Ohio Adventist Christian Fellowship: ACF Columbus Sucess!

About Ohio Adventist Christian Fellowship

Here’s a surprising fact: Did you know that 65% of Seventh-day Adventist young people attend secular colleges or universities? Studying at a secular college or university presents challenges to a student’s faith. Being at college may be his or her first time making decisions of their own, without mom and dad there to guide them. University studies are stressful, and social pressures are strong. The Ohio Conference has long hoped to minister to students—Seventh-day Adventists and others—on secular campuses. In September, we started a pilot program to place chaplains at three of our state’s universities: Ohio University in Athens, The Ohio State University in Columbus, and Wright State University in Dayton. Here are some of their experiences.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

ACF Columbus Sucess!

This evening 8 OSU students, 1 faculty member, and 3 supporting Adventists attended a fun ACF meeting where we got to know each other better, play a few games, eat sushi, invite random strangers to come enjoy sushi with us, and be amazed at what Dr. van Putten carries with him every day in his professor's book bag. Dr. van Putten is a professor in the school of dentistry here at OSU and has invited all Adventist university students in the Columbus area to his house the afternoon of October 30. All are welcome to come check-out ACF on the OSU campus each Thursday evening from 7-8. Locations vary and so be sure to visit the Columbus ACF website for the latest information: http://acf.org.ohio-state.edu/

—David & Gina Helbley

1 comment:

Cristine Orillosa-ThurberOctober 23, 2010 at 8:52 AM
Gina,

Looks like ACF Columbus is off to a good start :) PRAISE GOD! Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. I truly believe God has this amazing plan for OSU!
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Our Campus Ministries team

Columbus, Ohio is the home of Ohio’s largest university, and one of the largest campuses in the United States. There are 55,000 students on the campus of The Ohio State University. Gina and David Helbley were serving as missionaries in Kazakhstan, when they felt a calling to do campus ministry. David is an engineer, and Gina is a graduate from the ministerial program at Walla Walla College. Now in Columbus, they’ve made their home a center for campus outreach.

Wright State University is located in Dayton, Ohio. Many Seventh-day Adventist students are in the 20,000 student body. We’ve invited Sabrina Araiza, a young adult psychology graduate from Arizona, to become our campus chaplain at Wright State. Sabrina will be working with a team from the Kettering church, under the mentorship of Kettering young adult pastor Elliot Smith.

The state’s oldest university is located in Athens, Ohio, in the foothills of Appalachia. Although Athens is a small city, 20,000 students attend Ohio University. The church in Athens has a vision to reach out to the university community. They’re being assisted by Darrin and Cristine Thurber. The Thurbers come to Ohio from California. Darrin is a ministerial student, and Cristine (known to her friends as Beamy) is a social worker. With the help of other Seventh-day Adventist students and faculty, they’ve started a strong outreach program to students.