A Newly Appointed Leader

by John Kennedy

Long-time Chi Alpha missionary Alex Rodriguez has been appointed senior director of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, U.S.A., a ministry of Assemblies of God U.S. Missions.

U.S. Missions executive director Pastor Wilfredo “Choco” De Jesúsmade the announcement May 30. 

“Alex has a depth of experience as both a campus pastor and as a national trainer for Chi Alpha,” says Pastor Choco, who served as AG general treasurer for nearly five years before succeeding the retiring Malcolm Burleigh as U.S. Missions’ executive director. “He is able to relate well to college students.”

Alex has been Chi Alpha national training director since 2018. As such, his portfolio has included overseeing a yearly training conference and orientation for interns; the annual Reach the University Institute (RUI); and the quadrennial Campus Missions Conference (CMC), where Chi Alpha directors, staff, and families gather for training and fellowship. He also has been tasked with supervising the Campus Missionary-in-Training(CMIT) internship program, as well as establishing core curricula for staff training.

“The threefold Chi Alpha vision statement is to transform the university, the marketplace, and the world,” says Alex. “I feel I’ve experienced all these aspects of Chi Alpha.”

Pastor Choco says a number of qualified candidates, both men and women, applied for the job. He prayed about the post for two months before the Lord confirmed that Alex should be the new leader.

As national training coordinator, Alex has witnessed a variety of Chi Alpha chapter styles around the nation. “We’re all the same, yet we have different methodologies, philosophies, and vocabulary,” he says. “My job is to cultivate a common culture across uncommon campuses.”

Alex has four primary goals in his new position, both on the field and at the national office in Springfield, Missouri: better equipped missionaries; improved clarity of Chi Alpha culture; better systems to enforce that culture; and sufficient funding.  

The new leader grew up in the Houston area and his parents sent him to Christian schools because they wanted him to have a good education. By the time he graduated high school, Alex had memorized a multitude of Bible verses and he knew an array of scriptural facts. Yet he viewed Jesus as a person in history, not a living Savior.

He wanted to take a break from religious instruction once he enrolled at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. His girlfriend, now wife, Abby invited him to a Chi Alpha small group meeting on campus. The lexicon of participants piqued his interest.

“People were speaking of Jesus in the present tense and how He talked to them,” Alex recalls. “This was a new experience for me.”

Both Alex and Abby graduated in 2009 with kinesiology degrees. He originally intended a sports medicine career as an athletic trainer. But right after they wed following graduation, the couple left for Central Asia as missionary associates on a Chi Alpha planting team. The number of student participants increased from seven to 75 during their 10 months there.

Back in the States, Alex planted the Chi Alpha chapter at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. By the fifth year, the group had grown to 150 regulars, making it the largest campus ministry at the school.

After a long-term struggle with infertility, Abby gave birth to “miracle daughter” Wesley Kate four years ago. In April of 2024, another blessing came along, daughter Halle Jules. Alex thinks of his girls when he thinks of the future of Chi Alpha, which now has a presence at 260 colleges and universities.

“When they go to college I want to see a healthy Chi Alpha on every campus,” Alex says. 

Dennis Gaylor, who served as national Chi Alpha director from 1979 to 2013, lauds the new appointment. Although Alex is an introvert, Dennis says he gained credibility by his ability to speak eloquently and intellectually in academic settings.

“Alex brings quality to the new position and the leadership he has shown with RUI, CMC, and CMIT complements this decision,” Dennis says. “He’s had contact with most of the Chi Alpha family and his leadership will be well received.”

Kenya native Severin “Sevo” Lwali has served as “transitional stakeholder” of the campus ministry since December 2023. He will continue in his post as director of XAi, the Chi Alpha outreach to international students.

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John Kennedy

John W.  Kennedy served as news editor of AG News from its inception in 2014 until retiring in 2023. He previously spent 15 years as news editor of the Pentecostal Evangel and seven years as news editor at Christianity Today.