Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Locke.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story is really a story about saying “yes” to something that needed to be rebuilt. More accurately, I suppose, it is about not letting folks say “no” to it.
I came into ministry because I was drawn to the work of helping people figure out who they are, what they believe, and how their faith connects to the world around them. That led me to Jacksonville and to campus ministry. When I was introduced to Jacksonville Campus Ministry in 2017, the ministry was in a pretty precarious place. It had very limited resources and was close to shutting down. I saw a ministry with enormous potential, though, and I believed college students needed a place where they could ask hard questions, build genuine community, and explore faith without having to leave parts of themselves at the door.
So we started rebuilding. What began as a relatively small ministry has grown into a ministry serving students across Northeast Florida. We’ve developed weekly community meals, Bible studies, retreats, service opportunities, student leadership, and housing. Along the way, I’ve had the privilege of watching students become leaders, discover their vocations, find community, and stay connected long after they graduate.
A lot of my work now is still about building things, sometimes programs, sometimes partnerships, sometimes even actual buildings, but ultimately it’s about people. I care deeply about creating spaces where people feel known, valued, challenged, and equipped to do something meaningful with their lives.
Jacksonville has become home in a way I certainly didn’t anticipate when I first arrived. I love this city, and I love that so much of my work gets to happen at the intersection of faith, higher education, community, and the people who are trying to make Jacksonville a better place.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. Some of the hardest parts have been trying to build something that didn’t really have a blueprint. But I am really blessed to have so many incredible partners who have helped us along the way.
When I arrived at JCM, there were very limited resources, and there was a real question about whether the ministry could continue at all. Rebuilding it meant learning how to fundraise, develop partnerships, build programs, recruit and manage student leaders, and convince people to believe in something before there was much evidence that it would work. There were plenty of moments when I had to make decisions without knowing whether they were going to pay off. And there were plenty of people waiting to see if they did.
There have also been the ordinary challenges of ministry: limited time and money, competing expectations, institutional politics, people disagreeing about what the ministry should be, and the emotional weight of caring deeply about something that doesn’t always move as quickly as you’d like. Growth creates its own problems, too. Once something starts working, you have to figure out how to sustain it rather than simply celebrating the growth.
I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that resilience isn’t about never getting discouraged. There have absolutely been times when I’ve wondered whether something (or anything) was worth the fight. It’s about being willing to adjust, learn from what isn’t working, and keep moving forward without losing sight of why you started in the first place. I’m really grateful for the people who have surrounded me and this ministry, and who know when to remind me that I really do love this work, despite the challenges.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but honestly, I don’t think I would want it to have been. I get bored pretty easily, and a lot of what makes JCM what it is today came from having to solve problems we didn’t expect and figuring out how to build something stronger on the other side of them.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Jacksonville Campus Ministry (JCM) is a Christian campus ministry serving college students across Northeast Florida. We work with students at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Florida State College in Jacksonville, and Edward Waters University, creating spaces where young adults can build meaningful community, explore their faith, ask difficult questions, and figure out who they are becoming.
What sets JCM apart is that we aren’t simply trying to get students to attend a church service or participate in a program. We want to build a community that actually becomes part of their lives. We share meals, study the Bible, have honest conversations about faith and life, serve together, take retreats and trips, and give students opportunities to lead. We also intentionally create space for students who may not have always felt fully welcomed in religious communities.
What I’m most proud of, though, isn’t a particular program or even how much the organization has grown. It’s the visible impact the ministry has had on students’ lives. I’ve watched students find friends, become leaders, discover a sense of purpose, reconnect with their faith, and develop relationships that continue long after they graduate. We are also helping students stay in school by providing affordable, inclusive, and safe housing that is flexible and understands the difficulties our students face.
That’s really what I want people to understand about JCM: we’re not just an organization that students pass through during college. We hope to become a community that stays with them. Years later, alumni still tell us about the people they met here, the conversations they had, and the ways their experience at JCM shaped who they became.
If there is one thing I want us to communicate, it’s that you can come as you are, find people who will genuinely know you and care about you, and leave better equipped to live a meaningful life. That kind of community is rare, and I’m incredibly proud that JCM has become that for so many students.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a pretty curious and independent kid. I was always asking questions and wanting to understand how things worked, and I wasn’t especially satisfied with “because that’s just the way it is” as an answer.
I was also very people-oriented. I cared a lot about my friends and tended to form deep friendships rather than having a huge circle of people I was close to. I think even when I was young, I had a pretty strong sense of responsibility toward the people I loved. If someone was my person, I wanted to show up for them.
I was the sort of quintessential millennial gifted child. That has followed me into adulthood. I’ve never been particularly good at staying in one lane. I like learning, figuring things out, solving problems, and taking an idea and seeing what I can actually do with it. I wasn’t particularly competitive with anyone but myself. But if someone said I couldn’t do something, that was what I put my full self into. I’m nothing if not stubborn, especially when it feels like the right thing to do.
Looking back, I can see a lot of the person I am now in that kid. I’ve always been curious; I’ve always cared deeply about people, and I’ve always had a tendency to look at something and think, “Surely there’s a better way to do this.” I didn’t necessarily know what I would do with those traits when I was growing up, but they’ve ended up being pretty useful in ministry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jaxcampusmin.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxcampusmin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxCampusMin
