ENGAGE 2022

On September 19 and 20, the campus ministry office hosted the fourth annual ENGAGE event. ENGAGE consists of two days of intentional teaching and worship.

This year’s ENGAGE speaker was Rev. Soo Ji Alvarez of California Avenue Christian Fellowship, a multi-ethnic church in Riverside, CA. Soo Ji has been ordained with the Free Methodist Church since 2011 and she serves on local boards and national boards. She currently serves as the Free Methodist representative on the board for Women’s Holiness Clergy Association and has been a speaker to raise awareness for gender equity and gospel-centered justice. She is a strategic thinker, creative leader and loves managing large teams and collaborating with others. Soo Ji is Asian-American and pastors with her Mexican-American husband Joe. They are blessed to have 2 beautiful, Mexirean kids, their son Juaquin and daughter Nayara.

Pastor Soo Ji spent her time sharing at the ENGAGE gatherings that the God of the Bible is the “God of the Broken.” Alvarez examined different people in Scripture, demonstrating that God meets everyone in the midst of their “brokenness”, but He also loves us too much to leave us that way! Ministry Theology Department chair Rev. Dr. Mindi Grieser Cromwell shared that, “Rev. Soo Ji brought loving truth to our student and staff during Engage days. I so appreciated her biblical messages that helped students examine the state of their lives and their relationship with Jesus. We are continuing to see the fruit of her presence and preaching on campus.”

Ashton Travis, who serves as the CCCK Student Body Chaplain was very thankful for the ENGAGE event, and what that time means for the campus community. “The atmosphere of ENGAGE is just different”, Travis said. “As students we know this is a perfect opportunity to get involved and experience the radical transformation that comes from following Jesus.”

The ENGAGE event culminated in a celebration at the All-School Picnic, where two students were baptized! Desirhay Garcia, one of the students baptized, had this to say: “I think for me Engage week with Pastor Soo Ji was eye opening. It allowed me to make a deeper connection with God that I have been searching for. Her making the statement “God is the God of the broken” was something that I needed and stuck with me as a reminder that I am exactly who He intended me to be no matter how much I may struggle to accept that.”

Once again, Ashton Travis summarizes the response to the ENGAGE event, “Since ENGAGE 2022, I’ve seen revival happening in so many lives around me.”

ABOUT CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF KANSAS

Central Christian College of Kansas is a regionally accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate-level programs. Central strives to offer Christ-centered education for the whole person – heart, mind, soul, and strength. Its history dates back to 1884, and it is located in the friendly town of McPherson, Kansas. Central is a strategically small college that offers over forty areas of residential study and a thriving online program for non-traditional students.