CCO Campus Ministry

CCO’s Jonathan Weyer surprises national atheist group

(Pittsburgh) August 20, 2009—CCO staff member and campus minister Jonathan Weyer has been reaching out to atheist students at The Ohio State University since last September. And what’s astonishing about this dubious arrangement, they want him to.

Jonathan, with over 300 students from the SSA (Secular Student Alliance), an organization founded to educate students about the value of scientific reason in its atheistic and humanistic forms, toured the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky on August 7.

“I was ‘implanted’ with the atheists. I walked with them through the museum, heard their comments, they asked me questions and we had great conversations about God and the Gospel,” says Jonathan.

PZ Myers , renowned atheist blogger and evolutionary biologist at the University of Minnesota, Morris, toured the museum with the hundreds of SSA student members who had traveled from all over the country to attend this event.

The following day, Jonathan was asked to address the SSA about how they can cooperate with religious groups on campus. He touched upon the importance of seeking out campus ministry groups that are living out the Gospel. Jonathan offered to act as a liaison between the SSA and other groups, stepping in to make connections and create constructive dialogue.

“I was floored by the reaction I got from my talk,” says Jonathan. “They were in awe that a Christian would reach out to them and speak to them.”

The questions and the shock continued throughout the rest of the day, as Jonathan talked more with the students, had meals with them and made his life transparent to them.

In order to maintain the momentum from the weekend’s events, Jonathan is using his blog as a platform for more conversations. He recruited the student president of The Thomas Society, a Christian, student group that Jonathan advises, and a student atheist from OSU to dialogue about issues around atheism and Christianity.

“I think the challenge has always been honesty when speaking with an atheist,” comments Jonathan. “Atheists are smart people and will call you out if they know you are pretending to know the answer to a question that you actually don’t. They have also pushed me to make my arguments for Christianity sharper and more focused.”

The CCO is a campus ministry organization which partners with churches, colleges and organizations to develop men and women who live out their Christian faith in every area of life. The CCO’s core purpose is “transforming college students to transform the world.”

To read more about Jonathan Weyer’s ministry, click here. To learn more about the CCO, visit http://www.ccojubilee.org, email cco {at} ccojubilee(.)org or call 412.363.3303.

Contact: CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach)
Alicia Vaughn, Marketing & Media Relations Associate
avaughn {at} ccojubilee(.)org, (412) 363-3303 x121

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