PHILADELPHIA (BRN) – Brian Musser’s 20 years of college ministry all started with a dream about a baby hippopotamus.
Prior to his days in the James E. Marks Intercultural Center, Musser first became acquainted with Drexel University’s campus in Philadelphia through a lab position at the university’s College of Medicine.
A typical week for Musser looked like dissecting animals and running tests that could lead to the cure for some of the most widespread diseases in the nation and world.
“We were doing HIV-AIDS research. We were bringing good things to the world through the work I was doing…we were trying to bring healing to people,” explained Musser.
Totally committed to this work and excited about the potential, Musser was all in and expectant of his career in biology.
In his down time, Musser was active in ministry.
During his undergrad years at Messiah College, he participated in the campus ministry there. After he graduated, he spent a semester serving in Mexico with the IMB, under the leadership of a college pastor there.
As a working professional, he and his wife, Jennifer, faithfully attended Bucks County Community Church, where they continue to attend to this day. Early on, Brain held a leadership position at Bucks County, serving as the youth leader there when he wasn’t at the lab.
“Ministry wasn’t something that I switched into, it was something that was always going to be running alongside other things,” said Musser, eagerly mentioning that seminary was always a thought in the back of his mind during those years.
Back in the lab, Musser had started micro-dissections. His assignment was to retrieve the hippocampus out of the brain of a rat pup, after first removing the pup from a pregnant rat. Knowing this was an extremely tedious task that posed plenty of opportunity for error, Musser often didn’t sleep well the night before.
One night in particular, he had a dream that stuck with him and, ultimately, led to the end of his career in biology.
“Most people when they say they got into ministry because of a dream they are hearing the voice of God,” Musser said with a hint of laughter.
In his dream, Musser was a baby hippopotamus that was being chased through a swamp by Steve Irwin, the famous on-air “Crocodile Hunter.” When Steve caught Brian, he dissected his little hippo brain, and as a brainless baby hippopotamus, Brian recalled being mad at Steve Irwin.
“My dream was just basically understanding that what I was doing was affecting me…that’s when I realized the stress of the job wasn’t going to get better and I needed to figure out a change,” said Musser.
Just a few days after his impactful dream, a thought entered Musser’s mind that he had never had before: “What about campus ministry?”
Considering how ministry had always been an integral part of his life and that he was already working at a university, that thought was all it took for Musser to leave his job at the lab and pursue college ministry full-time.
New chapter, same campus
In December 2003/January 2004, the, then, Baptist State Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey (now the Baptist Resource Network of PA/SJ) brought on Stanley Williams to serve as the Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) Coordinator for Philadelphia.
At the same time, in the same city, sat a young Brain Musser contacting every college ministry organization he knew in the Philadelphia area.
After sending multiple emails to several organizations, including Cru, CCO, two Baptist ministries, and InterVarsity, Musser heard back from just one.
Robert Turner, the next gen director for the Baptist State Convention of PA/SJ, emailed Musser back, saying he would like to connect him with Williams.
“Stan and I sit at a Taco Bell, it ends up being a four-hour meeting. After that meeting, we were so much on the same page of ministry [and] what we thought was possible,” recalled Musser.
Following that meeting, Musser let his employer know that he was leaving the lab. To Musser’s surprise, the lab fired him the same day he informed his boss of his resignation.
A blessing in disguise, Musser reflected on the incident, saying, “The fact that I got fired allowed me to collect unemployment while I was trying to go through the North American Mission Board (NAMB) process.”
On February 15, 2005, Musser was officially confirmed as a Baptist campus minister through NAMB and recognized as a self-funded missionary in partnership with the Baptist Convention of PA/SJ.
Two days later, the week continued in a theme of celebration, as Musser and his wife celebrated the birth of their daughter, Julianna.
Ready to get to work, in March 2005, Musser toured three universities with Williams in the Philadelphia area: Rutgers University, Widener University and Drexel.
Feeling a call back to the campus he was already once a part of, Musser landed at Drexel, but not without a few complications.
Since 1983, Drexel University’s spiritual life had been primarily directed by an interfaith council, which had three standing members: a Catholic priest, a Jewish Rabbi and a Methodist Pastor.
With no legal binding document or historical evidence of how things were done on behalf of the interfaith council, getting a seat at the table for a Baptist representative quickly became harder than Musser originally anticipated.
After several conversations with the university and the interfaith council itself and the addition of a slow growing Baptist Campus Ministry, Musser received approval to write the paperwork that would grant a Baptist representative a seat on the interfaith council.
In December 2009/January 2010, the Dean of Students of Drexel University sent a letter of understanding to the State Convention, creating an official position for BCM on the interfaith council.
This legal documentation not only gave Musser access to the interfaith council, but also any other Baptist campus missionary that would follow him and be in partnership with the State Convention.
This vital step paved the way for much of what Musser would accomplish in his 20 years of ministry at Drexel University.
Changing a campus
Since his start at Drexel in 2005, Musser has witnessed the presence of the Gospel grow substantially and powerfully shape the lives of the students and faculty who call Drexel home.
The number of Christian groups present on Drexel’s campus has grown from five to 14 in 20 years. There are 350 more students involved in Christian ministries than there were in 2005, and twice as many Christian student leaders.
“My next big goal is 20 Christian groups, and they don’t have to be mine. None of this is mine. There is very little that I own, there’s a whole lot that I help,” said Musser.
In terms of faculty, the number of recognized clergy on campus has tripled since 2005 and there is now a thriving faculty ministry available for those who work on campus, something that did not exist prior to Musser arriving at Drexel.
Locally, there are more than 20 churches that are connected with students as well as six church plants that also have ties to Drexel’s campus. Many of these churches are BRN churches, such as (but not limited to): Redemption City, Redemption Heights, Philadelphia Mission Baptist Church, Story College Fellowship, Ezekiel Baptist Church, The Foundry, Bucks County Community Church and Dr. Kyle Canty, send city missionary, with Great Commission Church.
“The Kingdom of God is closer to Drexel these days than it was when I started,” said Musser.
He continued: “Thank you. I’ve been supported for 20 years [and] I am able to survive these 20 years because of churches and individuals who have decided to support.”
Along with an encouraging increase in numbers over the years, there has been an even more exciting increase in the professions of faith and gospel responses.
Musser recalled meeting a freshman at a graduate student faith event, who was not a Christian, but was interested in Christianity. He asked to meet with Musser and they started reading through Mark. This student, adding Musser to his weekly class schedule, proved to be a serious “seeker.”
After about a month of meeting, this student asks, “What is a Christian?” Musser responded by sharing the gospel with him. A week goes by and they don’t meet up.
The following week, the student meets Musser for their regularly scheduled study and informs him that he had committed his life to Christ the previous Tuesday while sitting in his dorm.
Another instance of the gospel being at work on Drexel’s campus can be seen in the life of one of Musser’s fellow campus ministers. One of the Christian ministries Musser had a hand in getting on campus is currently led by a young man who came to Christ during his time as a student at Drexel.
“It’s been a humbling experience [and] it’s hard to describe what I’ve done. There’s no group to point to, there’s no church [and] there’s no building project, it doesn’t look like what I expected it to look like, but Drexel’s better off,” said Musser.
“I’m not building a ministry; I’m changing a campus…[it’s been] 20 years of God never making it easy but always being faithful.”
Brian Musser is a NAMB collegiate missionary and a BRN campus missionary funded by the generosity of support raisers. If you would like to know how you can support Brian and his family in prayer and financial giving, please click here.
