We are thrilled to welcome these new campus ministers– some new to our staff and some on new campuses! Please pray for them as they begin their ministries and continue God’s work through RUF around the nation.
SKYLAR ADAMS, EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSIty
Skylar is from Clayton and went to Appalachian State, where he met his wife, Dori, also a North Carolina native. After graduation in 2010, Skylar worked as a policy advisor for the North Carolina Senate before discerning a call to pastoral ministry. That call led the Adamses to Dallas and then Saint Louis where Skylar earned his Masters of Divinity at Covenant Seminary in 2018. He most recently served as an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Thomasville, Georgia. The Adamses have two girls: Eleanor and Anna. Together, they enjoy good tacos, dance parties to Drew & Ellie Holcomb, and family walks. Skylar also loves golf and ACC sports.
David Barnes, University of Missouri
David was born in St. Louis, MO and grew up in a nominally Christian home. He was introduced to the Christian faith and baptized when I was 7 years old, but his faith dwindled until I got to college. During his time at Mizzou the Lord powerfully called him back to Himself! With the encouragement of mentors, he applied to Covenant Theological Seminary to pursue my Master of Divinity (M.Div). In January 2015 he started attending Covenant, and then started volunteering with the youth at Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO. It was through this youth group that he met his lovely wife, Emily! He graduated from Covenant Seminary in December 2018, and moved to Prattville, AL to be the Assistant Pastor of Youth & Families at First Presbyterian Church. While in Alabama, David and Emily had their first son – David Allen Barnes II and are expecting our second (Michael Ryan) in September 2021!
Cam Brown, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Cam Brown grew up in Tampa, FL where he developed a love for basketball and board games. He attended undergrad at the University of Virginia, where he became involved in RUF and began to sense a call on his life to pursue ministry. In college, RUF was a place where he grew a deeper understanding of his faith and deeper love for Christ and his Church. After graduating with a dual degree in Economics and Religious Studies, Cam did the RUF internship at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. This time further confirmed his call to ministry and his particular love for college ministry. After the internship, he moved to St Louis to attend Covenant Seminary. At seminary, he met his wife Ray and they got married in the Summer of 2020. He graduated with an MDiv in May 2021 and is excited to be back with RUF doing college ministry in Madison. Cam loves EPL Soccer, playing basketball and volleyball, playing any board games, reading fantasy books, and finding a good deal.
Ethan Brown, University of Illinois
Ethan was born and raised in South Florida and attended the University of Florida, where he met his wife Amanda. Following graduation, he served as an RUF intern at Duke University. In 2018, the Browns moved to Charlotte, NC where Ethan attended Reformed Theological Seminary. In 2021, the Browns moved to Champaign-Urbana to begin working with RUF at Illinois. Ethan is excited to get to know students and to help them get to know King Jesus. The Browns have a son, Judah, and daughter, Ellis. Ethan loves to drink craft coffee, read a good book, watch Netflix, and play just about any sport with a round ball.
Jonathan Cook, Erskine College
Jonathan graduated Erskine College in 2007 and then attended Covenant Seminary. He and his wife Jodie spent 9 years in Omaha, Nebraska where Jonathan did youth ministry at a PCA church and then started a church planting effort for 2 years. The Cooks have 4 kids; Jack, Henry, Maxine, and Madison.They’re excited to help students feel at home at Erskine, RUF, and in Due West. Go Flying Fleet!
Iain Coston, Gotham Student Movement/Hunter/Fordham
Iaian is so glad to be in NYC, helping students love their campuses and city. RUF Gotham gathers to experience the grace of Jesus to pursue the flourishing of the schools and city. On top of that they have fun, explore the city, and encourage each other to spread the Kingdom of God.
Jordan Griesbeck, University of Texas – Austin
Jordan was born and raised in Memphis, TN. He began attending RUF his freshman year of college, and has learned from many wonderful campus ministers how to love God, his rich grace, and the good world he has made. After graduating from Ole Miss, Jordan worked as an RUF intern at the University of Virginia. He then went on to earn an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary–where more importantly, he met his wife, Emily (who was earning a MA in Counseling). Together, they moved to Austin, Texas, where Jordan worked in youth ministry for four years, before taking over at UT. Emily is from Dallas and graduated from Texas in 2011. Together, they have two kids, Sam and Georgia. Jordan loves to play golf, travel, watch sports, and eat his way around Austin.
