A Revolution at Ball State
May 19, 2008
As a college student, Neil Kring flaunted a mullet and devoted his energies to staying out of rehab. Today, he’s on staff with GCM at Ball State University and pastors a campus church called “The Revolution.” Learn how God used GCM to influence change in his life.
Neil, how did you first get involved with GCM?
I grew up in a Christian home, but Christianity never seemed very real or useful to me. During my teen years I abused drugs and alcohol, and I planned to go to college and party. But my life took a detour when I was checked into rehab. After that, I had to try to stay away from the party scene, so I stayed in my dorm room most of the time or went to the gym with my roommate. One day some guys, including GCM pastor John Hever, stopped by my college dorm room to invite my roommate and me to a discussion in our study lounge. We told them we would come, just to get them to leave. At the group, it was interesting to see people my own age who were taking their faith seriously. I was drawn to them. For several weeks, I had many conversations with them about faith and Jesus. The more I learned about his grace, the more I wanted him to be real to me, the way he was to my new friends. That fall, I committed my life to Jesus. I've been following Christ for almost 20 years now.
So how did you decide to go on staff with GCM?
After getting involved with GCM’s ministry at Ball State as a student, I began to see that God could use me to help others the way I’d been helped. I began sharing my faith with the guys on my floor, and to my surprise, many decided to commit their lives to Christ. I started Bible studies and learned how to help people grow, and I began considering if God was calling me to do this full-time. I went on staff with GCM after graduation.
What do you love about ministry?
I love helping people learn what it really means to follow Jesus. Young people are full of misperceptions. They think Christianity means, like I did, that you have to be perfect, or you have to lose your identity. Most have never read the Bible and have had few, if any, serious conversations about their spiritual journey. I love talking to students about how Jesus can meet them.
Tell me about your church at Ball State University—The Revolution.
We build our church by building community—by creating an open and accepting place for people to worship, grow in relationships and explore their faith. We have all sorts of people come, from devout followers to Christ, to seekers, to skeptics. We have a great team of GCM staff and other leaders. We're all good friends and partners in the gospel, and we're committed to reaching those who are far from God.
What dreams do you have for the future?
Over the past several years, some community house-churches have formed out of our work at Ball State, but we hope to plant churches in other campuses and cities. To do this we need laborers: people who would consider full-time or part-time ministry, as well as volunteers. This has been one of our biggest prayers for many years.