CCO Campus Ministry

Home / Transformed Lives / Chris Abrams

Chris Abrams

ChrisAbrams.jpg“I had no thought of working in student development before my time as a student with Bonnie Jones,” says Chris Abrams. “The CCO influenced me to think differently about the world around me. CCO staff helped me see Christianity and service to God in a whole new light. I used to see Christianity from the perspective of how it impacted me. But after interacting with the CCO and attending the Jubilee conference, I began to see how God could use me within the communities He created to further His kingdom, in particular the communities associated with a college campus.”

When Chris was a student at Malone College (now University) in the early 1990s, he had no idea that years later, he would work at his alma mater as Vice President for Student Development. He credits CCO staff member Bonnie Jones with helping him figure out his vocation.

“Bonnie was my resident director and supervisor during my first year as a resident assistant at Malone,” Chris remembers. “It was through my relationship with Bonnie that I felt called to work with college students. She made life with students seem so enjoyable and rewarding. And the kind of intentional commitment she made in my life was the kind of thing I then wanted to do in lives of other students.”

Between his relationship with Bonnie and other CCO staff members, as well as his experience at the CCO-sponsored Jubilee conference, Chris soon figured out what he wanted to do when he grew up. “People like Bonnie, Steve Everett, Bob Crow, and Rick Zomer helped me to see how enjoyable and rewarding working with college students could be,” Chris says. “So I guess I would say they shaped my experience all the way to guiding me towards a career, a career that I am current enjoying for my 17th year and have no plans to change. It was through their ministry that I found my place in God’s story.”

Chris and his wife, Melissa, are raising their seven-year-old adopted Haitian twin daughters in Canton, Ohio, where they are actively involved the community and in First Friends Church. “My family and I volunteer in Wednesday evening activities at our church, and we are also active in a ministry called the C.O.O.L. (Community Outreach of Love) Project, which involves physical labor service for homeowners in the city of Canton.”

Chris continues to be grateful for impact of the CCO’s ministry on his life, and he sees a direct correlation between what he experienced as a student and how he interacts with students today.

“As the VP for Student Development, I am in charge of the disciplinary process at the University. This is the least enjoyable part of my work, but it is also an important part. Because of what I learned through working with CCO members, I am able to see each person I meet within the disciplinary process as an individual, loved by God, the same way He loves me. This has transformed my work. The results are not always pleasant, but from time to time, the relationship formed with students in the disciplinary process leads to continued conversations, and those lead to real change in the lives of the students I work with.

“My interaction with the CCO helped me think in different ways about God’s creation and my place in it, which has led me to minister in different ways than I might have otherwise.”