Graham Guo, University of Delaware RUF-I
Born and raised in China, Graham put his faith in Christ when he was a sophomore in college. Driven by a desire to grow his faith and his knowledge in Christ, Graham went to Jackson, Mississippi to pursue a Master of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary in 2017. During the four years in Jackson, Graham was a pastoral intern at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church. Graham is excited to serve the international friends at the University of Delaware. Graham met his best friend Emily while she was serving in China. They got married in 2017, and they are blessed with two wonderful children, Caleb and Abigail. The Guos love hanging out with friends and learning about new cultures, and their long-term plan is to return to East Asia to equip the brothers and sisters there to better serve the Lord.
Mike Hernberg, Northwestern University RUF-I
Mike Hernberg was raised in the Boston, Massachusetts area and is a life-long Boston Red Sox fan. He has lived in Boston, Rochester, NY, Southern California and has resided in Wheaton, IL since 2013. He is married to Kathy and they share six children and five grandchildren. Mike recently graduated from Wheaton College with an MA in Evangelism and Leadership. He also has an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester and received his BA in Economics from Bucknell University. He has over 20 years of campus ministry experience. He is a Certified Financial Planner® and has over twenty years of experience in finance and quantitative analysis in financial services and the profit and non-profit sectors.
Cody Janicek, Montana State University
Originally from Austin, TX, Cody attended Texas A&M University, where he met his wife, Katy, through RUF. Following graduation in 2009, Cody attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC while Katy did the RUF internship at Johnson & Wales University. Cody received his M.Div in 2013 and was called to start RUF-Global in Prague, Czech Republic. He and his family were there for seven years ministering to students at four different universities.
Cody and Katy have 3 children: Milo, Ollie, and Jonah. As a family, they enjoy camping, hiking, having people over for a good meal and conversation, and college football.
James Jardin, Western Kentucky University
James was born in Italy as the son of a career Air Force officer. He first attended University of West Florida for two years and then finished the last two years and graduated from Valdosta State University where he received a degree in Music (vocal performance) and met his lovely wife, Leah. James and Leah married in July 2004 and have three sons, Solomon, Micaiah (twins born 2011), and Boaz (born 2014). James graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in May 2015. Coming from working as a youth minister since 2015 and transitioning to the university setting, James and Leah are so excited that God has called them to Western Kentucky University to share the love of God through King Jesus with the students there.
Jeff Juo, Queens College, CUNY-NYC
Jeff is husband to Jamie and dad to Isaiah Calvin (born in January of 2020). Born and raised in Queens, New York, he left temporarily to do undergraduate studies in Baltimore, Maryland, but couldn’t stay away from his hometown in New York City, so he moved back post-graduation. Jeff has worked in various settings in the chemicals industry, including as a research scientist and a quality control chemist for a cosmetics manufacturing company. Previously, he was a ministry leader and worship leader at Christian Testimony Church in Elmhurst. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Chemistry and Stony Brook University with an M.S. in Chemistry. He’ll be graduating from Reformed Theological Seminary, New York City with an M.A. in Biblical Studies. Jeff lives and dies with his New York Knicks and Giants. He loves going to restaurants in Queens, talking about different cuts of beef, and playing basketball. Jeff and Jamie are excited about meeting and loving the college students here at Queens College and exploring the wonderful borough of Queens together. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.
Brock Larson, North Dakota State University
Brock is a Fargo native and an NDSU alumnus. He has been married to his wife Katie since 2016. After graduating from NDSU, Brock taught both elementary and middle school. Following his teaching career, Brock and Katie moved to North Carolina to attend school at Reformed Theological Seminary. In 2021, the Larsons move back to Fargo to begin working with RUF at NDSU. In his free time he enjoys reading and any sports involving a ball or a board.
