My Story as an A.P.E. | Release the A.P.E.

Beau speaking at Greek Conference 2012

I did not grow up in a Christian home, and did not come into a church on purpose until right before college, I grew up in the Seattle area with loving parents, but we never talked about God. It was just a missing subject in my household. Because of a golf scholarship (Yes I kicked butt at golf) I went to school at the University of San Diego in 2001. It was here, through the ministry of InterVarsity, that I came to faith in Jesus my freshman year!

It was at this same time, I became a flaming evangelist. I could not stop talking about Jesus. I was able to see my dad come to faith immediately and then my sister the next year and a few other family members years after. I also catalyzed my dorm floor regularly to go to church, study the bible and get to InterVarsity. I was a total evangelist from day one of my conversion to Christ and to this day I have seen hundreds commit to Jesus. I love sharing the faith!

But I was also a trouble maker to the status quo. I didn’t fit in the Christian box. I didn’t do things the way “proper” Christians did. I challenged people regularly in their belief. I prayed for and pushed leaders for more vision and growth. I got called into the Catholic Priest’s office on campus for hanging a MASSIVE Billy Graham sign off my dorm building during a crusade. I was loud, proud, and out there for Jesus. I was compelling, effective, and at the same time obnoxious, and sometimes immature. Thank God I had great mentors and a soft heart.

Since that freshmen year, through the Holy Spirits guidance and great mentoring especially from Chris Nichols (now the Regional Director for InterVarsity in New England), I was able to develop into an effective leader and minister for Christ. For the previous 7 years before my recent move to LA, I had been leading the InterVarsity ministry at San Diego State University growing that chapter and starting dorm ministry, Greek ministry, and many other things on the fringe of campus. God also used me and the team to raise up many faithful A.P.E. leaders on campus during that time.

: Beau teaching on evangelism at an InterVarsity Conference

Now I am in a new season of planting ministry in Los Angeles and although I have learned alot and have many skills and tools under my belt, I am pretty much starting over. New city, new campuses, and now one year of ministry under our belt. I am stepping out once again with my wife Kristina and our two kids, Noah (3) and Sophia (14mo), to catalyze a movement for God. This is what A.P.E leaders do.

One very fun thing about moving to LA to start this ministry is that I get to see one of my main disciples, Nick Kwok step up in greater ways for Jesus. He came to faith in Jesus during college at San Diego State through Greek InterVarsity while I was there on staff (I had been there the previous seven years before just moving to LA). Now Nick has moved to LA to start Greek InterVarsity with me and Kristina. He will be at UCLA planting a Greek chapter on campus. It is truly a joy to see people you lead and disciple, stepping up and out for Jesus! It is awesome to see one guy take my place and the other go forward with me to take new ground! They get the A.P.E. vision.

More recently, I can thank the missional church movement and Alan Hirsch through his books, Dave Ferguson through books and mentoring and Dr. Rick Richardson through the awesome Masters Degree he has put together at Wheaton College. They have truly helped me take my next steps to become the leader God has made me to be. These three guys in particular have really unleashed the A.P.E. in me over the last year in a unique way. I feel for the first time I have language to explain and interpret what I have felt for 10 years as a Christian…the apostolic vocation. But it wasn’t until this last year, that I was affirmed in and given language for the apostolic. My passion to create this blog comes from this great joy, as well as frustration over the lack of clarity surrounding the Apostolic vocation. Let alone the Prophetic and Evangelistic.

I am born to live on the fringe, start new things, challenge the status quo and do church and mission for Jesus differently. I just don’t fit in the traditional church box, doing things the same old way even when they aren’t working!

If you have any of that stirring in you, this is the blog for you! You just might be an A.P.E. and didn’t know it!

Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about my story or you want to talk about your calling and development as an A.P.E.