Dan Rudman

Study centers and their kin succeed or fail on their director. The Center for Christian Study at UVA thrived for decades because of Skip Ryan’s deep relationships. Chesterton House at Cornell was built by Karl Johnson’s two decades of patient presence. The director must be simultaneously an intellectual, a pastor, a fundraiser, a community builder, and a host. Dan Rudman is one of the rare individuals who embodies all of these qualities. Dan has lived and ministered in Lawrence since 1995—nearly thirty years at the intersection of the community, university, and the local church.

He came to faith as a university student in the 1980s in Northern Michigan through a fellow student showing a Josh McDowell film. That experience—an honest question meeting an honest answer in the context of community—became the template for his entire ministry. He holds a B.Sc. in Biblical Studies and an M.A. from the International School of Theology (Emphasis in Evangelism & Church Renewal). He received the William R. Bright Award for Evangelism and Discipleship, recognizing his exceptional commitment to making disciples.

In full-time evangelistic ministry since 1987, and with Ambassadors for Christ International since 1998, Dan has trained church leaders globally in evangelism, church planting, and apologetics. His ministry hasspanned campuses, prisons, churches, men’s retreats, and international settings. He and his wife, Tina, have been married for over 40 years, raised five children, and now have 8 grandchildren. They operate a small flower farm, as their home is known for what the L’Abri tradition calls “the demonstration ofChristian community”—truth, beauty, and delightful hospitality.

His three decades of continuous presence in Lawrence give him something no outside hire could bring: he knows the city, the churches, the campus, the professors, the coffee shops, and the people. He is not parachuting in with a plan. He is finally building the house he has been furnishing for thirty years.