Jacob Lee, College of Charleston
Jacob was born in Philadelphia (Trust the Process) and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia and then worked for RUF at VCU. For three years he worked with students at VCU and developed a love for relational ministry. During this time, he met his beautiful wife Allison. They were married for his last year of RUF in Richmond and moved to St. Louis to begin at Covenant Seminary. Allison worked as a Physical Education Teacher in the city of St. Louis and helped to support Jacob as he attended school. Five years later, they have three children: Hewitt (3), Annie Drew (1) and Salem (1 month); and are thrilled to begin work with RUF at the College of Charleston. Allison and Jacob love to cook and eat food and can’t wait to share this passion with college students at CofC. They also are excited to revive their long last passion for beach volleyball and other sports around the college campus.
Aldo Mondin, University of South Florida
Aldo graduated from the University of North Florida in 2015 and attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Abby, were involved in RUF in college and have loved it ever since. They have one son: Winston, who always fills their home with laughter. Aldo enjoys reading, cycling, and watching his beloved soccer team: Liverpool FC. Aldo joined RUF in 2019 and is excited to be the campus minister at USF!
Ed Ovalle, University of Texas – El Paso
Having attended both UTEP and EPCC (El Paso Community College) Ed loves these campuses and the community of college students that make it. He grew up in El Paso, Texas and loves this city and its people and landscapes. It was in late 2014 when he came to know Christ and since then growing in Him and the gospel of grace has been an ongoing journey he never thought he would have experienced. Ed has a passion for the gospel being reached out to college students and loves seeing what the Lord is doing both at UTEP and EPCC. He is currently engaged to his fiancé Ana and will be starting classes at Covenant Theological Seminary the summer of 2022.
Chris Peter, Millersville University
Chris grew up in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC, in a wonderful family and church where he heard and believed the Gospel from an early age. While in college at Virginia Tech, he got connected to the ministry of RUF, where he found an amazing community and grew greatly in his faith in Christ. After graduating in 2015, he served for 2 years as an intern with RUF at NC State. He then went on to get his Masters of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, from 2017-2021, working with RUF at Winthrop University during his time there. While in seminary, he met Kelsey (originally from Hickory, NC, and a graduate of Western Carolina University) at an RUF training, and after she finished her RUF internship at the University of Vermont, they got married in 2019. Chris is incredibly thankful to have the job of pouring the truth of the Gospel into college students’ lives. Chris and Kelsey love college students and are so excited to welcome the students of Millersville into their lives and home!
Gary Purdy, Birmingham Southern University
Gary is a long-time Campus Minister and Church Planter. Previously, he served at SMU, Baylor, and UGA. He holds a Masters in Theology and DM in in Communication. He and his wife, Marilyn love college students and live just a few minutes from campus!
Originally from Huntsville, AL, Davis graduated from Mississippi State in 2011. After college, he moved to Memphis, TN and met his wife, Valerye (also a graduate of MSU). After being in Memphis for three years, they eventually moved to Saint Louis, MO in 2016 for Davis to pursue his Mdiv and counseling degrees. While in Saint Louis, they had two children, Wynn (born 2019) and Darby (born 2021). Davis and Val are excited to officially be Texans! They enjoy hanging outside with their kids and dog, Leo, as well playing games at their house, watching MSU sports, and cooking good food!
Wilson Van Hooser, Oklahoma State University
Wilson is from Montgomery, Alabama and is the middle child of three boys. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he played football. He graduated from Tulane in 2013 and transferred to play his last football season at Troy University in the Fall of 2013. In 2014, he had the opportunity to play for four months with the New England Patriots and another four months with the Boston Brawlers. It was during this time that he sensed more of the call to ministry. In 2015, he married Grace and they moved to the Boston area to go to seminary at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Grace also went to Tulane In 2016, they decided to transfer to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi where he graduated in December 2020. For four and a half years, Wilson was the Director of Youth Ministry at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in the Jackson area. They have a one year old son named Knox. The Van Hoosers love food, Premier League soccer (Go Manchester City!), college and pro football, board games, large dogs, and whatever is on Netflix.