Off the Wall Ministries settles in New Philadelphia to promote discipleship
The house along West High Avenue in New Philadelphia looks like any other house along the street, other than a sign out front that proclaims it to be the site of something called Off The Wall Ministries. However, inside the house, incredible changes are taking place in the lives of the young adult men who will each call it home for the next year.Don Stubbs attended college at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Ill. After graduation, he joined the college’s admission staff. As a student and as an admissions counselor, Stubbs felt lead to make a difference by investing in the lives of the young men with whom he came in contact. He did this by biblically discipling them. Soon his vision grew to include the young men of inner city Chicago. As his discipling efforts grew, he formed Off the Wall Ministries. He traveled throughout the United States speaking to groups and churches about the importance of discipleship.
Now, years later, his desire to invest in the lives of others has not lessened.
“One of my heart’s desires was to have a discipleship ministry, where young men could come and be discipled, for a year or two, intensely, and then go on with their lives. What if we had a discipleship house, where we could train up young men there and send them out? So we started talking to people,” explained Stubbs, at a recent open house event at the Off the Wall Ministries site. “We had been doing a lot of speaking at retreats and conferences, and for about five churches in this area. The churches said, ‘Come here, do it here.’ We wanted kids to come here to learn to understand ministry, and to develop their character. So we started that process with the churches here. It was just natural to come here and start a ministry.” He added that New Philadelphia was chosen because it was a welcome change from big city life, with fewer distractions.
Assisting Stubbs is a local native, Travis Troyer. After pursuing a career as a trainer with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, Troyer left basketball to return to the area and regroup. He eventually ended up working with Stubbs in Chicago, and has returned to his roots to work alongside Stubbs in launching the discipleship program. Kelly Nelson fills in for the administrative assistant duties.
The young adults who have committed to the intensive program are primarily 19-24 years old. Currently, six men are participating in the program, and they come from all over.
Ben Brunner, 19, is from Philadelphia, Pa. After starting his first year at college, he quickly realized he was on the wrong track.
“I got into a lot of stuff in my high school in my senior year, and as soon as I got into college it got worse,” explained Brunner. Stubbs, a longtime friend of the family, suggested that he become a part of the Ohio discipleship program, and he agreed.
Other interns include Lincoln Troyer of Benton; Mike Damm of Doylestown, Pa.; Josh Nims of Boston, Mass.; Correy Scally of Sandusky; and Seth Richardson of Anchorage, Alaska. During their time as Off the Wall Ministries interns, they participate in a variety of ministries to help them develop character and grow in their faith.
“They have a commitment to be biblically discipled. They have to understand that there are strict requirements to be here. We try to teach them to have balance,” stated Stubbs. “They have biblical training three days a week. They have ministries that we run throughout the area that they have to help with. They have service projects. And we have retreat and camping ministries that we do. Some of them are also taking a couple of classes at the college. Some who have debt, will also have a part-time job. They have to balance that job. We try to set down and try to help them get a financial plan – how to get out of debt, and to get their finances in order.”
There are definite house rules in place, but none are unreasonable. And yes, they are allowed to pursue dating relationships. “They’re going to have girlfriends, they’ll want to get married someday. We want them to be godly men, and leaders in their homes,” said Stubbs. “But that’s about balance, too. It can’t get in the way of what they are doing here. If it does, they have to put that relationship on a shelf for a while.”
Troyer laughed as he recalled how he never dreamed he would return to the area. “I remember telling people that I would never come back to this area, that it was so boring! But living with eight guys, trying to minister in the community, and teach each other isn’t boring at all,” he said. “I would say, since we’ve been here, locally, we’ve probably come close to touching the lives of 70-100 high school and college students.
“We have the guys in the discipleship program that live at the house, and then we have many other discipleship guys and groups that we meet with throughout the area,” commented Stubbs. “But the heart of our ministry is the six guys here.”
To learn more, contact Off the Wall Ministries at www.offthewallministry.com, or contact Troyer at 330-204-3112.