Laurel Bunker has been named dean of campus ministries for Bethel University’s College of Arts & Sciences. Bunker, who is currently the director of program operations for the Jeremiah Program in the Twin Cities, has been involved with Bethel for more than 10 years, helping form relationships in the Frogtown-Summit/University neighborhood, speaking in classrooms about the importance of serving in urban areas, speaking in chapel, and mentoring students.

“Her love for the Lord, her deep respect for Scripture, her passion for ministry in the name of Jesus, and her engaging leadership are reflected in how she lives and serves the Lord and others,” said President Barnes and Acting Provost of the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Adult & Professional Studies, and Graduate School Debra Harless in an announcement to the community. “She is a powerful preacher with an evangelical view of Scripture and theology.”

Bunker grew up in the Twin Cities, earning an undergraduate degree from Hamline University and an M.A. in Cross-cultural Ministries from Luther Seminary. She has held positions at Macalester College, the YMCA, Young Life, and Living Word Church.

“The most significant implication of my faith commitment is that I am called and required to stand for the cause of Christ, lovingly yet boldly in a time when many are espousing other faith systems, which when mixed with lukewarm Christianity creates confusion and the unraveling of the Church,” Bunker explains. “I recognize that the god of this age has blinded many and has lulled many to sleep. I recognize that many of our young people (and some not so young) have been introduced to Christ in a postmodern fashion that does not teach the reality of the cross, the need for repentance, a dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than the self, and the hope of Eternal Life.”

Bunker, her husband, and their two children attend Compass Covenant Church, a church plant on the east side of St. Paul. She will begin her responsibilities at Bethel in early August.