Blue Hens for Christ Ministry

June 1, 1993 to the present

Ian Morgan a Pepperdine graduate and his wife Lisa were hired by the elders of the Newark Church to be a part time youth minister, working primarily with Aletheia Christian School students, and part time Campus Minister. There was no master plan and the elders permitted Ian to explore the most effective way to begin this ministry. It was a ministry that was always on the 'back burner' for the church but was never fully implemented.

The elders later appointed deacons to support the needs of the ministry.

Early in the work Ian spent much of his time attempting to establish a program for undergraduate students. Since we did not have a campus house the one of the deacons volunteered their home, located near the University, for meeting, Bible Study, and any other use Ian thought appropriate.
Unfortunately establishing a program working with undergraduates did not prove to be fruitful.

However, Ian determined their was a large international population (Chinese, Korea, Japanese, Thailand, etc.) working for post graduate degrees at Delaware, and he began a program of contacting students by offering a conversational English course using the Bible as the basis for learning. Ian would sit in the library with a sign on his table and students began to sign up for the course. This soon grew to be not only conversational English, but group Bible study as well. The group grew to as many as 20, meeting regularly at the house along with a number of individual studies proceeding. Our focus then became the internationals and by extension one on one studies at various times throughout the week. The schedules were established to fit the needs of the participants.

In 1995 Ian left Delaware for a full time position as Campus Minister at Purdue University. We did not immediately fill the position.

However, the program for internationals continued with the deacons and their families keeping it together. The wives became volunteers and took the initiative to seek out students and continue the work on a more individual basis rather than group study. Group study did continue until the students received their post graduate degrees and returned home to the country or sought jobs here in the United States.

During this period we developed a close relationship with the University's English Language Institute (ELI). We adopted students. We had home stay opportunities, international dinners, we offered conversational English for ELI students to assist with their program. We had social activities, trips to places of cultural interest and historic sites, Thanksgiving dinners and a host of other activities. We provided assistance to students to help adapt to the United States culture, a strange and new country to them.

This work with internationals continues today and we estimate that through 2008, we had had well over 500 international students from 21 countries participate in our ministry. We know that they took home Jesus to their friends and families.
Currently one of the wives currently studies and brings the Bible to 18 students per week. Several of our ladies meet with students, and are beginning to meet at the student center for the convenience.
In the spring of 2000 the elders and congregation believe that hiring a full time campus minister should be an important outreach for the Newark Church of Christ. We began a search and in August of 2000 hired David Blackwell and were fortunate to get his wife Angie in the bargain.

Within a few months, Blue Hens for Christ became a registered undergraduate club, and our official student group with the University.

The Blackwells purchased a home and the students began meeting there for meals and for Bible study, devotions, games and activities, and the core began to grow.

With David and Angie working together they began to organize and develop a group of undergraduates in their home and working on campus with various organizations. The group grew quickly from 4 to more than 20 in a very short time.

After the purchase of the student center the numbers quickly grew to between 50 and 60 plus taking part in meals and devotions, Bible study, small groups, social activities and mission service.

The students have been on at least two mission trips per year since 2001. They have been to Mexico, Honduras, served in New Orleans after Katrina countless times, assisted in the Alabama Tornado disaster, and breakfast mission service in Delaware. All of these trips take place during their winter and spring breaks.

One of those students who came as a freshman, met her future husband in the group, and they were married last summer. After graduation she agreed to serve as a board member of the Delaware Christian Campus Ministry Foundation.
David and Angie decided to leave the ministry in the winter of 2007 to return to Alabama. They remained until after the 2008 spring term.

In May 2008, Matt Wilson, who was serving as worship leader and youth minister volunteered for the position of campus minister. He continued his work with the youth ministry as time permitted. We are thankful that he accepted and Matt soon became the full time campus minister for the 2008 – 2009 school term. In the summer of 2009, Matt was offered a position at Wilmington University that he simply could not turn down. It was an opportunity to bring his career goals to fruition years earlier than he could have anticipated. Matt was able to work with Wilmington University to allow him to work part time with the campus ministry through the 2009 – 2010 school term and until the church could find a new full time minister.

Matt was a wonderful leader for our students and did an outstanding job with Bible studies, and retreats, and several mission trips that included going back to Louisiana to work with victims of the Katrina disaster, and to Nashville to work with the homeless. Matt has a heart for ministry and brought the students attention to other service activities such as bread distribution ministry and the prison ministry.

In the fall of 2009 the church began a search to bring another full time campus minister. We had several applicants and brought two to interview and become acquainted with the university and the church.

In May of 2010 we were able to convince Tyler Ellis and his wife Jennifer to accept the position and to begin as soon as they could comfortably leave their current position. Tyler and Jennifer Ellis moved to Newark in July 2010. We especially appreciate Tyler’s goal for students in the campus ministry to become missionaries and ambassadors for Christ when they graduate from college and begin their life experiences and careers.

Our church was especially pleased that they accepted because Tyler brought with him 9 years of experience in campus ministry. Tyler was campus minister at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. When he began his ministry there was no instruction manual for him regarding the workings of campus ministry yet he was able to take his experience as a member of AIM (Adventures in Mission) and his mission work in Samoa and Australia to build a very successful and accomplished ministry. He attended seminars, and read articles, and asked questions, and talked with experienced ministers, assumed responsibility and leadership skills and has since become a leader in campus ministry as evidenced by his invitiation to speak and conduct a seminar at the Pepperdine University lectureships with regard to campus ministry as a mission field. He has written a book soon to be published. And since he began his work with Newark he conducted a workshop with Campus Ministry United at Harding College in June 2011, and sits on the board of The Nation al Campus Minister Seminars.