Finding a Home: Jordan Greynolds and the Impact of Faith

A Fellows Year in Fresno

He’d seen and admired the college graduates who’d participated in the fellowship program offered through the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO). He respected the work it took to go to a new city and participate in campus ministry for an entire academic year, which is ultimately what led him to enter the program and move to California.

During his Fellows year, Jordan worked at Fresno State, Fresno City College, and Fresno Pacific University. He connected the most with the students and the community at Fresno Pacific, which left him torn when the end of his ten-month program loomed on the horizon. Should he stay and hope that a job and a place to live would pop up, or should he go back home to Ohio?

A Plan at Millerton Lake

The answer came on a February day at Millerton Lake. Jordan had been praying about what God had for him when he felt God speak to him for the first time: “I’ve got a plan for you here in Fresno. You can go home if you want, but I’ve got something here for you.”

This plan left his parents feeling uncertain, but Jordan trusted that God would create a way. And three months later, in August of 2023, Fresno Pacific created the job that he currently holds: Coordinator for Discipleship and Outreach.

Discipleship and Outreach

Jordan’s job requires him to fulfill two separate but intertwined roles: discipleship and outreach. Within the discipleship role, Jordan meets one-on-one with students regularly throughout the semester. He was excited to share that most of his meetings this year have been initiated by his students. In addition to mentoring these students, he also helps coordinate pairing students and mentors together so that students can learn from someone with more life experience and wisdom.

When it comes to the outreach part of his job, Jordan oversees the different Spiritual Formation Groups at the college, which include:

• Abide Women’s Ministry
• Alpha
• Catholic Student Gatherings (CSG)
• Fellaship Men’s Ministry
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• Young Life

Practically, this means helping student leadership teams create ministry plans, budgets, retreats, and weekly gathering spaces.

One element of outreach that Jordan emphasizes is how vital it is to the Christian walk. Other parts of faith, like worship and contemplative prayer, are available through Chapel and Capax Dei. However, as Jordan so deftly explains, “a student could attend both of these spaces and leave without having talked to anyone.” This is a huge reason why the Spiritual Formation Groups are necessary for students—they are student-led groups that allow for communal learning and growth.

Why He Stays

When asked why he’s stayed at Fresno Pacific after three years, Jordan’s answer was simple: There’s no reason to leave when he loves every part of being there. Whether it’s the challenge of finding unique solutions to different student struggles or learning how to let go a little more often, Jordan finds every aspect wholly rewarding and, ultimately, fulfilling.

One of these fulfilling moments came near the end of his first year at Fresno Pacific.

“A student I’d met with all year,” he says, “shared that if it weren’t for the fact that I was young and had been through similar struggles as him, he probably never would have opened up and been so honest in our meetings.”

This was one of the first times Jordan reflected on the fact that he’d gotten his job with nobody else vying for the position. It never felt like something to be proud of, but this student helped him realize something important: if he’d never applied for this job, there might not be anyone holding it. And that would’ve left countless students without the opportunity to have these deep, meaningful conversations.

A Home for Every Level of Faith

Near the end of the interview, Jordan shared one of his favorite parts about Fresno Pacific, saying, “We are unashamedly a Christian university but do not require our students to sign a statement of faith.” This is particularly refreshing because it means that students have the space to ask questions, bring their doubts and encounter the Gospel without ever having to voice something they don’t believe in. So, whether they’re new believers, questioning what they’ve always been taught, or simply looking to strengthen their faith, Jordan believes that “students of all levels of faith can find a home here.”