“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
1 Corinthians 12:12
Going Wider
In 2019, Robert Knuth was called to start an RUF ministry at the University of Michigan, expanding RUF’s reach in the Midwest.
Robert likens being a Campus Minister to being a “perpetual church-planter.” Whether launching a new ministry or simply reconvening in the fall, Campus Ministers are continually vision-casting and ministering to a new group every year
“Campus ministry is fragile because once you train people up, they graduate and you replace them with brand-new 18-year-olds,” he shared.
At Michigan, the student group began to grow right away, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their momentum. Despite that interrupted start, students in Ann Arbor caught the vision, and the ministry continued to grow. Last year, 150 students participated in Large Groups, Small Groups, and 1-1s each week.
Now, six years later, not only have students stepped into leadership roles, but the team of ministry staff serving the students has grown, as well. This has provided Robert the opportunity to learn more about prioritization and how to run a healthy organization as his focus expanded to include not only ministering to students but his growing staff team as well.
Going Deeper
At RUF, we have a “fixed theology, flexible methodology” approach to ministry. We share the same beliefs and mission, but ministry may look different depending on the campus. At Staff Training, RUF ministry staff from around the world come together to learn this philosophy of ministry and encourage one another in this work.
Kevin Chen experienced RUF and its philosophy of ministry before he even realized it. While working at Grace Presbyterian Church under David Jones, the former Campus Minister at Stanford, Kevin witnessed David’s relational approach to ministry.
After spending his career at different churches, Kevin joined RUF last year as a second ordained minister at the University of Michigan. The relational, intentional approach to ministry and the energy of college students have changed him. ”They challenge me with energy and optimism. When the speed of college ministry gets tiring, seeing that God is at work is enough! One glimpse of glory is enough to motivate me.”
Sarah Warner, Campus Staff at Michigan, has a passion for international ministry. She joined the team in 2023 after doing a fellows program and church internship, and has found ways to live out her own calling in RUF.
“I love RUF and how we do ministry, and I feel so poured into. I know RUF and the Campus Staff Department care about my faith journey and my continuing education. I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now,” she reflected.
Sarah also loves being part of a team where everyone has defined roles; with Interns running things like late-night activities, she can give more attention to 1-1s, specifically with international students.
“I’ve been reading through the Bible with a student from China whom I met through our English conversation group,” she shared. “It’s so cool to see what stands out to her since she’s from a different culture. She’s especially amazed by God’s mercy.”
Second-year Intern Wilson Kasischke initially met Robert through a connection at his college church. When Wilson was deciding what to do after college and whether to pursue ministry, Robert encouraged him to try the RUF Internship.
“Everyone on staff has such a different personality, so we’re really able to balance each other out,” Wilson said. “We can all do ministry in our own lane and then come together regularly as well.”
As each member of the Michigan staff—Robert, Kevin, Monse, Sarah, Caroline, and Wilson — uses their own gifts to reach students, they are presenting a picture of the body of Christ. Please join us in prayer for the students and staff at the University of Michigan and RUF ministries around the world as we enter a new school year!
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”
1 Corinthians 12:14-20