Articles for tag: Greg Swinney

RISE

How You Can Engage Refugee and International Students in Your Community By Emily Drayne Did you know there are more than 1 million foreign students on the campuses of American colleges? These students come from more than 200 countries around the world. The five countries that send the most students to the United States are China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. Many times, these international guests don’t even see the inside of an American home during their time here. It’s estimated about half the world’s future leaders will study on American campuses. Did you also know that

May 26, 2018

You Found Me: Reaching College Students on Their Level

By Greg Swinney and Beth Swinney He was scrolling down his Facebook page on a computer in the university library when I nudged him and asked if I could bother him for a few minutes. Tom looked over and immediately stopped what he was doing and said, “Sure, what’s up?” I knew I could count on Tom, a prelaw student, to level with me. “What are college kids looking for these days in a church?” I asked. “I’m scratching my head to figure that one out.” Tom didn’t flinch. He said, “We are looking for a place that’s real. A

November 30, 2017

Good News

By Greg Swinney Bad news shouts at us from the television, newspaper, doctor”s office, and our checkbook registers. Some days we seem to wake up and find ourselves plodding through our routine in quiet desperation. We secretly just want to hear some good news. Please, just some good news that offers a little hope. Anne Murray sang a song with the recurring line, “We sure could use a little good news today.” Her words, although more than 20 years old, ring true even today . . . especially today. All we want is some good news. The war is ended,

October 22, 2017

RISE

This project focuses on mobilizing churches, campus ministries, and individual Christians to be more intentional about loving our neighbors from other parts of the world.Â By Greg SwinneyÂ “Now we get to the fun part.” That”s what a team leader said at the conclusion of a meeting that awarded thousands of dollars of grants to churches and campus ministries around the nation. This process began nearly two years ago when Mike Schrage of Good News Productions International shared a dream with ICOM executive director David Empson. After discussing the details, the idea of the RISE Project was born.Â Multiple

August 19, 2016

Church Leadership

From Campus Ministries to Christian Leaders

By Buzz Roberts and Greg Swinney The Facebook post was the perfect picture of stepping out in faith: I can finally make the official announcement. Many of you already know that our family was just accepted into the organization Mission Aviation Fellowship. We are honored to be headed to Papua, Indonesia, to a mission school where I will be teaching. Adel will help with the airplanes and maintenance. I wish I could get with all my friends one last time. Pray for our family as we are selling everything we own, and preparing our house to be on the market.

October 30, 2015

Majestic Quietness

By Greg Swinney Several international students were traveling together to the Rocky Mountains for a weekend excursion during their university”s fall break. In preparation for the trip, they read travel magazines and browsed websites that described the grandeur of the mountains. Inside the church van, the international students asked their American friends about the elevation, climate, and vegetation of the Rockies. The excitement was contagious as the van motored west. As the van crested a small hill, the students got their first glimpse of the mountains in the distance. They grabbed their cameras and noisy conversations stopped. Most students were

October 23, 2015

Culture & Public Square Technology

There”s an App for That

By Greg Swinney Advertisers for software applications constantly remind us “There”s an app for that!” A simple Internet search will find more than 200 million websites with apps for everything we need””computer games, grocery shopping lists, gasoline prices, travel maps, and more. Floating messages across a crowded computer screen try to convince us there”s an app for every need of our lives. Still, can a multicolored icon on an iPad or smart phone really meet our deepest need? Our struggles with past failures and shortcomings seem to haunt us. Sometimes doubt threatens our certainty of God”s unconditional love for us.

October 16, 2015

Christian Living

A Four-Way Stop Sign

By Greg Swinney We can”t drive very far before seeing a road sign giving us a warning or directions. Yield, One Way, and Stop Ahead signs are all intended to help us arrive at our destination safely. Although four-way Stop signs are designed to direct traffic and help us avoid collisions, they may also offer a spiritual picture as we gather to share in the Lord”s Supper. Four-way Stop signs direct us to look in all directions at an intersection, and the Bible offers similar instructions at the table. We are directed to look inward: “Everyone ought to examine themselves

October 9, 2015

Joyful Discovery

By Greg Swinney Columbus Day was recognized as a federal holiday in 1937 to celebrate Christopher Columbus”s heroic voyage of adventure and discovery. Many people working in banks, public offices, and businesses will enjoy a day off in recognition of the discovery of America. Maybe you are someone who is blessed with an employer who will close the doors and give you the day off. Now might be a good time to gain a better appreciation for the spiritual significance of the holiday. In one of his journals, Columbus wrote, “I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried

October 2, 2015

‘Woe to Me!’

