Copy
View this email in your browser
Please take a few minutes to watch this message from Jesse, or if you would prefer, the transcript is located below the video for you to read. 
We thank you for all of your support and look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.
An Important Message from Jesse Warren, our campus minister.

Thank you for taking the time to watch.

Below is a transcript of the message in the video above:

Hello A4C supporters! I want to express gratitude on behalf of myself, my coworker Jessica Knapp, and the Arizona Campus Mission Foundation board for the way that you have cared for college students over the years. You have made this very important mission work possible through your prayers and contributions, and you have not forgotten about us even during the difficulty of this COVID-19 season. I am thankful to Jesus for the heart and spirit you have to reach out to people who are genuinely at a crossroads in life, and A4C has truly been on the front lines of helping college students come to know Jesus.
Over the past several weeks, I have struggled to make a decision which involves the changing of not merely a career but an identity. In some way, shape or form I have been involved in campus ministry since the fall of 1998 – my freshman year at Kansas State. Today, it is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I am stepping down from my position as campus minister with Ambassadors for Christ.
Some of you may be aware that this year has been a difficult one for me personally. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, I was customarily weary. Campus ministry is a job that is constantly on the go, and by the end of each school year, I am always ready for the change of pace that summer offers. Normally, by the end of July, I am feeling amped up and ready to go, but this past year was different. As the first day of school continued to grow closer, my anxiety about its imminent arrival continued to intensify. “But I love my job, this feeling will pass,” I told myself, and I was determined to push through it.
I made it through the first semester, and upon my return from winter break, I shared with my board the feelings I was having about burnout. Thankfully, they offered me an opportunity to go on a sabbatical – I just completed my 13th year of full-time campus ministry here in Tucson, and the rest I received was much needed. I am grateful to my board for not only allowing it, but suggesting it to me; likewise, I am thankful to Jessica for filling in for me while I was resting, recharging, and away from my regular duties. Nothing was normal for A4C during this time, and Jessica truly went above and beyond to make not only worship but MINISTRY happen during this time.
My sabbatical time was time well spent. I focused on my own health in several different ways. Physically, I began a lifestyle change program and have lost 25 pounds. Mentally, I began seeing both a counselor and a coach to walk with me through the burnout on this journey. Spiritually, I read two books that helped me to see how I had gotten to where I was and how to walk out of it; I read through the New Testament, spent much time in prayer, and I met weekly with a mentor to help me keep up with things. I also spent a lot of quality time with my family, which is something I had not done enough in recent years. I capped off my time with a personal retreat where I sought God in a place I’ve often found him – in the nature of the mountains. 
While my sabbatical was immensely helpful to me, I ultimately had to make the decision that I am not in a place where it is healthy for me to be ministering to people. I am grateful for each of you, many of whom are my close personal friends and former students, for the relationship we have and have had over the years, whatever it may look like at the moment. It is my hope and prayer that you will continue to support the vital mission of Ambassadors for Christ here in Tucson – bringing the Gospel to a hurting world. Despite my stepping down as campus minister, I still believe in campus ministry and in A4C, and I look forward to seeing and hearing about all the wonderful ways that college students come to know Jesus because of this group. The ACMF Board is a terrific group of people to work with, and I know that the next chapter written about A4C will be an amazing one with the leadership they can provide alongside Jessica and a new campus minister. Blessings to you all, and I look forward to seeing you again, wherever and whenever that may be.
 

Twitter
Facebook
Website
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Campus Mission Foundation, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp