Joey Nigro '10 Invites Everyone to The Table

“I felt called to ministry from 7th grade. I received some advice that I should get my bachelors in something more practical and then get a masters in something more specific,” said Nigro. “But I just remember thinking that ministry was the only career path that I was ever really interested in. I didn’t want to go to college for anything else.”

And so the Minerva native came to Malone, but not before a quick detour. 

“Initially I wanted to go to Geneva College, because that’s where my youth pastor went and he talked it up. I visited there and loved it, but it was in Pennsylvania, and I thought that since I was from Minerva I might as well check out Malone,” he said. “And after I did, I switched to Malone. It was a situation where I trusted God even with my lack of planning and it was one of the best decisions that I had ever made.”

Just as his decision to come to Malone wasn’t exactly straightforward, so too was his decision to add philosophy alongside Bible and theology as his major. 

“I took intro to philosophy in the spring, and then the next year I added philosophy as a major. I loved  the subject matter, and I figured I needed to get in credit hours anyways,” said Nigro. “It just made sense to add on.”

This double major foundation equipped Nigro with the breadth of skills he needed to step into his role as church planter and pastor after graduation. 

“I hadn’t really heard of church planting until a few years after college, but that quickly came to be God’s answer to what He meant when he called me to ministry,” he said. “It’s hard and scary and frustrating at times, but at the same time it's so evident that we don’t need more churches but we need different churches to reach people who aren’t being reached.”

The Table, launched on November 7th,  and situated in Uniontown, seeks to serve in the footsteps and model of Christ. 

“The Table exists to reach unchurched and de-churched people, and we take our cues from Jesus in Luke 19:10. We join Jesus in His mission to seek and save the lost,” said Nigro. “We think that the best method is modeled in Luke 7:34-35; having a meal with people seems to be Jesus’ primary method of meeting with the lost, and that comes around the table. The Church is losing its social capital, and a lot of people aren’t really asking others to go to a church for a variety of reasons, and so the place where we can engage with people in a normal, comfortable and nonthreatening way seems to be around the table. We eat together at least every other week, our services end with communion.”

Nigro’s own experiences of growth and discovery at Malone paved the way for his work in reaching those who are not exposed to the Church, as well as those who have left the Church for a variety of reasons. 

“The hot topic today is deconstruction, and I certainly went through my own deconstruction in college, but the problem at large is that people are deconstructing without any wise guides to build something up in the place that is left,” he said. “It brings people to crisis and they deconstruct until there’s nothing left and they leave the faith. What Malone did for me, when I became solidified in who I was and my theology, was that I had wise godly people around me who loved the Lord and the Church to help me build my faith back up as I questioned and learned. My time there was everything. Without Malone I don’t know where I would be!”

Nigro encourages current students to take advantage of the environment, encouragement, and wealth of information at Malone as they too experience the growth and development of their faith. 

“Keep all of your notes! Education is not cheap and you have brilliant people pouring into you, so just be humble and listen,” he said. “You’re young, you have time, and you can get a great education, so stay humble. You get what you put in, and Malone has so much to offer. “

The Table in Uniontown meets every Sunday morning at 10, and more information can be found on their website.