How One Professor Returned to His Alma Mater to Impact the Community

By Madison Boggs | When Jordan Villanueva graduated from Howard Payne University in 2013 with a double major in Spanish and Christian Studies, he had little expectation of coming back to HPU as faculty just eight years later.

Post-graduation, Villanueva jumped right into ministry. He began while he was still in college as the Youth Minister at Primer Iglesia Bautista in Brownwood, and his most recent position was the Lead Pastor at Indian Hills Baptist Church in The Hills. He loved his career as a pastor, so he was surprised when he got a call about a position as a faculty member for HPU.

“I never thought I would be doing this in a million years. It has been very eye opening and humbling. HPU is a special place, it was transformative for me. This is an awesome opportunity that I do not take lightly,” said Villanueva.

Villanueva was a first-generation student, presenting a whole separate set of challenges for his education experience. However, he overcame those obstacles and was the first in his family to graduate college

“HPU has its own DNA that I have always appreciated. It’s distinct from a lot of other Texas Baptist regions and it’s refreshing to be back in this environment,” Villanueva stated, “The Lord started using professors, classmates, and coaches to make me realize that the Lord had more for me if I would just be willing to obey and follow Him.”

“Through some fellow professors, I was able to get connected at a local Hispanic church. Using my experience, I helped start the Spanish club here on campus. Being a continuation of elevating the bar for Hispanics when it comes to education has been a privilege, and God was using my experience as a student at HPU to help me see that He wants to continue to do more than what I can see or even imagine,” said Villanueva.

Other faculty can see the passion that Jordan has for his job and his students. Dr. Gary Gramling explained that while others met the requirements for the job on paper, Jordan has a lot of intangible qualities about him.

“He has this wonderful character and he brings a real heart for our students to the table,” said Gramling.

When interviewing candidates for the position, Dr. Gramling stated, “We were praying and talking to a lot of different people. Jordan’s name kept coming up and it was the one we really felt great about.”

“When Jordan was a student, we were excited about his direction and his gifts for ministry. From the beginning we knew he was going to do well,” said Gramling.

When Villanueva was a student at HPU, he played soccer and was involved in the school of Spanish. Villanueva has helped strengthen the relationship between Howard Payne and the local churches, because of his connections within the Hispanic and church communities.

“Because of the things he was involved with when he was a student, Jordan can connect with athletes in a way that other faculty can’t. Because of him being Hispanic, that opens another door to more connections. It’s a real positive that he’s alumni too,” said Gramling.

Students have also grown to appreciate and value Professor Villanueva’s teaching style and technique.

Hannah Parnell, a student from Villanueva’s Introduction to the Old Testament stated that her favorite thing about Professor Villanueva is that he always ties in different historical aspects into the lectures.

“You can read the story, but he provides background, context, and geographical and historical aspects that make you see the full picture of scripture,” said Parnell.

Villanueva is focused on helping students recognize how connected the Word of God is, and he makes sure that students understand the thread of grace woven throughout history and the Word.

“He has done a really good job of helping us see how different main ideas connect from the old to the new testament, whereas on my own I may not have seen the Old testament in that way. It helps you be able to apply God’s word in all areas of your life. I only see good things coming from him being here,” said Gramling.

Categories

Follow the YJ on Instagram

Follow the Communications Department on Facebook and Instagram

Search