Profile of the Greens and their Ministry

I grew up in a Christian family in which my father was a part-time minister with the Church of the Brethren. God gave me faith in Christ early in childhood and I was baptized at twelve. I began college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, but finished at the Johns Hopkins University because of a desire to pursue Molecular Genetics. During my time at college I was introduced to systematic Bible study and was strengthened in other Christian disciplines. At Hopkins I became involved in the campus fellowship, led a Bible study, and in my senior year was president of the group.

During our time in Philadelphia, I ministered on many campuses including Temple University, Drexel University, and University of Pennsylvania. We were members of Tenth Presbyterian Church and established close ties with that and other churches in the city. It was my privilege to see ministries grow and flourish at most of the campuses where I worked. We were able to see a large number of our students significantly involved in local churches, many of whom remain involved in those churches to this day. Toward the end of my time in Philadelphia, I was given the opportunity to supervise other staff who were working in my part of the city. That was a valuable opportunity to gain skill in supervision which was to become useful later.

From 1986 to 1992 I was the Area Director for InterVarsity’s ministry in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania. This included eighteen schools, six full-time staff and three volunteer staff. As supervisor, my primary role was recruiting, training, and supervising staff. A secondary function was developing and directing area-wide student training programs, such as Proclaiming Christ's Kingdom. Finally, I handled budgets and other office responsibilities. When I arrived, the area was struggling financially and the staff had not received much in the way of training for their work. Through constructing a comprehensive ministry development plan, training the staff to be more effective in their work with students, and developing a student training conference program called Proclaiming Christ's Kingdom we were able to see major growth in the ministry.

During these years as Area Director I was also the campus staff for Lehigh University. I appreciated the opportunity to remain involved first-hand in campus ministry and deeply enjoyed my work with the Lehigh students

While our ministry in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania was growing stronger by the year, I began to develop some concerns about the long-term impact a parachurch ministry can have. First is the limitation of young staff without formal training or credentials in ministry in a highly academic setting. Then there was the problem of doing the work of the church without a real church connection. Finally, there was the deterioration in the doctrinal integrity of InterVarsity. In 1992 I addressed these issues by leaving InterVarsity, joining DiscipleMakers, and beginning my studies at Westminster Theological Seminary.