Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Jones
Hi Marcus, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey to college ministry started while I was an undergraduate student at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. It was there where I first responded to an urging to become a pastor during a Spring Break retreat hosted by the religious life and campus ministry of the university. After the retreat, I became very active in leadership on campus, as well as with my local church. I led and facilitated bible studies, prayer gatherings, and other programs geared toward healthy discipleship while in college.
My passion and calling to college ministry grew when I began serving as a youth pastor in Dallas while in graduate school at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University around 2013. I witnessed a large number of youth leaving our youth ministries to go to college and matriculate away from the faith foundations generated prior to college. They would share with me that they no longer went to church or was not active in any faith community. Recalling how foundational college ministry was to my own faith journey, I sought out the mentorship of my university chaplain at Huston-Tillotson, Rev. Donald Brewington, to discern the possibility of vocational ministry at the college. That led to an internship at HT in 2015 that began a series of appointments in college ministry, first serving a year at HT, followed by five years beginning in 2017 as the pastor and director of the MSU Wesley Foundation at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
At MSU, my ministry focus became cultivating healthy diverse faith communities through the connection of what I coin “The 3 Cs”: College, Church, Community. The strength, vitality and longevity of a college ministry is centered on fruitful relationships with the college administration and social leadership (i.e. student affairs), local church support and engagement, and community involvement and participation. These pillars led to active growth in student participation, measurable impact on school social engagement, and increased local church support. We witnessed the MSU Wesley grow from 1 student when I began to over 60 students at my departure in 2022.
In 2022, the conference leadership of the Central Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church asked me to consider an appointment at The UTA Wesley at The University of Texas at Arlington. Their hope was that I would be able to come cultivate a diverse campus ministry reflective of the diversity that marked UTA as one of the most diverse universities in the country.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road but often the bumpier the road, the more memorable the journey. One of the first struggles we had to overcome are the initial reactions to a change in culture. I am only the second Black pastor and director of the Wesley, and first in almost 20 years. Cultivating space for ethnic, racial, and sociocultural diversity starts with acceptance of the leader and the vision necessary to create such a space. While there weren’t any publicly visceral reactions, there were subtle occurrences worth noting. Certain students wrestled with a more inclusive outlook on student outreach and began to distance themselves from the ministry.
Having an inclusive theological framework also comes with some challenges with other Christians. It’s not secret that we live in the Bible Belt. Having a theological framework that is embraces the social conventions of race, gender, culture, and sexual orientation is challenging for a lot of Christians with more reserved theological leanings. Helping our greater UT Arlington community to learn to embrace our ministry as part of the whole of the Christian community in a politically charged social reality led to tough conversations and even more difficult relationship development.
The bumpiest part of the road was the administrative challenges. Several board members resigned within a few months of tenure, including the board chair who was overseeing a contentious situation in the church she was appointed as a pastor. There were glaring concerns that made fiscal sustainability challenging, such as outdated bylaws, financial challenges, and the inability to be sufficiently prepared to seek grants for programs and growth. We have made great strides in this area due to a courageously faithful board of directors and Methodist community, which aided us in shifting the culture of the ministry.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The UTA Wesley is a college ministry of the United Methodist Church. Planted in 1954, it has been a copiously impactful ministry focused on Christian faith development, discipleship, and social engagement for college students at the University of Texas at Arlington. There are several other campus ministries on our campus but what makes us unique is we are an OPEN, INCLUSIVE, and AFFIRMING Christian ministry. This means we exist to build a beloved community of disciples of Jesus Christ who desire to impact the world through authentic expression, compassionate service, and radical grace.
Authentic expression encompasses the many ways people express their Christian faith and identity. The Christian faith is a diverse religion with multiple forms of worship and social engagement. We hope to create space where young people an express their faith in genuine and authentic ways.
We empower our community to recognize the unique and inexhaustable ways to serve others. We believe Jesus modeled compassionate service to others in ways that drew them closer to God in love and our hope is to embody that same service. (Mark 10:45)
Lastly, we want cultivate a community that offers radical grace. Humans are complex and dynamic which often produce challenges, tensions, and divisions among one another. We strive to offer the grace necessary to understand this complexity and extend the grace required to heal brokenness, overcome shame, and mend the divisions of our community and world.
To create a community sustained by these values and the ongoing work is what we are most proud of. The ways the students, churches, and greater UTA community has embraced the potential of such a community has been a joy to witness and live through each day.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I am not sure I have one favorite childhood memory, at least not at the time. I’m most grateful that I grew up in a marginalized inner city neighborhood that taught me the power of connectional community. It fortified me with grit and optimism through trying times, and cultivated a yearning to understand the diverse challenges and life situations humans face in our world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.informedscholar.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcus.m.jones
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ministerphat
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/utawesley
