Jason Leonard, Part 1: College Ministry
December 20, 2019
Although Jason Leonard never planned on a college ministry career, he’s become a seasoned mentor for students during his fourteen-plus years of work at The House. In this episode, Jason shares some of his insights as he and Adam delve into the world of college ministry.
Jason moved to Chattanooga from Seattle in 2005 to work for The House, a ministry for college students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As the Executive Director of this nonprofit, Jason not only tends to his “congregation” of students – he also works with the churches, foundations, and donors that fund The House. But fundraising isn’t Jason’s only challenge. In a ministry with a high turnover rate, Jason and his team have to be careful in how the steward their relationships with college kids while walking with them through some of life’s toughest moments.
Listen in to this episode to hear more about Jason’s story and the beginning of Adam and Jason’s discussion of technology and social media.
Jump Through the Conversation
[1:27] Who Jason is and how he ended up working at The House
[4:10] Jason’s plans vs God’s plans
[7:18] Running a nonprofit
[9:43] Challenges in communicating generosity to students
[12:43] Having the right perspective in a ministry with frequent turnover
[17:56] When students stick around
[19:46] Addressing anxiety, depression, and social media in college ministry
[23:54] Social media and the loss of intentionality
[26:49] Brené Brown/“crappy” first drafts
A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer