Leadership Team Letter - Blake Buckman & Emily Stephens

Women’s leadership update - Emily Stephens

We are helping give women more defined roles as they grow in leadership, and wanting them to think more intentionally about next steps and what they would like to see. We are giving women more opportunities to develop in leadership like the Staff Women's Development Intensive, offered this summer. 

We would love to see and think more creatively about women having more opportunities for development as well as more clearly defined opportunities for growth potential in the organization. We are praying we see this growth in 2025.

- Emily Stephens, Strategic Leadership Consultant & Sits on the Lexington Leadership Team Board in Lexington

Leadership structure update - Blake Buckman

We saw many changes in 2024 and one of the biggest changes COLEX needed was to have consistent Area Directors. An Area Director is someone who oversees a few campuses and comes alongside the staff to assist, direct, encourage, train, develop, evaluate and PRAY for them. I’ve been doing a lot of that this past year for Northern Kentucky University, Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky. Campus Outreach is an evangelistic ministry and I encouraged our staff to maintain that focus. We have made evangelism a priority and thousands of students heard the gospel in 2024 in Kentucky.  

At NKU we have a good size staff team that is doing an incredible job of reaching every part of campus and building up leaders. At EKU there are no full time female staff so ministry to the whole campus has been more challenging, but the staff there decided to hire 3 women interns and it has grown the ministry in such a positive way already. At UK we are really seeing a movement throughout the Greek life community.  We did a Leadership Study or Bible study in 15 different fraternities and sororities this past school year. We have seen many profess faith and hundreds are hearing the gospel every week.  

Since being in Lexington and spending a couple days per week at UK, I wanted to get in on the gospel action. In October I went to the gym to play basketball and meet students. That day I met a student in the Theta Chi fraternity.  I shared my story with him and he was incredibly interested so we had lunch the next day. The next week I was in his apartment doing a Bible study with 15 of his fraternity brothers. I’ve loved getting to spend time with college students sharing the truths of the Bible with them and helping them see their need for a Savior. 

As an Area Director I also function on the Leadership Team with COLEX. We are responsible for thinking well for the future and the direction of CO and our staff. One of my favorite things to do is to think about what our staff need and put together plans for training to make it happen. This year I’ve helped assist in hiring 6 new staff and helped them begin their fundraising journeys..  

Our leadership pipelines for future staff are filling up quickly on each campus and I’m expecting the Lord to do even more in 2025. More students professing faith, more staff being hired, more areas on campus being reached and more gratitude for God’s kindness to us all. To Him be the glory.

- Blake Buckman, Area Director & Sits on the Leadership Team Board in Lexington

noteworthy members of Lexington’s Leadership