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CCO Campus Ministry

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Jim Paul

paul_jim.jpg“God used different ministries of the CCO to guide me into not just my current profession, but pointed me in a direction that I plan on continuing for the rest of my life,” says Jim Paul, Director of Adventure Education at the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center in Ligonier, PA.  The CCO, he believes, is especially good at communicating holistic faith, meaning the integration of faith in a way which can’t be separated from the rest of life.

A 2001 graduate of Bethany College, Jim recalls that staff member Amy Barnick Cumer led a men’s group on campus in which he participated.  “If ever there was a woman to pull off a men’s group, it was Amy,” he says.  Amy was plugged into the Outdoor Leadership Team (OLT).  After a few years of participating in OLT, Jim applied to the Leadership and Discipleship in the Wilderness program (LDW) and was able to spend six weeks in the wilderness of Wyoming.  The CCO’s LDW program focuses on developing character, competency and confidence in leading others safely in the outdoors.

Participation as a student in LDW brought Jim to the Ligonier Camp and Conference center initially.  Jim has since returned to the camp and conference center where he met his wife.  They currently live in Ligonier, PA with their four-month old daughter.

In his position, Jim directs programs which incorporate faith, team building, and teamwork through experiential education in outdoor activities.  Through his work, Jim has the opportunity to influence the lives of people from a wide variety of organizations ranging from soccer teams to corporations to churches and youth groups.

Participation in the Jubilee conference had a significant impact on Jim as a student.  He saw that there were actually more college students out there who were struggling to learn what it takes to have Christ be a part of their everyday lives.  Jubilee was also revolutionary, he says, in terms of shaping his thinking about worship and what that means.  At St. Michael’s of the Valley Episcopal Church, Jim assists with worship and the children’s choir.

Jim is committed to sharing his faith with others, especially high school students, through life-on-life ministry.  Whether through empowering others through experiential education or hanging out with high school students in the Ligonier valley, Jim is active in the life of his community and church.  Through his participation in a weekly men’s group, Jim has learned to appreciate the older men in his church who are willing to mentor him and keep accountable.  Likewise, he looks for opportunities to influence high school kids through participation in a Thursday night fellowship group or simply in grabbing a cup of coffee with a student.  In these kinds of settings, Jim is demonstrating that the influence the CCO had in his life extends not only to his career but to his lifestyle and worldview as well.