For the past seven years, James Ballard has served as Director at World Gospel Missions (WGM). WGM is an on-campus ministry that provides meals and times of fellowship on Sunday nights at Global Cafe, a student center for meetings and a space to hang out with friends, and ministry opportunities to lead and serve, including organized mission trips for students. For these seven years, Ballard has ministered to countless students, encouraged and discipled them in their walks with Christ and spent many early mornings and late nights in prayer for our campus. He has spoken at Global Cafe, prepared meals for students, and traveled with WGM on mission with students. And now, Ballard is preparing to take the next step in his life.
On March 24, Ballard announced on the WGM Instagram page that his final date serving with WGM will be June 15. Ballard will be moving to Denver, Colorado in late June and has announced that he will be marrying his fiancee, Kristy, in October. Over the course of his time at Asbury, Ballard has made many memories and cherished precious moments with students.
“I have been here seven years—I got here in 2017—and I would say the things that I look fondly back on are moments with students and one-on-ones. I think fondly of my leadership teams because they have become like family,” Ballard said. “I look fondly on the culture of Global Cafe. I cherish those moments… I know that is a gift. It’s not something that is mine. I think this has been a place that has held me in probably the hardest time of my life. So I look fondly upon the community that, in essence, I am supposed to be giving to them, and yet they are giving to me and supporting me, and I am grateful for that. So, these are seven years that I think I will look back on and say, ‘these might have been the best times of my life.’”
During The Outpouring, Ballard had a sense of “this is going to be my last moment” at Asbury. After praying through Psalm 27, he knew he was being called to wait on the Lord, but he was unsure of what exactly he was waiting for until he reconnected with a college friend last September. When Kristy and James had coffee on his porch that day, that was the beginning of something special.
“I’m excited to marry someone that is pretty phenomenal… I’m excited to do the brave thing and to explore that,” said Ballard. “My hopes and expectancies [for the next year] are that we are going to do life together, and I’m okay with whatever that looks like as far as vocation goes for me. I’m excited for how the future is going to unfold—not just this next year but the years to come.”
While there is excitement, hope and anticipation for this next season of life for Ballard, there is still a sadness that comes with leaving the place he has called home for seven years. Ballard has personally impacted the lives of countless students, inspired their passions for ministry, and has been a listening ear and encourager. Now, it is time for him to leave a legacy.
“I think the thing that I want students to walk away with is our values,” Ballard said. “At the end of the day, [I hope] students realize that God just wants to be with us. Would we recognize who we are, and would that inform how we live and how we lean into life? Would we be open-handed and stop holding onto things? It’s good to have ambition. But would we have open hands with it, and would it be Godly ambition? Be expectant and focus on the Caller, not the calling. Be perseverant and keep stepping. Be on mission.”
The ministry and the impact that WGM has had on Asbury’s students is not ending with Ballard. He has trained up and discipled the next generation with excellence so that they may continue spreading the Gospel of Jesus.
“At the end of the day if that could be my lasting legacy to students – that they walk away and know Whose they are and that informs everything else – I’ve made an impact. And the other thing I would want them to know is that it doesn’t end with me. I pray these same students I’ve had an opportunity to get to know would realize they have an opportunity, a privilege, and a calling to pour into the next generation.”
Ballard has been a vital, life-giving, inspirational member of Asbury’s campus community for the past seven years. He is dearly loved, and he will be dearly missed. As Asbury bids him farewell, it is with a trust that the Lord is going to do wonderful things in and through him. His legacy and ministry here will leave a lasting impact for generations to come.
Featured image by Avery Marshall.