Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Mullin
Interview by Theresa Babbitt
Recently, I had the pleasure of connecting with WCIU alumni, Sarah Mullin. Sarah works with a creative access people group by making strategic connections at her local college campus. Working mostly with refugees, Sarah has been able to conduct research, provide practical care through relational community building and give much-needed support to her vulnerable neighbors.
I hope you enjoy reading the below transcription of our conversation about how Sarah came to study and WCIU, what her experience was like, and what she’s up to now.
Interview with Sarah Mullin
Theresa: “I am so happy to be talking with you today, do you mind telling us a little about your story and what brought you to WCIU?”
Sarah: “Yes, that story actually goes back a long way. All the way to 1987 when my husband and I were applying to SIM to be missionaries and we knew we needed to do a year of Bible and missions training. We were Southern Californians and we knew people who were connected with WCIU. We really appreciated WCIU’s focus on helping to get the average person, working a day job, out on the field with as little expense and as much hands-on, practical opportunity as possible. So, I first went to WCIU from 1988-1990. That was during the early days of the Perspectives course, and when Frontiers and the Caleb Project were still based on campus. Since then, I have been reading Mission Frontiers for years and following the university.
So, when was thinking about getting a Master’s praying about where I might do that, WCIU came to mind. I was interested in studying third culture identity and the impact of growing up cross-culturally; particularly for Muslims. One day my friend was praying with me, that the Lord would lead me to find a University to attend. As she was praying I started thinking about my year of bible and mission. I thought, huh, I wonder if that Certificate would apply anywhere and if I could use that toward a Master’s Degree. And then I thought, Well, I wonder if WCIU has a program that would be relevant. After my friend left, I called WCIU. I don’t remember who I spoke to but I said, “I am really interested in getting my Master’s and studying cross-cultural identity. Would this be relevant?” The guy on the phone replied, “Absolutely.” Providentially, I just happened to be calling during the window of application time. I was able to turn in all my forms and application right away. I really felt like the Lord had led me to WCIU for this degree.
Sarah on “One thing she really loved about WCIU”: “Back in the day we were learning about Kingdom theology. I remember reading about George Elden Lad and reading his books. My New Testament Professor said, “This just makes so much sense.” I’ve been a part of a church community that really follows the Kingdom perspective as well. So I felt so at home at WCIU. It just fits like a glove.
Theresa: Our University tagline is “Be Changed. Bring Change.” Can you identify some ways you were changed at WCIU? Or something there was a big takeaway for you?
Sarah on how her time at WCIU changed her: In our many weekly homework assignments, the questions were always, “how will you apply this?” It wasn’t just asking what our head knowledge was about the material- it was, “what are you actually going to do with this.” So each week it gave me an opportunity to reflect and say, “how do I want to apply this?” I wish I could give examples of what I did each week, but I know it led me to an obedience-based perspective on the Gospel. The Gospel isn’t meant to be something that I read, move on, and get a little more knowledge from. But rather, the Gospel invites me to stop, reflect, and think, “Lord how do you want me to obey this? What do you want me to do as a result of this?” I think that mindset is really helpful in all of Christan life. It’s a constant state of reevaluation, repentance, learning and never sensing that we have learned enough because this is meant to be transformative. I’d say that posture is probably the biggest takeaway I have. It’s been invaluable to me.
Theresa: This is awesome because one of our aims as a University is to cultivate reflective scholar-practitioners. In essence, being reflective in your work. Not getting tunnel vision and doing the same thing over and over but being able to take a step back, adjust and really sit with what is happening and with God and yourself. So you can move forward. Can I ask, how are you now “bringing change?”
Sarah on how she is now bringing change: I feel like the ones who are really going to have the most impact in the gospel moving forward are the ones who have grown up cross-culturally. I feel like the nature of having grown up in-between two cultures or more positions people for understanding others from different cultures well. Right now, in the world, we have so many displaced peoples that a huge number of young adults are growing up in a culture that is not the one they were born into. From my own children’s perspective in my family; our kids grew up overseas, they were that third culture kid; that missionary kid. They connected really quickly with other third-culture kids. It didn’t matter where they were from, it was the sense of having grown up in-between cultures that created a bond. What’s really beautiful is that young adults who grew up in this cross-cultural space and are now adults, are on college campuses rubbing shoulders with young adults of other faith backgrounds who grew up in that same in-between culture space. So. just from what we know from the missions community of how well individuals who have a cross-cultural identity can find one another and connect with one another- Young adult third-culture Christians are most poised to be reaching out to young adults of other faith backgrounds in the West.
