Dr. Leo’s Story
Dr. Leo and Pat Lawson have been married over 30 years with three adult children, all that are married, with two grandchildren. For 12 years, Leo pastored his first campus church-plant at Michigan State University. He then launched into the mission field where he planted another campus church at the University of Houston and several campus ministries from that location. In 1998, he became the founding dean of The Graduate School of Campus Ministry, The Graduate School of Youth Ministry, and The Graduate School of Campus Ministry-Africa. While finishing his doctorate at Fuller Seminary, he established The Campus Harvest Academy of Student Evangelism. He additionally served as the Director of the International Center for Evangelism, Church-planting, And Prayer at Oral Roberts University and its Institute of Campus Evangelism, Church-planting And Prayer. He also serves as President (now V-P) of the Academic Council for Educational Accountability and its Association of Christian Educators and Administrators. As President of The Alliance of Campus Evangelists & Apologists, he serves as an International Educational Consultant, he is presently planting a campus church at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
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Dr. E. Leo Lawson Jr. married his bride, Pat, in 1982 who gave him three wonderful children: Joshua, Jeremy, and Julianne. Born in Louisville, Kentucky July 7, 1955, Leo graduated with his B.A. degree in Education from the University of Kentucky. He later graduated from Fuller Graduate Schools in 2001 with his M.A. in Intercultural Studies and in 2010 with his Doctorate in Intercultural Studies.
After 8 years of Catholic grade school, Leo graduated from Doss High School as its Senior Class President. In the middle of his senior year, Leo began his relationship with the Lord at Auburndale Baptist Church. During his first year in college, Leo joined Campus Crusade for Christ that injected an evangelistic foundation into his call to ministry. Leo later joined the Navigators that developed a passion for discipleship. While living at Baptist Student Union, Leo was a Baptist youth minister for 1½ years. As the founder and president of the UK Christian Council, Leo finished college working with Maranatha Campus Ministries. Upon gradation, Leo studied at Asbury Seminary that he left to plant his first campus church. In 1981, Leo met Pat at Michigan State University where they established Marantha Christian Fellowship, an on-campus Spirit-filled Evangelical church. This church of 150 had at one time 35 staff members, 25 of which were campus missionaries who did Bible Discussions with as many as 1000 students in the dorms. Sending out 75 people to plant churches, forty-five of these people were in vocational ministry planting campus churches. During his 12 years in the pastorate, Leo became President of the Lansing Pastors Council and also Chaplain of the Legislative Bible Study for the Michigan Legislature. Upon the purchase of their church building, the Mayor of Lansing came to dedicate the building. Leo served as the Regional Director over six states and eastern Canada for Maranatha Christian Churches and Campus Ministries until 1989.
After 12 years in the pastorate, Leo and Pat were called to the mission field, first on campuses in England, and then on to Texas. In 1994 at the University of Houston, Leo and Pat first birthed a Victory Campus Ministry and eventually a church on the campus. To-date 36 campus missionaries have gone into vocation ministry from that campus. Aware of their propensity to train campus missionaries, Leo moved to Los Angeles in 1998 and founded The Graduate School of Campus Ministry in colleague with Fuller Theological Seminary where he serve as adjunct faculty. Over 600 have been trained as campus missionaries at this school, and the two other similar schools he founded: The Graduate School of Youth Ministry in Nashville, TN and The Graduate School of Campus Ministry-Africa which was developed in colleague with Stellenbosch University’s Department of Missiology. As an International Educational Consultant with Every Nation Campus Ministry, he established The Campus Harvest Academy of Student Evangelism where he served as Academic Dean and Director of Program Development. Additionally, he served as Director of the International Center for Church-planting, And Prayer (ICECAP) at Oral Roberts University where he was an adjunct professor for one course. He now serves as the Director of ICECAP’s Institute of Campus Evangelism, Church-planting and Prayer. He served as President of the Academic Council for Educational Accountability (now V-P), an association of Christian schools and training programs. At the University of Southern California, he planted a campus church in parallel with Pasadena’s HRock Church, Che Ahn pastor. In 2019, he began working with Dr. Rice Broocks, author of God’s Not Dead, taking a multi-media apologetic presentation to multiple campuses resulting in thousands of salvations. He serves as adjunct faculty with Manna University, Fayetteville, NC teaching apologetics and world religions. He has attended King’s Park International Church for 14 years from where he is now part of the team planting a campus church at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Since 2018 he has served as founder and president of The Alliance of Campus Evangelists & Apologists: campusevangelists.com
Affiliations
Graduate School of Campus Ministry
(Founding Dean)