Disrupting spaces for Christ

“I really had to sharpen what I believed at Bethel Seminary,” says Cesar Castillejos S’10. “I have a heart for outreach, the unchurched, the disinterested. I felt my calling was to young people.” In working toward his Master of Divinity, many of his classmates wanted to work in churches and be professors. He, however, was taking systematic theology and Greek while working with middle schoolers. “So, I was challenged in figuring out how to take theology to kids who aren’t interested and are actually put off by Christians,” Castillejos says.

Under Bethel Seminary’s Transformative Education Model, Castillejos strengthened his biblical and faith foundation, but also refined his leadership skills. This blend of knowledge equips seminary students like him to pursue their calling wherever that may be—church, classroom, or office. For Castillejos, it’s immersed in the world of young people. 

He is now the national director of Young Life’s Servant Leadership Project (SLP), an intercultural leadership training experience for emerging leaders. For 10 days, thirty students representing different geographic, economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds come together at colleges—including Bethel—across the country to build relationships, serve together, and lean into God’s calling for their lives. 

“It’s cross-cultural ministry the way Jesus did it. The only thing binding us is a willingness to follow Jesus,” Castillejos says. “People didn’t know what Jesus was about until they started walking with Him and discovered He’s for all people. They could no longer be for themselves. And that’s what we’re doing: trying to get kids out of their silos.”

The four pillars of SLP—servant leadership, spiritual formation, cultural awareness, and personal calling—are meant to challenge and inspire young leaders to see the world through Christ’s eyes. Doing this isn’t easy—the distractions for young people today are many. “The challenge is everyone telling them what to do. There’s so much to look at. Who should they follow?” Castillejos says. It’s also not comfortable. “The experience is disruptive. The greatest growth never came out of great comfort. We are intentionally disrupting their spaces for the sake of Christ,” he says. It’s why a student from a wealthy suburb may find themselves sharing a dorm room with a student from the inner city. “You can’t love that which you don’t know. So, we build relationships,” Castillejos says.

Students learn from and challenge each other in small group discussions. They head into the city to immerse themselves in diverse cultures. They participate in service projects together. And they have fun while developing as spiritual leaders in a multicultural world. “Jesus did this for three years with a group of cross-cultural disciples—fishermen, tax collectors, doctors!” Castillejos says. In this way, what SLP is doing isn’t innovative at all, but rather old-school, according to him.

Castillejos attended Bethel for a couple years during undergrad before transferring to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he graduated with a major in communication studies. He returned to the Twin Cities and began working with Young Life, and for nearly 20 years he’s also been on staff at Hope Church in Richfield, Minn., where he’s currently minister for preaching and presence. He also runs his own apparel company that he started during college; is an in-house life coach and chaplain for a local real estate company; and is on Bethel’s Chapel team, preaching numerous times throughout the year. “I just want to be the best steward of the gifts I’ve been given. That’s why I have all these roles,” Castillejos says. “I learned in seminary that God created you for more than just one thing.”

And he also learned how to translate God’s Word into something life-changing for young people. “They’re hungry, and there are not enough people feeding them. When they look at Christians, they see inconsistencies. They’re confused,” Castillejos says. “We need Hebrews 12:1. ‘Fix our eyes on Jesus.’

The Servant Leadership Project will take place at Bethel this summer June 15-25.

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