I moved to Bozeman in the summer of 06 and I love living and working in this valley. I grew up in the mountains of Virginia but I have always had a love for the west. While attending Appalachian State in North Carolina, I led Bible studies and ministered as part of the Reformed University Fellowship leadership team. My college years were very developmental in my spiritual growth; although I unfortunately tend to learn lessons the hard way, I am blessed to have a God that loves me too much to desert me.
After my first year in college I moved to Vail, Colorado for the summer. God placed me in a house with Christian guys where I was challenged to serve him instead of myself and to really learn what it means to love others. Romans 12 became my approach towards others and life. The following summer I went on a 75 day National Outdoor Leadership School trip in the Yukon. Surrounded by hardships and people of many different faiths and beliefs, I grew by spending time alone in God’s Word and His Creation.
My approach to ministry has always been relational. Through strong relationships we can challenge one another in Christ and avoid the unaccountable surface relationships that seem all too prevalent in the modern church. I also desire to equip MSU Christians to effectively share their faith in Christ to a university community hungry for truth. God has blessed me with a heart to serve in any way I can, and I desire to serve Him with all I do.
Growing up in a western small town I came to college at Montana State with little church background. I came to ski, have fun, and fit in a degree as I went. Not being a follower of Christ, I tried to fill my life with all the things I thought would make me happy. I skied 5 days a week and partied 7 nights a week. My identity changed from high school sweetheart to hippy chick on to femi-nazi. I made decisions I would take back in an instant! But in the emptiness of all my pursuits I started to explore religion. Starting with Eastern religions I thought it best to see first hand and went overseas. That is when, in a group of fellow travelers, I saw authentic Christianity; people following Christ with their whole life and relating to God like he cared about the details of our lives. What a difference.
I came back to school and became involved with a campus ministry. That is where I learned more fully about Jesus and responded to the Gospel in repentance and faith. As I started to grow in my faith and talk about Christ with other students, they
too wanted to follow Christ with their lives. Watching God change lives right before my eyes was life-changing for me and caused me in my senior year to set aside my engineering degree and go into full time ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ, an interdenominational Christian organization here at Montana State.
When I came to Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church I was immediately impressed with the open dialog in the adult education class. We talked about the whole range of our lives and how to live out our faith. Opinions can differ and discussion gets lively but the community among the members is authentic. People are able to express differences on theological issues and still live in close relationship. Sunday has become my favorite day of the week as I look forward to time with my friends of all ages talking about the Lord and worshipping Him together. I am refreshed and challenged by the sermons. I bring students from the ministry on campus and friends who are not followers of Christ with me to our church and the growth groups that meet during the week. This really is a church family. Top
Thanks GVPC! Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church has been like the hand of Christ in our lives and on our ministry. Jesus has used the warm relationships to touch us and hold us with His love. He has opened His Word to us to teaching us more clearly His truth, causing us to examine the purity of our hearts, rebuking us where needed, and then guiding us in His grace. He has cared for us and met our needs by His hand, through His people. We owe so much of the "success" of our ministry to Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church.
The Need For Christ on Campus
Every year young people leave home for college with their "umbilical" cord in one hand searching for something to plug into that will give them life! Intimacy is often replaced with destructive sexual encounters and drug and alcohol abuse, more often than not, offer a pseudo friendship that unfortunately can last for a lifetime. Motivated by fear, many become so consumed with their career that they isolate themselves from God and people and get stuck on the treadmill of performance and achievement. These young people are searching for answers to life’s deepest questions. For over seventeen years Julie and I have been committed to bringing the gospel to every one of these students, desiring that every disciple involved would multiply their life, and that they would then leave the campus trained and compelled to do the same.
"Montana Catalytic" Our mission is to give every student in Montana a clear, relevant and attractive presentation of the gospel. There are twenty campuses in Montana that are in our scope, representing 25,000 students. Seven of those campuses are Tribal Colleges which has resulted in our laying the groundwork for a national ministry called "Nations" that is committed to bringing Christ to every Native American student and their reservations. We embrace a "staffed coached-student led" model where we trust God to raise up student leaders, volunteers and churches that "own" the mission. Our role is then to be a catalyst; to coach, resource, and disciple in order to raise up transformational community that takes the gospel to every student.
Short Bio
Mike and Julie Kelly have been married since May 1990 and have four Children: Elaine (12) Eric (11), Sean (6), Ryan (4). Mike, a graduate of the University of Utah and Julie, a graduate of Idaho State University were with CCC at Montana State University for fifteen years. For the last two years Mike has been the Montana Catalytic Director and together they are reaching the students of Montana to reach the world. 05/2007 Prayer LetterBlog Top
During my fifth year of teaching fifth and sixth grade, I realized that although I enjoyed being a teacher, I was more passionate about mentoring and sharing the gospel with college women. In 2002, I left my teaching job and began working with sorority women at the University of Oregon through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Entering the lives of numerous college women has been exciting and sobering. Every day I see firsthand how college students often find themselves in an environment that is tearing away at their moral and spiritual stability. My desire and committment is to introduce students to Christ, help them grow in their faith, and then send them out equipped to live biblically, sharing Christ wherever God takes them.
Recently I moved from Eugene, Oregon to continue ministering to college women at Montana State University. Moving far from home and being new to the Bozeman community, Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church has been an answer to prayer. The first Sundays I attended, I was overwhelmed with all those who initiated and warmly welcomed me. I am thankful for how GVPC has come alongside me, supported me, and embraced me into their church family. Top
