelong passion for cycling, and it has always been a dream of his to pedal across the country. But as a pastor serving the campus community at the University of Missouri, Pierce also plans to use the 3,500-mile trek to tell people about another passion: sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with college and university students.
"As a pastor," he says, "I can think of nothing more rewarding than sharing the redeeming love of Jesus Christ in the campus mission field--where maybe upwards of 80 percent of students are living some of their most formative years without a connection to the body of Christ." He wants to ignite the same kind of enthusiasm in as many churches and campus groups as he can.
Pierce knows from experience the kind of impact a Christian campus ministry can have. His own life was changed by his involvement with the Peace Lutheran Campus Center at the University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point.
"I went to Stevens Point to earn a degree in Resource Management," he says. "I'm not exactly sure why I decided to visit the Peace Campus Center. Prior to arriving at UWSP, I didn't even know campus ministries existed." After four years of active participation in the Lutheran campus ministry, however, Pierce decided that instead of pursuing a career in Resource Management, he would go to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri to train to be a pastor.
How will Pierce combine campus ministry with his bicycle odyssey? During his two-month-plus trip he will schedule stops in towns with congregations and campus groups--often to preach, sometimes just to get to know people in congregations and on campuses and to talk about the importance of Christian campus ministry.
"I call this 'pedaling with purpose,'" says Pierce.
The Lutheran Campus Mission Association (LCMA), also known as LCMS Campus Ministry, is a national agency whose mission is to "equip leaders to make disciples who make disciples on campus." LCMA is a Recognized Service Organization of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. To learn more, visit lcmscampusministry.org.
