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"This goes beyond personal evangelism," said Randy Gabrielse, director of Areopagus. "It has to do with a ministry on the university's terms to reach faculty and graduate students where they live."
The academic world is often rebuffed by Christians, who may see it as secular, Gabrielse said.
"Our emphasis is that God and Jesus Christ love, rule over and seek to reconcile to himself all of creation, including the university life," he said.
In ancient times, Areopagus - which is sometimes translated as Mar's Hill - was the meeting place of the council and "most learned residents of Athens," Gabrielse said.
It was there that, in the New Testament, the apostle Paul gave one of his greatest speeches, "adapting to the language of their culture and speaking to them in philosophical terms," Gabrielse said.
The newly formed Areopagus ministry at ISU will offer support to enable graduate students and faculty members to "live their lives faithfully," he said.
For example, a recent group discussed how to balance a tenure track with family and church responsibilities.
Working "on the university's terms," as Gabrielse said, Areopagus will present a public lecture series, introducing national academics in science, philosophy and history who also happen to have a faith in God.
The next lecture on Thursday, Oct. 12, will present Del Ratzsch, professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Michigan, who will speak on "Could 'Intelligent Design' be Legitimate Science?"
Ratzsch will also speak to faculty and student groups on the blending of faith and science.
Areopagus is a home mission project of the Christian Reformed Church denomination, including the Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Ames, where Gabrielse has his office.
But what the ministry is offering goes beyond denominational lines, he said.
For Gabrielse, the Areopagus ministry is a foray into a new land, but one where he already has an extensive road map.
The 36-year-old has spent years in the academic world, recently earning his doctorate in history at Michigan State University.
Throughout those years as a student, he was deeply involved in campus ministries, group studies and self-study of biblical theology, until he sometimes felt as if he were working on "two thesis at once," he said.
Details of the Areopagus ministry, along with a schedule of events, can be found online at www.
isu-areopagus.org. Gabrielse can be reached through the Trinity offices at 292-4676.
