ryan hoagland
pioneer director at spc (gibbs)
A Pioneer to Saint Petersburg College Gibbs campus and House group leader for Local Church St. Pete. I love the city of St Pete and the people who live here. I was born here, met my wife, Katie, here and previously thought that I would live the rest of my life here.
At an early age I understood that Jesus died for the world and that it was the best news ever! Later on while I was in highschool, my heart heard the story of the woman at the well who met Jesus. Jesus knew all that the woman had done and still offered her living water. I was believing that Jesus was good news for the world, but not specifically good news for me. As I walked onto the college campus of USFSP, I was greeted by the people of COMission. COMission and the local church challenged me to make the most out of my time in college and life for Jesus. As I was sent from USF and started working in a professional setting, the missional muscle that I had exercised and grown on the college campus was now working in the office.
For the past 5 years I have been serving the local church and the campus ministry of COMission while working as a full-time insurance agent. As I saw my workplace as a mission field I also was thinking through the most strategic way to make disciples. Through prayer and many conversations with Katie and wise leaders I decided to join COMission staff. As of fall 2019 I have been making Jesus known at SPC. Our mission is to raise up college students and send them well to wherever God has called them.
God's plan for my life started to become more clear as my wife and I attended Cross Con. The Cross conference focused on God's will for his people to cross barriers and borders to share the Gospel with people who have little to no access to real hope. Story after story was shared about the need for the gospel and the joy when people come to believe. Katie and I decided then that we would go wherever God called us and that we would always leave a door open to cross cultures and live among unreached people groups. While God has us in St Pete we will continue to enjoy the rich art culture, indoor rock climbing gym and eclectic events like shuffleboard or movies on the lawn.
At an early age I understood that Jesus died for the world and that it was the best news ever! Later on while I was in highschool, my heart heard the story of the woman at the well who met Jesus. Jesus knew all that the woman had done and still offered her living water. I was believing that Jesus was good news for the world, but not specifically good news for me. As I walked onto the college campus of USFSP, I was greeted by the people of COMission. COMission and the local church challenged me to make the most out of my time in college and life for Jesus. As I was sent from USF and started working in a professional setting, the missional muscle that I had exercised and grown on the college campus was now working in the office.
For the past 5 years I have been serving the local church and the campus ministry of COMission while working as a full-time insurance agent. As I saw my workplace as a mission field I also was thinking through the most strategic way to make disciples. Through prayer and many conversations with Katie and wise leaders I decided to join COMission staff. As of fall 2019 I have been making Jesus known at SPC. Our mission is to raise up college students and send them well to wherever God has called them.
God's plan for my life started to become more clear as my wife and I attended Cross Con. The Cross conference focused on God's will for his people to cross barriers and borders to share the Gospel with people who have little to no access to real hope. Story after story was shared about the need for the gospel and the joy when people come to believe. Katie and I decided then that we would go wherever God called us and that we would always leave a door open to cross cultures and live among unreached people groups. While God has us in St Pete we will continue to enjoy the rich art culture, indoor rock climbing gym and eclectic events like shuffleboard or movies on the lawn.
