We are excited to announce some changes to the team as our ministry continues to grow and develop.
Michael Hughes Transitions to a New Role
Michael Hughes and his family have just welcomed their sixth child, and as their family grows, they will be moving from Broadus House (on the Davenant House campus) to a new home in Greer, SC, about 25 minutes south of Davenant House. Along with this transition, Michael will be stepping into a new role as Carolinas Regional Teaching Fellow, with responsibility for engaging campus ministry groups and churches around Upstate SC and Western NC to share Davenant’s resources with them and connect them with the important work going on at Davenant House. He will be continuing to raise support and awareness for Davenant House and the broader work of the Davenant Institute.
I’m excited for the potential impact I can have in this new role as I invest in college students, campus ministers, pastors, and local church members in the region near Davenant House and across the Southeast. I also can’t wait to focus more attention on promoting the great resources and opportunities that Davenant has to offer to the broader church through exhibiting at key conferences. It’s my aim to use the connections I’m making to arrange more opportunities for Davenant Teaching Fellows to speak on campuses and in churches, as well as put some of my energies toward aiding in the development of more resources to guide college students and young adults to plumb the depths of Christian wisdom and apply it to their calling as His faithful witnesses, bearing the torch of truth in a day that desperately needs this light!
If you would like to partner to support this regional outreach, click the button below and select “Michael Hughes” from the dropdown menu.
Davenant President Brad Littlejohn says of Michael’s new role, “We are so grateful for the Hugheses’ dedicated labors at Davenant House over the years and confident that, with Michael’s long past experience as an Area Director for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, he will be able to make a valuable impact across the Carolinas in this new role as we seek to expand the footprint of our ministry here.”
Rachel Littlejohn Formally Joins the Davenant House Team
To help serve Davenant House’s growing lineup of events and programs, Rachel Littlejohn will be coming onboard in a part-time role as Davenant House Hospitality Director, where she will supervise events, hospitality, and property improvements. Rachel is a mother of four and has enjoyed helping serve the expanding work of Davenant House with her hospitality gifts since moving to the property with Brad in summer 2021. Rachel says,
After helping out with hospitality and events for the past few years, I’m excited to be coming on as local staff for Davenant House. It’s a blessing to be part of this great Christian resource right out my front door. I’ve enjoyed getting to reconnect with old friends from college years and meeting both old and new friends of Davenant since moving nearby almost two years ago. I’m looking forward to helping improve on what we have and I am currently working on getting the next garden that will hopefully help add fresh (and local!) food for our guests and students.
Josh Shaw a New Teaching Fellow
This summer, Davenant will also welcome the Shaw Family, Josh and Tirzah, as they spend seven weeks in residence at Broadus House and assist with our Protestant Wisdom Summer Programs, Reading the Bible and the World, and A Protestant Christendom.
Josh is a graduate of Hillsdale College in Classics (emph. Latin), and holds an M.A. in Classical Philology from Bryn Mawr College (2019). He is most recently in Tübingen, Germany, where he has been employing the tools of classical philology in the study of theology and early church history. He is currently finishing up his dissertation on Eusebius’s great apologetic work, the Praeparatio Evangelica, and the relationship there portrayed of Christianity to Platonism. Josh and his wife Tirzah have been happily married for seven years, and see in their two children, Edmund (4) and Miriam (1), God’s invaluable gift. Josh says of his new role:
Since 2014, I have been following the growth of the Davenant Institute from afar: though I was eager to jump into the Latin programs or attend a conference, yet until now I have been unable to participate (beyond reading Ad Fontes!). Davenant’s aims of reformation, catholicity, and (as a means to and evidence of these) irenic dialogue among Christians, could not have found a more ready supporter. I am thankful now at last to participate in the work that Davenant is doing and to further its ministry through mentoring, teaching, and writing.
As a new Teaching Fellow of the Davenant Institute, Josh will continue to be involved with Davenant’s online programs after his residential stint this summer.
Jonathan McKenzie to be Davenant House Groundskeeper
Davenant is pleased to bring on board Jonathan McKenzie as a half-time Groundskeeper at Davenant House during the 2023-24 academic year. In this role, Jonathan will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our 75-acre, three-home Davenant House complex, and will also begin implementing a comprehensive landscaping plan to improve the aesthetics and functionality of the property. Jonathan brings years of experience in this field as well as an infectious enthusiasm for Davenant’s mission. During the year, he will also be beginning study in Davenant Hall’s M.Litt. program.
Jonathan grew up in Brazoria County, TX and spent his highschool years in Central IL. He moved to Sanford, FL (near Orlando) in 2019 to pursue his Bachelor’s degree from Reformation Bible College. There he met his beautiful wife Bethany and got married on New Year’s Day 2021. Jonathan was introduced to the Davenant Institute initially through listening to the Ad Fontes Podcast and became part of the army of friends at Convivium 2022, Jonathan hopes to eventually serve the church in the office of presbyter in a Reformed Anglican context. Jonathan says,
Bethany and I are so excited for this opportunity to live and work at Davenant House. I’ve told my friends many times that I hope to work for Davenant some day in some capacity, so it is a delight that it is happening much sooner than I thought. I look forward to getting my hands dirty making Davenant House an even more beautiful place.