By Greg Swinney A nervous group of university students stood outside the barbed wire fence and steel gates of the state prison on a windy fall afternoon. The group of about 20 students joined hands to pray before entering the prison to lead a worship service. Just before he bowed his head to pray, the volunteer chaplain said, “We are expecting God to do a mighty work today in the hearts of the inmates here. If any of you need to quietly confess any sins or shortcomings to the Lord, please do it now. Unconfessed sin hinders the work of

August 2, 2015

Following Jesus on Campus

By Greg Swinney Richard Nixon was president, a first-class postage stamp cost 6 cents, Neil Armstrong said, “That”s one small step for man,” and Gary Hawes began as campus minister at Michigan StateÂ University in East Lansing. It was 1969. We spoke with Gary earlier this year, after his 45 yearsÂ of fruitful labors and nearly 4,000 university students baptized into Christ. How did you decide to enter campus ministry? Who influenced you? It was late in the 1960s and it was a wonderful time to get started in campus ministry. The Jesus movement was really moving. They held an entirely different

August 21, 2014

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Six Stepped Down

By Greg Swinney Collectively, they have nearly 70 years of faithful service to Christian higher education, six bachelor”s degrees, six master”s degrees, and four doctorates. They oversaw total combined annual budgets of $43 million. And they all have recently stepped down from presidencies of Christian colleges. We asked them to roll up their sleeves, sit back, and share their stories with us. In alphabetical order, they are: “¢ David Faust, Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University (president, 2002″“14) “¢ Richard Milliken, Nebraska Christian College, Papillion, Nebraska (1999″“2014) “¢ Ronald Oakes, Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri (2005″“13) “¢ Keith Ray,

October 8, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Church Life

Keeping Them Connected

By Mark A. Taylor Those concerned about millennials and their relationship to the church can be encouraged by research reported by the Barna Group in September. Although the news release, titled “Five Reasons Millennials Stay Connected to Church,” minced no words about “the harsh realities of Millennial Faith,” it also offered research to show why many 18- to 29-year-olds stay connected to God by being connected to a local church. But first the bad news: 59 percent of millennials raised in Christian churches eventually leave them. In the last decade, according to this research, the number of unchurched millennials has

August 22, 2012

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

Mining for Diamonds

By Greg Swinney A few months ago, I found myself sitting at a roadside taco stand in Mexico. I could hardly believe where I was and what I was doing. A three and one-half hour church service had just ended and those who helped lead the service were hungry. They invited me to go “out to eat” with them. It was 10 p.m. and I was ready for some food, but I had no idea it meant sitting on white plastic stack chairs along the side of the dusty road and eating out of the back end of a brightly

September 2, 2011

Why We Serve

About These Board Members Jerry Arnold serves on the board of directors of Christian Student Fellowship of Nebraska. His father, Gerald Sr., was a charter member of the board and put the family farm up as collateral for the first campus house. John Strouse served on the board of directors for Christian Student Foundation at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, from 1969 to 2005. His wife, Lois, was secretary of the campus ministry for 26 years. Melody Hornickel also serves with Christian Student Foundation at Ball State. She and her husband, Russ (an alumnus of the campus ministry), attend

July 29, 2011

Christian Living

Sacred Moments

By Greg Swinney The white apron covered her faded flowered dress. Breakfast was the first thing on the agenda for my visit, but I stopped eating my cornflakes when I noticed my grandmother reach into an apron pocket and pull out a crumpled piece of notebook paper. Just a few months earlier she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. “I want you to do my funeral,” she bravely said. “Let”s not talk about that now,” I replied. “Oh, yes we will,” she insisted, handing me the notebook paper. “This is my obituary, and it”s what I want you to read

November 17, 2010

The World at Our Doorstep

By Greg Swinney I sat expectantly in the worship service as the song leader read loud and clear, “May the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4). My friend seated next to me must have noticed the puzzled look on my face. “How can the nations be glad, Rich?” I asked. “How can they be glad if we don”t tell them?” I felt deep regret over my negligence in reaching out to those of other nations. They are searching for truth and grace, but I”ve been preoccupied and distracted. I have good excuses. At least I thought I

November 17, 2010

The 10/40 Window Is Open to You

ByÂ Greg Swinney Mission agencies continue to direct our focus at sharing the gospel in the 10/40 window. This geographical region sandwiched between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees north latitude stretches from Africa to the Philippines and represents the majority of the unreached people groups of the world. More than 65 percent of international students come from nations within the 10/40 window. Prayers for unreached people groups are being answered. The 10/40 window is no longer 8,000 miles away; in some cases it is minutes from your home. Though you may not be able to speak a foreign language,

May 30, 2010