Churches: Make Room for Young Leaders! The Kingdom of God is Not Competitive, But Cooperative....

Today's episode features Pastor Brandon O'Sullivan from Gospel Community Church in Santa Cruz, California: https://www.gospelcommunitysc.org/lea... And Cody Bryan, from Christian Challenge at U.C. Santa Cruz. Episode 35: How Can Parachurch and Church Ministries Work Together?? The Kingdom of God is Not Competitive, But Cooperative. How Can Churches Make Room for Young Leaders and Not Stifle Them? Why is it CRUCIAL for churches to make room for young leaders?? How a Bible-Believing Church Can Make Disciples and Thrive in one of the most liberal Cities in America. College Ministry at U.C. Santa Cruz All about Christian Challenge College Ministry Gospel Community Church and Christian Challenge UCSC are deeply integrated at the level of discipleship, leadership development, church membership, and ministry multiplication. Cody serves as a deacon at GCC; Brittany is active in women’s discipleship; another Challenge staff member, Josh Simmons, is also a GCC deacon; and Henry Kaufman came to faith at UCSC, became part of Christian Challenge’s core team, and is now a missions resident at GCC preparing for further ministry. GCC also explicitly lists Christian Challenge among the missionaries it supports financially and prayerfully. What happens when a local church and a campus ministry genuinely see themselves as part of the same disciple-making mission? Brandon O’Sullivan is the lead pastor and an elder of Gospel Community Church in Santa Cruz, where he oversees the church’s teaching and vision. He has served in full-time ministry since 2010 and has a particular passion for developing younger leaders who can reach people far from God and eventually start new churches and ministries throughout Santa Cruz County. Brandon holds a B.A. from The Master’s College, an M.A. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Educational Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Laura, originally met in Santa Cruz while serving as summer youth interns and have continued serving in ministry together. Gospel Community Church itself began as a small church-planting group meeting in a Santa Cruz living room in May 2018. Cody Bryan, together with his wife Brittany, directs Christian Challenge at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Cody and Brittany first encountered Christian Challenge as freshmen at Chico State, where they became friends, eventually began dating while serving together, and graduated in 2013. After marrying that summer, they immediately joined Christian Challenge full-time. They later became associate directors at Chico, helping train ten additional staff members before relocating to Santa Cruz to plant a new Christian Challenge ministry at UCSC beginning in fall 2021. At UCSC, Christian Challenge combines campus evangelism with small-group Bible studies, weekly gatherings, one-on-one discipleship, retreats, mission opportunities, and intentional leadership development. Cody is also recognized in Southern Baptist collegiate ministry records as the campus minister at UC Santa Cruz.