So, I have been meeting up with young adults in my church who are cross-cultural college students and helping them to recognize the fact that even though growing up in-between cultures is difficult and creates a sense of belonging nowhere, they also have the capacity to fit in everywhere. This gives them the ability to connect with people whom others do not easily connect with. I’ve been getting this message out among friends and family as well and they are sharing the message. I am hearing back that young adults of other faith backgrounds are leaning forward and saying, “Wait. that’s me! That makes so much sense, that’s who I am.” And so, I think what the Lord has given me as a strategic thinker, is the ability to pass these ideas along to others so that it can be a ripple effect. More than just me reaching out to young adults, I can help people understand who they are in the Kingdom and how their identity uniquely positions them to be able to reach others. This is what I feel the Lord is really calling me to do right now. And as much as I am good with that because that is where I have been, it also makes me curious because I think, Lord, I love to get in there and you know, roll up my sleeves and be more involved in ministry, but at this point what I think He has me doing is getting the message out. So, I am a messenger right now.
Theresa: You recently gave a TED talk at Merge 2022 correct? Do you mind telling us a little about that? First off, what is Merge 2022?
Merge 2022 was a gathering of mission practitioners who were looking at best practices in mission for where we are today. They asked some to give TED talks as a way to get conversations started. We were not supposed to give full explanations of any topic so that people would not feel like they walked away with the sense that they understand the topic and could therefore move on, but rather to drop seeds if you will; to get people thinking, networking, and gathering in conversations about the topics. The leader of Merge 2022 recognizes that generation 1.5 is a cross-cultural generation of young adults. (Gen 1.5 reflects individuals there were born in one country and raised in another country. They are not the second generation but rather the 1.5). Anyway, he sees them as being strategic so he wanted to get the conversation started on this topic.
We met in Estes Park, CO with about 150 practitioners. I was very grateful for the opportunity to give this research away as a gift. It’s something I have been entrusted with and felt like I was passing along. So, I told my story about how we had been in my city for 7 years working with, not only young adults but also kids and families of other faith backgrounds. We were doing everything we had done overseas and we have really quality people working in the ministry but we only saw 2 individuals interested in Christ; one was a 3rd grader and one was a 13-year-old. We prayed for people and had seen significant answers to prayer, but when we tried to share the gospel. there was almost no follow-up with the adults. And so at the end of our 7th summer, a friend and I got together and we were asking, “What’s it gonna take?” “What is it going to take for there to be a response to the Gospel among refugees in the U.S.?” And that is when I thought, saw, felt, and sensed a really strong impression that it was the Community College. After thinking about this, and studying and going to WCIU I’ve come to recognize that it’s not just the Community College venue the Lord was pointing out, it was young adults; 18-24-year-olds.
There are a lot of reasons that 18-24-year-olds are strategic to be reaching. We know that college campus ministries are really powerful. We know that this is a profound time of life psychologically. We make big decisions between the ages of 18-24; we are considering things like marriage, careers, and politics. Another thing people consider between 18-24 is religion. They tend to look at issues of faith. So, this is a natural conversation for 18-24-year-olds. And something profound is that brain development supports this as well. With all the new research that has come out in the last 15-20 years about the brain, we know that the frontal lobe is not as fully developed and that young adults are operating on the amygdala or the emotional centers of the brain. This allows for more risk-taking, more open thinking, and more being willing to consider things that older people’s minds would be putting the brakes on. So, decisions concerning faith, or things that are decisions that might be less expected in an older adult are more likely from 18-24.
In my TED talk I also talk about the difference between traditional ministry and campus ministry and one big one is that we have a set limited number of contacts in a traditional ministry. We might run an ESL program in which we have the capacity for 20 students. We have those 20 students for a semester then the next semester we might have another set of 20. But on a college campus, there is the potential for meeting a lot more people. Also, if needed, we can move on from relationships without hurting people’s feelings as easily due to the fluid nature of the community and the calendar on campus. The result of the TED talk is that a number of people were interested in starting college ministries focused on other faith backgrounds who grew up cross-culturally.
Theresa: That is so interesting, I am so glad you were able to share your research with that group and with me today. One more quick question as we wrap up. Why do you think someone should consider enrolling at WCIU?
Sarah: one of the things I love about WCIU is that students are from all over and so it is possible to connect with people from other parts of the world and have close relationships come together for a common purpose. I feel like it is accessible and the level of connectivity with other people is really high. I was super fortunate because another young woman and I decided to take all of our classes together so we were able to collaborate and have a shared experience. WCIU is super affordable and super accessible with top-notch instructors. Every professor really invested in me as an individual- and that is not a common thing. To have professors who were cheering us on, who know our life stories, what we’re passionate about, and who helped us find out, was an amazing gift at WCIU.
Theresa: So, even though people are all over the world there is an opportunity for deep connection… which is amazing because many would expect a distance university to be impersonal but it sounds like your experience was the opposite of that; it was deeply personal and deeply impactful on both an academic and interpersonal level.
Sarah: I would suggest that it’s not “even though people are all over the world,” but “because” they were from all over the world. It truly is a strength of the University.
Theresa: Well Sarah, it has been amazing talking with you today. I heard some of your research may soon be published, we will be on the lookout for that so we can share it!