Casey Coston
Biography
Casey Coston, the author of Made Competent, grew up in Arkansas and planned to be a chemical engineer in college, but God changed his life through campus ministry at the University of Arkansas. Casey received his Master of Divinity from Abilene Christian University and then worked for 15 years in campus ministry at Ole Miss before an unexpected move sent his family to Delaware where he has been a campus missionary since 2019. Casey and his wife Tracey have three amazing kids: Miles, Maggie, and Moses.
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Made Competent: A Story about Life in Ministry is a story about life in ministry but it is not a story of strength. The journey began quite exciting when I received a surprising call to leave the comfort and certainty of engineering and follow Jesus into full-time ministry. But my incompetence quickly rose to the surface through ministry, family, and health challenges. After eight long years, I started to feel competent, and yet incompetence lurked around every corner. Family life was fragile, I couldn’t please everyone, and it felt like I was working harder but getting fewer results. At the peak of my perceived competence, I was hit with another season of suffering that would end in a death of sorts, but God brought new life out of it in a way I never could have imagined.
- A story twenty years in the making
- A story told not by an expert, but by one who failed time and time again
- A campus ministry story written for all kinds of ministers
- A story designed to help a new generation consider a life of ministry
- A story that allows you to wrestle with your incompetence
Praise for Made Competent: A Story about Life in Ministry
| Year of Publishing | 2025 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 1-63746-279-4 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-63746-279-9 |
| Format | Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle Book, Paperback |
| Genre | Christian Missionary, Christian Non-Fiction, Nonfiction |
In Made Competent, Casey Coston has poured his heart and soul out to all of us involved in reaching collegians for Christ. His vision, passion, and years of experience give us a very personal and powerful insight into his life and ministry. You will be challenged to go deeper into your calling and commitment to invest yourself in winning, discipling and launching this incredibly strategic group we call students.
—Steve Shadrach, author of The Fuel and the Flame and The God Ask
It is overwhelming to think about, yet at the same time, a super time to be in ministry. We have the opportunity to be proclaiming the truths of Jesus and the Scriptures to a generation that doesn’t know. Casey has written a book here which is so hopeful. It is not just looking at the negative things, but the positive opportunities we have—and practical ways to move forward to see a generation know Jesus and grow in their faith.
—Dan Kimball, author of
How (Not) To Read The Bible and VP of Western Seminary
In this bravely honest and searching memoir “Made Complete”, Casey Coston welcomes us into his journey as a campus minister (something he did not intend to be) with some soaring high points and crushing troughs, both professional and personal. But it is much more than his story… it is his invitation to do your examination of God’s work in your own story and a call to all of us to attend to the hundreds of thousands of students on campuses across America… surely one of the primary mission fields in our backyards. READ IT! And along the way write your own story!
—Randy Harris, Retired Professor at Abilene Christian University and author of
God Work and
Living Jesus
Feelings of inadequacy and weakness are an everyday part of serving in the ministry. Casey Coston, in his book Made Competent, tells his compelling story of moving from inadequacy to confidence. Stories of his many years of serving the Lord on the university campus flow from the pages with transparency and passion. Casey openly shares his victories and challenges as only he can. If you wrestle with things like balancing family and ministry, working more effectively within your leadership structures, or enduring the inevitable seasons of suffering, this book gives you help and hope.
—Greg Swinney, General Editor of
The Gospel Goes to College Vol 1 and 2
and
Taking Education Higher
It’s hard to communicate how much I appreciate your story “Made Competent”. I feel like I know you so much better. Your heart was intimately revealed. I was impressed with the way you shared all of your struggles and heartaches. I wish you hadn’t been burdened with so much pain. I so wish you could have been spared. But as you said–it brought resurrection. I also like the way you stayed true to the mission of campus ministry throughout your narrative. It was motivational on one hand and provided the how-to (discipleship) on the other. I know all ministers will not have the same experience–but all of us will have struggles and brokenness that relate to other leaders. Our church systems may not be the same, but all of us will face trying times in the midst of whatever style of leadership exists in our church. No matter where we are coming from, I think that your story will help us find grace.
—Milton Jones, President of Christian Relief Fund