CCO Campus Ministry

Why Curt and Phyllis Thompson give to the CCO

This article first appeared in the fall 2010 issue of On Campus magazine.

Curt Thompson is a psychiatrist in private practice who recently authored Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices that Can Transform Your Life (Tyndale, 2010). Phyllis Thompson is a social worker with Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia, and has spent most of her social work career working in the area of parent education. Curt and Phyllis have two children, Rachel, a junior at Furman University in Greeneville, South Carolina, and Nathan, a junior at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. Curt is an elder and Phyllis is a deacon at their church, Washington Community Fellowship. They frequently do premarital counseling for couples in their church.

Why do you feel so strongly about ministry to college-aged young people?
Our personal experience is initially what has made us feel strongly about the importance of ministry to college students. I (Phyllis) began my own college experience as a sincere believer in Christ, but had no idea why I believed and how that belief should translate practically. It was through a CCO-led fellowship group where I began to find the answers to those questions. I learned so much there that I joined CCO staff after college to try to encourage that same kind of growth and insight. I continued to grow in my own faith, and through two summer experiences and excellent mentorship in the area of racial reconciliation, made a determination to pursue social work for further education. Essentially, the CCO has shaped my life!

Now, as parents of teenagers, one a college student, we find ourselves even more committed to the need for ministry to college-aged young people. Through the lens of Curt’s psychiatric practice and our children and their friends, we see much brokenness, purposelessness, apathy, disconnected relationships, and a world that offers no real answers. We are seeing first-hand the need to make Jesus real to college-aged students and connect them to a life-giving hope and purpose in Christ. We are thrilled to support the CCO in its mission to transform college students so that they can transform their world.

Why did you choose to include the CCO in your estate plans?
As much as we hate to admit it, we know our time on this earth is limited. When we created a new will about five years ago, we naturally made plans to care for our children, but also thought seriously about organizations which had impacted our lives as individuals, as a couple, and as a family. We reasoned that if these groups had shaped our lives, then we wanted to support them and thank them tangibly through our estate planning. CCO quickly rose to a place of prominence in our list of organizations that have made such a difference.

Even as we write, our daughter is participating at the CCO’s Ocean City Beach Project, so the legacy of CCO influence continues in our own family. With our estate gift, we hope to in some way continue the legacy of influencing college students for Christ into future generations.

If you have any questions regarding the CCO’s ministry, or if you would be interested in considering a deferred gift, please contact our President, Daniel J. Dupee, at 412.363.3303.

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