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20th Anniversary – CSM Impact
In 1998, Jason Martin was a senior Chemistry Major at Messiah College. All was going well—he was almost done with school and ready to head into the “real world” with a successful career on the horizon. But his world was rocked that year by participating with Messiah College’s Service Teams on a short term trip to Washington, DC with CSM. Jason remembers that trip as a turning point in his life. Seeing men with so much less than him praising God so much louder and stronger than he ever had, made him realize his heart was for urban ministry.
Jason and his girls—wife Mary Sue and daughter Hannah KateLynn
He returned to school and continued to participate in an internship at Hershey Medical Center. Jason realized during that time that he didn’t like the field he had chosen to study. He decided to apply for CSM’s City Host position for the summer of 1999 to help clear his head and decipher where God was leading him. He was placed in San Francisco and it was there that his thoughts and beliefs were really challenged. He knew God had given him the opportunity to study at Messiah—how could he throw away the degree in Chemistry and years of study he had invested? Ultimately, Jason realized those years wouldn’t have been wasted if he decided to follow a different career path. If he hadn’t gone to Messiah, he most likely wouldn’t have served with CSM.
Jason left San Francisco at the end of the summer and a few days later was emailing with CSM’s former Washington, DC City Director, Mark Harmon, about the DC Associate Director position that had just opened. Jason was excited about the opportunity, but was very discouraged by his parent’s reaction to his announcement. They hadn’t come to the same conclusion he had and definitely felt that taking this job with CSM would be throwing away the Chemistry degree he had worked so hard for. Jason started expanding his job search for a position within the Chemistry field, but when Mark from CSM offered him the position as Associate City Director, Jason followed the path he knew God was leading him on.
Jason remained in Washington, DC as CSM’s Associate City Director from 1999 until 2003. He met his wife, Mary Sue, during his time in the city as well. In 2003, Jason left CSM to begin working at a group home in Maryland. He continued to talk with Mark and one day, while he was waiting at a bus stop, Mark called Jason to let him know he would be leaving CSM as well. Mark told him that he had suggested to CSM’s Vice President that Jason would be a great candidate as CSM’s DC City Director.
Jason had an immense peace after interviewing for the position and was excited about the opportunity to develop CSM’s City Hosts so they, in turn, could do great with groups. Jason joined CSM again as it’s new DC City Director the spring of 2008.
Jason’s advice for those preparing to serve in the city? “Come with an open mind. Don’t come with an agenda, you’re not going to leave satisfied if you do. You’ll be amazed at what will happen.”
We are excited to have Jason on our team and are grateful that God has led him to Washington, DC.
Learn more about serving in Washington, DC with CSM!
