Intellectually Rigorous and Relationally Warm by Ethan Hightower Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Men Before coming to UVA to be the Campus Director for Cru, Jeff Simpson moved to St. Louis to pursue his Master of Divinity at Covenant Theological Seminary. Jeff had recently graduated from the University of Maryland, where God had deepened his knowledge of the gospel. “In college,” he recalls, “I realized that the gospel wasn’t just good news for other people who weren’t Christians yet. The gospel was changing me as a Christian in real time.” Now he was ready to explore even deeper depths of theology, and Covenant became the soil in which God nurtured and pruned his faith in preparation for ministry. “Covenant taught me that people who do ministry need to be experiencing the gospel for themselves and need to embrace their own limitations and brokenness.” Jeff also benefited from the rich legacy that Francis Schaeffer and L’Abri left on Covenant Theological Seminary, a place that was both “intellectually rigorous and relationally warm.” Jeff soon learned about the Center for Christian Study – an institution also greatly influenced by Schaeffer and L’Abri – from his fellow classmates at Covenant. “Intellectually rigorous and relationally warm” kept popping up as characteristics in his classmates’ descriptions of the Study Center. It became clear that God was showing Jeff that the gospel is good news to Christians and non-Christians alike, and that creating spaces that are intellectually rigorous and relationally warm is an effective way to demonstrate those gospel truths.
Jeff graduated from seminary and planned for a job as campus director. The passion and preparation was there; he now only needed a place to serve. “I was offered two jobs,” Jeff says. “One in New York City as a part of Cru’s metro team and one as the campus director of Cru at UVA.” The New York job seemed like a great opportunity, but two things stood out to Jeff about the UVA position. “When I was offered the job at UVA, I was initially excited about it, not only because UVA is a great institution, but also because I knew about the Center for Christian Study. PAG E 6 | T H E ST U DY C E N T E R FA L L 20 20
Being at a place with a study center was very attractive to me, because I knew that there would be many opportunities to collaborate and get to know campus ministers.” So did the Study Center live up to that reputation? “The Study Center definitely lived up to the hype in more ways than one,” Jeff laughs. “When people ask how ministry at UVA is going, the Study Center is normally one of the first things I mention. I’ve really enjoyed and benefited from the relational connection that happens not just day to day but every third Monday in the Grounds Ministry Meetings, where the Christian community here can connect and pray together.” Jeff also mentioned the fall 2019 C.S. Lewis play starring Max McLean and the spring 2020 Veritas Forum webinar as examples of the type of events that all Grounds ministers would love to organize but don’t have the resources or time to pull off. “Because the Study Center organized those events, all we had to do was invite students to come.”
“I could tell pretty early on that this is a very unique and special place to do ministry.”
Cru is one of three ministries at UVA that rents an office in our building. Jeff reflected on how this location makes for a great “headquarters to have more confidential conversations with students that can’t happen in a coffee shop or the student union.” The Study Center is a hub for the Christian community at UVA, and being able to house these Grounds ministries here is a blessing. Jeff quickly sensed the supportive community among fellowships here at UVA. “Even though I’m the new guy, I feel very welcomed as a part of this team. I could tell pretty early on that this is a very unique and special place to do ministry.” I can say as a member of that team that it hasn’t been difficult to welcome Jeff. His love for the gospel is inspiring, and his partnership with us in the gospel has been refreshing as we strive to make both the Study Center and the larger Christian community at UVA intellectually rigorous and relationally warm.
