Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2019

As Vice President for Advancement, Rick Melson is committed to helping alumni and friends of the University to come alongside Cedarville, and its commitment to intentional discipleship, with financial and prayer support. But he also has a personal commitment to discipleship, which he shares in this issue’s Advancing Cedarville feature. Q Why is intentional discipleship important to you? A My wife, Tammy, and I have enjoyed working closely with students and young professionals in both mentoring and intentional discipleship throughout our ministry. It is common for each of us to be investing in a handful of students and young professionals at any given time. This passion for discipleship is rooted in our own life journey and spurred on by the many men and women who have invested in us, both individually and as a couple. For us, intentional discipleship is a calling, a stewardship of our time and talents, and a reinvestment of the immeasurable treasure that has been invested in us. We both know we are who we are today because of the grace of God and the investment of those who have poured into us. It is our hope and desire to steward this investment wisely in the lives of others through mentoring and intentional discipleship. Q D r. Me l s o n , y o u a n d y o u r wife, Tammy, have both been very involved with Tied and True, Cedarville’s discipleship ministry to newlyweds and young married couples. What drove your involvement with that ministry? A Tammy and I benefitted greatly by having more mature couples in our lives when we started out, giving us their insight from walking with Christ in marriage, and this is our way of passing along the discipleship investment that was made in us as newlyweds. During the early part of our tenure at Cedarville, Tammy was meeting weekly with Brianna Ackerman, now the Resident Director of Maddox Hall, when the idea of Tied and True began to emerge. During the first year, they partnered together in serving young married women following a Titus 2 model of intentional discipleship. Tammy was intentionally discipling Brianna, Brianna was intentionally discipling a group of married female students, and the entire group of women would meet at our home once a month for a panel discussion led by Tammy and a few other older women. During the second year, we added the men, grew the group to about 30 student couples, Brianna expanded the Bible study, and we met in our home once a month with a panel discussion led by Tammy and me; AdamHammett, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and his wife, Rachael; and Aaron Cook ’99, our Director of Discipleship Ministries, and his wife, Laurie (Jelinek ’ 99 ), who now lead Tied and True in their home. Q How can Cedarville’s friends and family support intentional discipleship through their gifts? A Because intentional discipleship is woven into the fabric of the Cedarville University experience, every gift, whether large or small, makes an indelible imprint in transforming the next generation of Christ followers who are being equipped to use their influence to serve, disciple, and lead and make an impact for Christ by reinvesting what has been poured into each of them. From my experience, this kind of intentional discipleship is rare on most university campuses across the nation and world. When a financial partner chooses to invest in students at Cedarville University, they can be certain that every gift is an investment in students and will be used to intentionally disciple students to stand for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. ADVANCING DISCIPLESHIP ADVANCING CEDARVILLE 22 | Cedarville Magazine