Arrington begins role as inaugural campus pastor
Rev. Drew Arrington, an ARP minister and recently retired Army chaplain, began serving as campus pastor at Erskine this summer. As he steps into the new role, Arrington sees some similarities between college students and service members, particularly in their adjustment to new—albeit two very different—ways of life.
“They’re coming in search of something different. They may not know what it is. They’re looking for a community, a place to belong. That’s part of the challenge.” Arrington says. “These students are coming from different backgrounds, and we want them to embrace the idea that they’re here to be servants and leaders that impact Christ’s church and influence and shape society for His glory.”
In his own undergraduate days, Arrington attended Georgia’s Berry College, majoring in history with a minor in secondary education. At Berry, he felt the first stirrings of a pastoral calling.
“I thought that I might be called to ministry but wasn’t sure what that would look like,” Arrington says.
After graduating in 1998, he pursued a career in teaching, but the only job offer he received was from a private international Christian school in Seoul, South Korea. It was quite a leap from his hometown of Columbus, Georgia, but Arrington took it. By August, he was in Seoul and began teaching high school social studies to a diverse student body.
During that first year, Arrington and several faculty members planned a staff weekend that included ice-breaking and team-developing activities to strengthen ties at the school. It proved a pivotal weekend for his future career, as the keynote speaker was the senior Army chaplain in South Korea.
The chaplain, impressed with Arrington’s leadership and ministry qualities, said, “We gotta get a guy like you into the Army to be a chaplain to help these young soldiers,” Arrington recalls. For an hour after dinner that day, the officer described what Army chaplain life was like, including all its challenges and difficulties.
“At the end of the conversation, I said, ‘Sir, you just described ministry. I’ve been waiting for somebody to tell me about it,’” Arrington says.
After finishing his work in Seoul, Arrington returned to the States to pursue his Master of Divinity at Columbia International University. He took his initial oath of office and became a chaplain candidate in April 2003. In the summer of 2006, Arrington went on active duty. He and his wife Allison, then eight months pregnant with their first daughter, moved to Fort Hood, Texas.
After nearly twenty years in the Army, Arrington approached retirement and began to consider what life would look like after the military. During this time, Allison texted him the job description for the Erskine College campus pastor position. It sounded like a perfect fit. To help convince him to apply, Allison reminded him of something he’d said on a return visit to Berry many years before.
“I said, after the military, I would love to come back and be the campus chaplain here or at another small college or international school,” Arrington says. “At the time, she asked me, ‘Why?’ The answer that I have now is the same as I had back then. These are young people in transition.”
Arrington applied, but around the same time, he received a military assignment in Maryland and moved forward with that role.
Later, he circled back to Erskine and found that the chaplain position was still open. Arrington was offered the Erskine position, and the timing of the start date roughly corresponded to the time needed to complete his service with the Army.
As to his new role on campus, Arrington uses the analogy of a nickel to describe it relative to that of Jamie Williams, Erskine’s Director of Campus Ministries and External Relations.
The nickel’s core is comprised of the students, to whom both will minister. The front of the coin, Thomas Jefferson’s relief, reflects the role of Williams, who faces out to the community. Arrington’s role is represented by Monticello, the flip side of a nickel, with more of a focus on Erskine.
“My responsibility is more to the institution in that I’m the pastor for all the faculty and staff, including the coaches,” Arrington says.
He will also work closely with Reverend Seob Kim of Due West ARP Church. Plans are underway to launch “C3,” which stands for “College, Church, Community,” an evening service for college students.
Arrington says that C3 will seek to help answer the question, “How do we celebrate the beauty of the Gospel and how do we pray for one another in a very meaningful way?”
As he mentors students, Arrington himself is finishing his studies at Erskine Theological Seminary, planning to graduate with a doctorate in ministry at the end of the fall semester.
