Originally from Virginia, Allie Boman graduated in 2004 from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance. Allie was involved in the Chi Alpha ministry at EMU under the leadership of Steve and Belkis Lehmann. It is also where she met her husband Josh. After Allie and Josh completed their Chi Alpha internship, they served on staff at Purdue University for four years, then led the Chi Alpha ministry at Ball State University until the spring of 2019.
Having transitioned out of full-time ministry for the time being, Allie is now a freelance writer, and her articles have been featured in such publications as Influence Magazine and BibleStudyTools.com. She and Josh live in the Chicago suburbs with their three children, John (10), Judah (7), and Thea (4).
As of October 2021, Allie is now a full-time freelance copy editor, focusing on public health science reports and Christian nonfiction, fields that overlap more than you’d think!
Describe the impact Chi Alpha had on you as a student.
As a high school student, I was trying to both follow Jesus and be my own leader. It wasn’t working well. When I went to college, I was looking for a Christian group that would challenge and equip me in my faith. Chi Alpha was full of passionate believers who were pursuing Jesus wholeheartedly. Through them I learned to yield everything to Christ and found so much life in him.
All of my campus pastors, especially Steve and Belkis Lehmann, patiently walked with me lots of ups and downs in my faith, as well as in my personal life. They were like family to me, as the body of Christ should be. The Lehmanns modeled life in ministry while also parenting, and my husband and I have taken our cues from them throughout our time in ministry.
Looking back over the last 15 years, what do you find was the most rewarding part of your job as a campus pastor?
Seeing God work in unpredictable yet perfectly reliable ways in students’ lives has brought me abiding joy and satisfaction. I love seeing the glimmers of faith, maturity, and giftedness in students as freshmen, and then watching them grow into mature women and men of God.
How do you think your time in Chi Alpha prepared you and influenced you in your writing work?
I did a lot of writing as a campus pastor, and usually enjoyed it. I also journaled like crazy through the ups and downs, which helped me to develop as a writer and as a thinker. When I’m writing a practical Christian life article, I imagine myself in a one-on-one with a beloved student. I write what I would say to them and imagine the questions or thoughts they would have about it.
Also, Chi Alpha trains students to see that doing any kind of work with excellence is a way to glorify God, so even when my writing isn’t directly about spiritual edification, I am doing it for Him.
What are some topics you hope to write about in the near future?
I’m interested in continuing to write about parenting, especially Christian principles, academic research, and the practical strategies that come out of those fields. I have a running list of topics I hope to write about like, “how to motivate kids,” “creative discipline,” and “do kids’ dreams having meanings?” A lot of times I don’t know the answers and I do a lot of research and Bible study to understand it better myself as I’m writing.
Finally, what practical advice do you have for alumni who may have the desire to use writing as a way to minister to others?
I thought I was too cool to have a blog, but I think I was mostly turned off by the monetized blogs that always seem to be selling something. I also prefer to use complete sentences most of the time, and bloggers can seem allergic to grammar.
I bring this up because I had a concept of what becoming a writer would be like (a run-of-the-mill blogger), and I was wrong. There are many avenues to sharing your writing with the world, so don’t get boxed in. Also, like I mentioned before, journaling has been great practice.
To read Allie’s published work and her personal blog, visit allieboman.com.