Welcome to the Pursuit, a series documenting the experiences of a Colson Fellow-in-Training as they seek to walk wisely in this time and place. Each segment will provide an insider’s look at what a prospective participant can actually expect should they choose to embark on the journey themselves.
In this segment, we sat down with Gregory Kirk, who runs a rescue agency for the homeless and addicts in Missouri, and asked him to share his experience with the Colson Fellows program, especially since he was completing a doctorate at the same time! The Colson Fellows program is designed for busy men and women from all walks of life in mind. Here's a glimpse inside. Enjoy!
The Pursuit: Gregory Kirk
How a full-time Christian educator does the Colson Fellows program
As told to the Colson Center communications staff
Where are you from? I’m originally from California but now I live in Missouri.
What season of life are you in? I’m married with three kids, twelve grandkids, and one great-grandchild.
What is your occupation? I run a rescue mission. It’s a Gospel agency that works with the homeless and with men addicted to drugs and alcohol. We have a year-long drug and alcohol recovery program, and I’m the executive director. I’ve been here for 19 years.
When did you become a follower of Christ? When I was 21 years old, I was in the U.S. military. On my way home, I stopped by a tent meeting. That’s where I accepted the Lord. My wife was a Christian at the time, but I was not. When I got home that night and took off my motorcycle helmet, my wife looked at me and said, “You got saved.” She could tell by the look on my face that I’d accepted the Lord. My life hasn’t been the same since.
What led to your interest in the Colson Fellows program? I was always a big Chuck Colson fan. When I was in Bible college in the 80s, I worked ten years in a maximum-security prison. So, I knew Prison Fellowship and what they did. That led me to read just about everything Chuck had written.
In recent years, I was using Chuck’s book How Now Shall We Live? for part of my dissertation, and when I was looking online for a quote from the book one day, I went down an internet rabbit trail and stumbled across the Colson Fellows. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I read about it and thought, “I need to belong to this!” I pretty much signed up right away. So, there I was, working on my doctorate and working on the Colson Fellows program at the same time. It was crazy, but I ended up using four of the books we read in the Colson Fellowship in my dissertation.
What Colson Fellows cohort are you in? How many CFITs are in your class? Class of 2021. I was in the St. Louis cohort, led by Kirk Boyenga. I’d say there were about 30 of us.
What was your favorite book or topic to study? Tactics by Greg Koukl. I really liked the way it helped me talk to people about the Lord. You don’t have to get in their face. All I can do is tell people about the Word. Only the Holy Spirit can do the saving.
How did you approach the workload for the Colson Fellows program? Do you have advice for other participants? You’ve got to do something every day. I learned that after the first month. You need to make up your mind that you’re going to do it and you’re going to do it every day. The learning is nonstop. If you stop, it’s still going.
Most challenging moment? The most challenging moment was when I got behind, and on top of that I was hospitalized with COVID. But I caught up!
Where has the Colson Fellows program most impacted you? What transformation did it bring about in your life? It opened my eyes to a bunch of different people who are as conservative and who care about biblical worldview as much as I do. My eyes were opened to a lot of people who are doing the same thing I’m doing and believe the same thing I believe. I’m glad I had the experience.
It’s making me always think about my biblical worldview, and it’s also helped me be able to work with Gen Z. The things we’ve read about culture and how to work with people of different worldviews have helped me think more philosophically about things and not just have a knee-jerk reaction.
I also started using the Bible Project at the rescue mission. I have three guys out of thirty at the mission that can’t read one word. But I can play the Bible Project videos about basic doctrines and Scriptures and they can learn from it. I wouldn’t have known what the Bible Project was if it weren’t for the Colson Fellowship.
What did you do for your personal mission plan as a commissioned Colson Fellow? I implemented a discipleship program here at the rescue mission. I’m still using it. I don’t want sober but unsaved people. I want to lead people to Christ and to be disciples of Christ.
What would you say to someone considering the program? First of all, do it. And be ready to work, because it’s not easy. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but in a good way. Don’t let the scope of the work scare you off. I’m not going to say it isn’t a lot of work, but anything worth having is worth doing right.
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