Contact Union

402.486.2600
ucinfo@ucollege.edu

3800 S. 48th St.
Lincoln, NE 68506 USA

Enrollment Services

402.486.2504
enroll@ucollege.edu
Admissions homepage

Alumni/Giving

402.486.2503
alumni@ucollege.edu
Advancement homepage

Personnel directory
×
×

background trapezoid Union College Union College | Finding purpose. Unlocking potential.
Union College – Experience the Spirit

About
  • About Union College
    • About Seventh-day Adventists
    • Accreditation
    • College Symbols
    • Consumer Information
    • Employment
    • Employee Resources (login)
    • Mission and Vision
  • Connect with Union
    • News from Union College
    • Contact Us

  • College Leadership
    • Board of Trustees
    • Employee Directory
  • Lincoln, Nebraska, a great place to learn
    • things to do |
    • places to eat |
    • where to stay


Thumbnail of an illustration of campus. Campus map
  • Google Maps
  • Map with accessibility features
Academics
  • Majors and programs
  • Workforce development certificates
  • Academic Support
    • Computer labs
    • Library
    • Records Office
    • Studio for Writing and Speaking
  • Information and resources
    • Academic bulletin
    • Academic calendar
    • Canvas
    • Class schedules
    • Final exam schedules
    • Accommodations and accessibility
    • Graduation information
    • Transcript request
  • Student Success
    • Academic and life coaching
    • Disability information and access
    • Career services
    • Tutoring
  • Professional Excellence Program
  • Adventist Colleges Abroad
Alumni
Stay connected to Union
    • Join us for Homecoming!
      • April 13-16, 2023
    • News from Union College
    • Read CORDmagazine
    • Watch live events
    • Find event photos on Facebook
    • Update your info and share news
    • Read Pastor David Kabanje's daily devotionals
  • Advancement Office
  • Ways to give
    • Give online
    • Planned giving
    • More giving opportunities
  • Request transcripts
    (via Parchment)
  • Explore our history
    • Clocktower archive (1927-2010)
    • Educational Messenger (1905-1926)
    • Library photo collections
Campus Life
  • Student Life Office
    • About the Student Life Office
    • Residence Halls
    • Campus apartments
    • Find clubs on uGroups

  • Athletics
    • Varsity calendar
    • High school tournaments
  • Campus Ministries
    • Upcoming events
    • Good Morning Union
    • International Volunteers and Taskforce
    • Project Impact
    • Watch worship services on uTV
  • Services for campus
    • Campus Health
    • Campus Safety
    • Campus Store
    • Information Systems
    • Integrated Marketing Communications
    • Library
    • Student Employment
    • Plant Services
    • Accessibility Services
    • Union Market
Community
  • Services for our community
    • George Stone Elementary School
    • Guest Services at the Ortner Center
      • Guest rooms
      • Meeting spaces
      • Reservations
    • Union Market Dining Services
  •  
    • Larson Lifestyle Center
      • Become a member
      • Facility rental and parties
      • Swimming lessons
    • Library
      • Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
  • Events for our community
    • Athletics
      • Athletic calendar
    • Arts and performance calendar
Parents
  • Prospective parent links
    • Why Union students succeed
    • Finding a calling: read examples
    • Financing a Christian education
      • Scholarships and financial aid
      • Tuition
      • Financial FAQ
      • Financial checklist
      • Financial aid forms
      • Contact Student Financial Services
    • Help plan a campus visit
    • Learn about Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Current parent links
    • Services for parents
      • Order a Party Pack
      • Order LifeSavors
      • Make a payment online
    • Events
      • Parents Weekend (Sept. 23-25, 2022)
      • Graduation (May 5-7, 2023)
      • Watch uTV
      • See photos on Facebook
Thumbnail of the Boones. Watch: parents share how Union helped their daughter find her calling.
Thumbnail of Pastor Rich Carlson. Watch: the 5 biggest decisions in life.
Prospective Students
  • Admissions Office
    • Apply online
    • Union's guarantee
    • Plan your campus visit

  • Financial information
    • Scholarships
    • Grants and loans
    • Costs
    • Financial FAQ
    • Net price calculator
    • Financial aid forms
    • Student Financial Services
  • Learn more about Union
    • Academic and life coaching
    • Residence Halls
    • See our majors and programs
    • Interactive campus map
    • Follow us on Instagram

  • Checklists
    • After you're accepted
    • Financial clearance
    • International students
    • Transfer students
Thumbnail of Mary with play button. Union inspired Mary to excel in nursing and gain spiritual confidence.
Thumbnail of Joslyn with a play button. When a letter arrived from a little Nebraska college, Joslyn heard God calling.
May 27, 2022

Abner Campos: a life of learning starts at Union

Abner Campos will never forget the last day of his Theology 1 class with Dr. Thomas Toews. At the end of the class, the professor told his students to remember just one thing. Campos expected to hear something about theology or religion. “Instead Dr. Toews said, ‘Be a life-long learner,’” said Campos. “That spirit is something I’ve carried through my ministry for the last five years.”

