A Bit of Ministry History

What is Gary Sweeten up to now?

That is the question a lot of my friends, family members and colleagues get when they meet with people with whom we have ministered over the years.

Is Gary Sweeten still overseas a lot?
Is Gary Sweeten still traveling everywhere all the time?
Is Gary Sweeten still piling up frequent flyer miles?

Now that the Lord has nudged us to change directions in our ministry and come upon with a new name it is important to review our history so this move is placed into its proper context. What name would be good for us?

It needs to

connect with the past but be appropriate for the future
identify what we are all about
be simple
easy to remember
have sizzle

So, let's review the past a bit.

The beginning places. I came to Christ as a kid of ten while surrounded by parents, grand parents and friends at church who talked and walked with Jesus. I was always involved in serving people and studying God's Word.

I drifted away from the Lord as a teen and was zapped by God's Spirit in a dramatic Damascus road event in 1958. My active ministry began in 1959. Since I had read the Bible all my life and heard unending discussions I jumped into the fray almost immediately and began witnessing to people. Most importantly, I heard God tell me to attend college. So, a stint at a tiny community college was a real test of my willingness to follow God's leading.

I learned a lot about leadership and being a change agent in college. Our school was essentially two more years of high school with the same teachers and administrators we had before. I had been out of high school for two years working in a factory so I wanted to be independent and treated like an adult. Except for a counselor, they wanted to treat me like a child.

I ran for the Student Council and won the Presidency. That year I was immersed in politics, organizational planning, trying to influence the administration and the students and learning to study; a skill I had forgotten in high school.

After completing college I applied for a job as an elementary school teacher. That position required me to teach all classes for 30 students in the 5Th and 6Th grades as well as coach all sports, put out the year book and drive the school bus. I learned how to use the better students to influence my other students because I certainly did not have the time, knowledge or skills to do it all. I loved teaching and I loved the kids.

I also taught Sunday school and led the worship in my church.

During the fifth year of teaching I had a conflict with my principal. I resigned form teaching and prayed for the next step in God's call. the answer seemed to arise out of nothing and I applied to be a counselor training program at Southern Illinois University. They told me I really needed to be in Student Personnel Program if I felt called to work with college students. I enrolled in that program in memory of my favorite teacher/counselor from Mt. Vernon Community College, Mrs. Betty Ann Ward.

Afterwards I discovered that SIU had one of the top Student Personnel programs in America. I learned so much in classes but even more in the two year required fellowship. The Deans and Profs at SIU really tried to coach and mentor us about the real world of higher education as well as teaching us theories of adult learning. (This is the closest I can come to Saluki colors.)

When I graduated I was overwhelmed with recruiters who wanted me to work at their schools. I was blessed and took a position at The University of Cincinnati.

Next time; Cincinnati with kids