RICHMOND — Richmond minister Welford Orrock has been tapped to serve as coordinator of the Kairos Initiative, a “revisioning” of collegiate ministry which the Virginia Baptist Mission Board hopes will dramatically expand Christian outreach among young adults in Virginia.
Welford Orrock
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The initiative, developed by the Mission Board’s emerging leaders team, aims to “intentionally network young adult ministries all over this state, whether it’s in the local church, or through Baptist collegiate ministry, or church plants, or anywhere young adult and college-age ministries is happening,” Orrock said in a video which introduces Kairos.
Orrock, who also will take on responsibility for Baptist collegiate ministry in metropolitan Richmond, has been minister of students at Second Baptist Church in Richmond since 2009. He will be based at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“[Kairos] is a new way to encompass not only collegiate ministry in Virginia but also non-traditional college students or students attending community colleges or just young adults in our age group who are seeking to discover ways that God is going to be working in their lives,” said campus ministry leader Lindsey Huggins on the video. Huggins is a student at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The Kairos website identifies three goals: developing leaders, building community and creating a passion for mission. Developing leaders is especially essential, said Orrock.
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“Leadership developing is really important in that we understand our college students are leaders of today and tomorrow, so the initiative is intentional about developing leaders,” he said.
“Our older generation has some key aspects that they can mentor our young people in and help them learn and understand what it is that they need to pass on to them in order to be the leaders for the next generation,” said Daphne Almarode, Baptist collegiate minister at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and several nearby schools. “They can be the church leaders of the future. If we don’t develop that we are doing a disservice to our church.”
Jeffrey Buffkin, Baptist collegiate minster at William & Mary, also emphasized Kairos’s leadership strategy. “As we go forward we are trying to step up the expectation and make it an incredible leadership experience,” he said. “It needs to be something that will really get into their hearts so they can become catalysts for leadership now while they’re in college and then afterwards as well.”
Radford, Va., pastor Rusty Mullins said the context of young adult ministry has changed.
“I don’t think it’s going back to the way it used to be,” said Mullins, pastor of The Bridge in Radford and husband of the Baptist collegiate minister at Radford University. “I don’t think churches can say that when young adults turn 35 they’re coming back to church. That should never be our goal — just let them float until they turn 30 or 35 and they they’ll come back. They need to be reached now.”
Orrock, who begins his new assignment Jan. 1, is a graduate of James Madison University and Duke University Divinity School, where he was active in the Baptist House of Studies. He has been a ministerial intern at three North Carolina congregations.
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.