Campos brings this love of learning to his work as pastor at Volunteer Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Seattle, Washington. He said, “I believe that it is the role of the pastor to continually learn with the church and for the church, to interpret scripture as well as interpret culture. We should learn about certain topics that the church is struggling with and help the community to navigate through some of those difficult waters.”

Campos and his wife Debbie (Pinto) both graduated from Union in 2017. The four years that Campos spent studying at the college were made especially busy with his work all around campus. Not only was he a teaching assistant in the Religion Program, but he also worked with other academic programs and in Campus Ministries. 

“Union gave me the opportunity to lead in an environment that was both spiritual and academic,” said Campos. “That atmosphere allowed me to flourish. I found myself struggling with a bunch of great ideas, and my mentors at Union were great voices in my life who were formative in helping me process my faith. Being able to verbally process ideas with them and having them point me to resources or help me find an answer was incredibly valuable. To this day, I’m kind of a bookworm when it comes to theology. I still love learning and reading about it.”

However, Campos’ education was not confined to the purely academic. Every fall, Union sends its senior theology majors to an Adventist church where they gain practical experience under the mentorship of a senior pastor. Campos was assigned to the Brighton Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brighton, Colorado. “At Brighton, I got to work hard and learn well from a great mentor,” he said. “I gained lots of experience.”

In fact, Campos was asked to preach on his very first week in Brighton, when the pastor he was serving with had to travel out of state unexpectedly. He said, “When I arrived, the pastor told me, ‘I’m driving out of state right now; you’re preaching this week. You’re on.’ That was a moment of learning how to swim the hard way.” 

Campos quickly gained a sense of what it meant to lead a church, instead of simply assisting. He ran meetings, visited members of the congregation in the hospital and helped at the local church school. He credits his practicum semester with giving him the experience to make the transition to full-time ministry easier. “That semester was really great for lessening the shock factor once I was out in my career,” said Campos. “There wasn’t a huge surprise about what ministry was, because I had already been doing it in college.”

Campos carries his experiences at Union College with him as he and his church develop their ministry in the city of Seattle. “My time at Union was a great balance between rich biblical theology and rich practice serving people,“ he said. “I learned from the difficult and challenging moments, but also from the beautiful and redemptive ones.”

Media contact

Ryan Teller
Director of Public Relations
402.486.2600 ext. 2272
ryan.teller@ucollege.edu

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

 

Footer – About/Contact

Finding Purpose.
Unlocking Potential.

Union College is an accredited, Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher learning in Lincoln, Nebraska since 1891.

  • Learn about Union College
  • Website privacy policy
  • Non-discrimination policy

Contact us

ucinfo@ucollege.edu | 402.486.2600
3800 South 48th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506 USA

Footer – Campus systems

Calendars

  • Events
  • Academic and class schedule.

Directories

  • Employees
  • Students (login required)

Employment

  • Openings

Consumer information

Footer – Campus systems 2

Portal

Register for classes, see grades, make a payment and more.

uGroups

Connect and communicate with campus.

Canvas

Participate in classes online.

Library

Footer – Column 4

 

Apply

$

Affordability

Academic Programs

 

Get directions

Ranked top tier by US News
 
News ...
  • News from Union College
  • Biloffs honored with President's Award
  • Ruben Garcia: doing it all
  • Whitmore joins enrollment team
  • Honor society inducts Union students and staff
  • Lilly Lauina: a compassion for children
  • Castro couldn't break our pizza man
  • Megan Johnson: unlocking leadership skills
  • Daniel Klein: discovering a passion for dentistry
  • Pierce's Beast and the Bible is a revelation
  • Union launching three new graduate programs
  • Choral ReUnion: old friends, new music and new memories
  • Student Success brings Bollinger home
  • Home
  • About Union College
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Advancement Office
  • Campus Ministries
  • Campus Services
  • Services for Parents
  • Student Life
  • Student Success