Sojourn Campus Ministry
Daniel Jarchow, Holly Jarchow, Ethan Pollard, Heather Pollard, Diamond Sears, Devon Sears
Three months ago the Sojourn Campus Ministry team, led by Daniel and Holly Jarchow, moved to Seattle to begin a work at UW. We are so excited that Missio Church gets to be a part of Sojourn’s ministry and they a part of ours. We have prayed over this team for several years now and look forward to what God does through a great partnership between Missio and Sojourn.
What does this partnership look like? In churches we talk a lot about partnerships. We look for partners who will work alongside us to build ministry and Kingdom fruit. However, typically we have a very limited description of what partnerships are and how they function. But any kind of partnership relationship is broken down by how much Time and Commitment is established between two groups. The deeper the partnership the more time and commitment is established. The four types of partnerships are: Connection, Cooperation, Collaboration, and Covenant. Each level has an increase in both Time and Commitment to one another. Often in ministry we develop the first three levels of partnership quite easily. We Connect with other pastors. We cooperate on ministry projects between churches. We collaborate together to host United Worship Gatherings. But typically we have only a few partnerships that ever reach the Covenant Level.
Covenant Partnerships have the highest levels of both Time and Commitment between groups. Where the expectation is a depth of relationship and a commitment to engage and participate in the health and vitality of the ministry involved. This is the partnership between Missio Church and Sojourn. One where both Missio and Sojourn are deeply committed to one another and the health and vitality of our missions. As Missio Church we are journeying alongside Sojourn because we long to see them build an amazing ministry to reach students for generations. We will have ample opportunity to participate in discipleship groups on campus, small groups, and help encourage and lead in worship and other aspects. Likewise, Sojourn is invited to participate in every aspect of Missio. Leadership, worship, Missio Communities, and service.
Covenant Partnerships cover the pages of scripture. Paul on his missionary journeys established Covenant Partnerships between churches and ministries in numerous ways; sending money, asking for people to come and help, and a constant commitment to prayer for one another. In Rome, churches were isolated to homes or larger spaces in apartment buildings. These house churches developed covenant partnerships where each church was committed to the vision of their space, but were consistently working for the mutual benefit of other house churches around them. In the Old Testament the idea of covenant was one where two groups came together to share resources, land, names, and family. And so God established his Covenant with Abram and gives him a new name, Abraham, and then gives him land, the resources of Heaven and begins a new family that would one day spread across the earth. The covenant meant that God was deeply committed to Abraham and his journey. While Abraham beccome deeply committed to the mission of God.
The idea of Covenant Partnership is deeply engrained in the DNA of scripture and the churches, ministries and people in its stories. It was the lifeline of countless new Kingdom works throughout history. And is something we desire to recapture in our post-Christian world today. We are deeply committed to Sojourn, its team, its people and vision.
One way to create meaningful partnership is by getting to know one another and forming a depth of relationship. And so I want to introduce Daniel Jarchow, who is leading Sojourn, to you and allow you to get to know him better.
First, tell us about you and Holly? Where did you meet? Where did the call for ministry lay on your hearts?
We have been married for close to two and half years now (May 2015)! It’s hard for us to believe it’s even been that long. We met my last semester at Harding University in Searcy, AR. I was taking a summer developmental missions class so I could graduate early. Holly was actually helping work the class because she had taken it before.
We had each received a calling to mission work individually. It was something we bonded over when talking for the first time. It seemed like God had led us down two different paths, but had taken us to similar places in our faith and passions. Even after we were married, we had no idea he would lead us to Seattle to do campus ministry, but we knew he would send us somewhere with a great need for the love of Jesus! It’s neat to see how he combined our experiences and passions into what we are doing now. He never wastes what he does in our lives.
Why Campus Ministry?
The college years are some of the most critical years in a person’s life. This transition into adulthood presents some of the most difficult decisions we ever make. “What do I want to be? What are my gifts? Can I find something that allows me to live into my passions and make money? What will define me? Am I going to marry this person? What do I think about God? Is there a God? What is my life’s purpose?” Questions like these are frequent in the mind of a college student. And the answers to these questions will change the trajectory of the rest of a person’s life.
Why UW specifically? What is the dream for UW and its students?
The University of Washington and city of Seattle are places of influence. UW is consistently ranked as one of the top 5 universities in the United States and top 20 in the world. As a leading research university, the University of Washington serves as the epicenter of culture formation. UW mirrors the greater Seattle area as it is drawing individuals from all around the world. More than 8,000 international students walk the University of Washington’s campus each year. This kind of diversity paired with UW’s prestigious influence results in the equipping and mobilizing of new leaders into every area of society. From agriculture to computer science, local coffee shop owners to Congress; today’s UW students are the future leaders of the world.
Seattle is the most unchurched city in the United States. Besides that, the millennial generation (today’s college student) is the most unchurched generation in US history. As the largest campus on the west coast, it is estimated that only 3-5 percent of the 45,000 Udub students are actively engaging their faith through area churches or ministries. This means the University of Washington may be one of the most unchurched campuses in the United States.
My dream for UW students is that their life-vision would be expanded. That Jesus would take hold of their lives so much that they would dream bigger dreams and chase bigger visions than we are currently able to imagine. I want them to find faith in the Jesus who is more powerful and worthy than any other.
What does Sojourn mean and how did you guys come to name your ministry this?
A sojourn is a temporary stay. It’s meaningful to us because:
Life is a sojourn. We are all away from home, living on the Earth for a temporary time.
College is a sojourn. Nobody is native to the University of Washington and nobody will stay. Everyone is just passing through.
We love the sojourner. The Bible is filled with commands to love the sojourner. Therefore, we love students who are uprooted, without a home, and searching. We also have a particular love for International Students who are literally sojourners in the United States.
Also, I love these verses about the Sojourner Faith of Abraham and Sarah: “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were sojourners and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-16.
What do you feel like are going to be the biggest challenges in your specific ministry?
There is a general agnosticism on campus. Not only about faith, but a general unsureness that comes from an increasing global awareness and diversity of thought. It pushes many students into a place of indecision on everything from majors, to relationships, to their purpose in life. Particularly, students wonder if committing to a specific faith makes them the worst kinds of people, someone who says their belief system is “the Truth.”
Another aspect driving that attitude on campus is the perception that students don’t have time to think about the big questions of life because academics are so challenging at the University of Washington. Faith must be nurtured to grow, but UW is not always an easy place for that to happen.
What do you need and want from the people and churches around you?
We need encouragement and support. Leaving family and friends is difficult so we need good friends and mentors here in Seattle.
How can we pray and be involved in Sojourn Campus Ministry?
Our team’s transition to Seattle and into new jobs.
Pray that God would lead us to the “heads of households.” Paul was always finding heads of households so he could then share the gospel with a whole group of people instead of individuals only. We need to meet those kinds of people on campus!
If you could have one superhero on your team who would it be and why?
Obviously, Batman. First, he’s the best superhero anyways. Second, think bat-mobile meets campus ministry golf kart. It would be sick.
The members on the Sojourn Team are Daniel and Holly Jarchow, Ethan and Heather Pollard, and Devon and Diamond Sears. Grab coffee with the, take them out to dinner and let's continue to form a depth of relationship with them as they begin this ministry.
Stay informed about all things Sojourn at sojournuw.org and https://www.facebook.com/sojournuw/.