Faith and friction: A nursing student’s stand at Regis University

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

Student John Scarboro and his pastor say they were only sharing their faith on campus while Regis leadership officials cite concern for inclusivity and compliance with university policy

John Scarboro thought the meeting would be simple—just a quick talk with ministry leaders at Regis about forming a student group. It didn’t start that way. The 32-year-old nursing major and new father met with university staff on September 12 after campus security stopped him for talking about Jesus with students.

Kyle Turner, Director of University Ministry, framed the university’s concern around student wellbeing. “If you engage a Muslim student and make them feel uncomfortable about their own lived faith, that becomes a problem,” he said during the meeting, which was recorded and shared by Pastor Jonathan Helvoigt.

Helvoigt, who joined Scarboro for campus evangelism, saw it differently. “You can’t hold all faith at the same level,” he said. “If you’re going to try to respect all faith traditions, you’re going to have to silence any that esteem themselves true over the others.”

Scarboro works as a CNA, has been married just over a year, has a three-month-old—and says his faith shapes everything he does. His goal, he said, was not confrontation but calling. “If I quit evangelizing at Regis and let them strong-arm us into not sharing the gospel, I’ve basically shown my daughter, don’t practice your faith.”

That conviction did not stop him from asking whether he had lived up to the spirit of his faith while navigating university rules.

A moment of repentance and resolve

After the meeting, Scarboro said he took time to reflect before judging the university’s actions. He realized he’d stayed to keep evangelizing when security had asked him to leave, and that was where he fell short of expectations. ““I still believe we weren’t doing anything wrong, especially since security had told us that earlier,” Scarboro said. “But I can see now that I could have handled the process differently by leaving when asked and then filing a formal complaint, ”and” he said. “I take responsibility for that.”

“I don’t believe we were disorderly or that we disobeyed God. We weren’t there to cause a scene.” Scarboro asserted, “We were just trying to share the truth—and to do it with love.”

The Notice of Allegations and Initial Review listed three potential code violations. But the only one that stood was failure to comply with a directive to leave. 

On October 5, he signed an Agreed Resolution acknowledging that charge, while the others were dismissed. 

“I wanted to move forward,” he said. “I don’t want to fight Regis. I just want to be honest about what happened.”

What evangelism looked like

John Scarboro speaks with a student during one of his evangelism outings on the MSU Denver campus.

“We usually start with, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’” Pastor Helvoigt said. “If they say yes, we ask, ‘Do you worship him?’ and if they’re not sure, we explain that God made us but we’re in our sin and Jesus came to bear our sins and give us forgiveness.”

Scarboro said their talks on campus felt friendly, not confrontational. “Everyone was very cordial,” he said. “We got to pray for some students… one was really struggling, and we got to pray for her.”

Their talks were always by choice. “If a student says they don’t want to talk—we would say ‘ok, we’ll be here if you want to talk,’” he said. 

Scarboro said he often turned to Matthew 28 as one scriptural inspiration for sharing his faith.

When security intervened and administrators raised concerns, Acts 4 surfaced in his thoughts. That’s when Peter and John had already been arrested once for preaching, questioned and released—with orders to stop talking about Jesus. When they returned to the other believers, the group didn’t withdraw or try to avoid trouble. They prayed together for courage to keep speaking openly. 

For Scarboro, the passage framed how he understood the pressure he was facing. “Acts 4 spurred us onward to continue in the face of the trial,” he said.

When comfort becomes a one-way policy

Their first conversations drew attention quickly. “It was maybe ten minutes,” Scarboro said. “Campus security came and spoke with us.” The following week, “all four security guards came out and the head of security talked to Kyle on the phone.”

On September 12, Scarboro and Pastor Helvoigt met with three mission leaders—Kyle Turner, Kari Kloos, and Tamara Boynton—to discuss those encounters and how they fit within Jesuit policy. The leaders framed the issue as protecting students of other faiths from feeling targeted. 

Turner said evangelism was “really the mission of the university itself,” explaining that outreach happens through campus ministry and academic life. 

Helvoigt saw the policy as keeping the Gospel out of a place of learning.

It’s a tension Jesuit teaching would recognize, grounded in the call to cura personalis—care for the whole person—and the search to find God in all things.

By reacting within minutes, the university protected some students’ comfort. But was anyone considering Scarboro’s, when the practice of his faith was met by four officers and an immediate review? Helvoigt argued this point at the meeting and Boynton replied, “I see your point.”

Within a Jesuit tradition that prizes dialogue and discernment, the situation might have offered a chance for everyone involved to talk it through—those sharing their faith and those who felt uneasy hearing it.

What complaints remain unclear

“Security told us they were getting complaints,” Helvoigt said. “It’s become my understanding it’s primarily from faculty… we’ve asked what their complaints are, and it’s remained vague, always on behalf of somebody else.”

Scarboro echoed that he is “not aware of any” students who came forward to him, and that “they didn’t bring any students forward” in the process.

The university officials in the meeting spoke about student discomfort in general terms, such as making “a Muslim student feel uncomfortable about their lived faith.” 

Beyond that framing, no specific student statement has been presented to Scarboro or Helvoigt. 

The notice of trespass

Soon after, the university issued Pastor Helvoigt an indefinite No Trespass Notice citing “information received from community members” and referencing potential criminal penalties if he returned to campus. “They officially trespassed me… the notice said I was harassing, which they’ve never mentioned in person,” he said. “They even told John this was not about harassment.”

That action formed a hard boundary: Pastor Helvoigt was seen by officials as an outside adult—and barred.

Scarboro pushed back on any narrative that paints Helvoigt as an outside figure directing a campaign. “They really wanted to harp on him being my pastor and him trying to just build a church,” he said. “Yes, he is my pastor, but it was a few people that just wanted to go out and tell people about Jesus. I respect him as a pastor and I also love him as a friend.”

It’s a meaningful difference at a Jesuit university, which asks students to live the mission day to day through reflection, community and service.

Faith under review

Deliberations in the student conduct hearing are still underway. Pastor Jonathan Helvoigt said Regis University has asked that the proceedings not be discussed until an official outcome is released, which is expected Friday, November 14.

Scarboro says he prays not only for those who disagreed with him on campus but for anyone who hasn’t yet understood his faith. “We pray for the campus… that people know the love of Christ and hear the true gospel,” he said.

On Sept. 12, Turner emphasized the Christian life already visible on campus. Just a day earlier, he said, hundreds of students had filled the chapel for a service where the gospel was preached. “We would talk about Christianity as appropriate at a university, which includes religious studies and faith and spirituality courses,” he said.

Observers might see both approaches as reflections of Jesuit ideals in different forms. Scarboro and his pastor say their actions come from conscience and faith, shaped by Scripture and prayer. By contrast, Regis’ leadership officials see inclusion as an expression of care for a campus made up of many beliefs.

Truth-seeking plays a key role in forming conscience and character in Jesuit educational tradition. That idea is a living question at Regis now—how to hold conviction and compassion together, and whether moments of discomfort still belong in learning.

Discomfort often comes with truth, and John Scarboro knows something about that. He made some people uneasy by sharing his faith, and he’s learning how to carry discomfort without betraying conviction—with grace.