Ohio Adventist Christian Fellowship: Eating together

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.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Eating together

At our last ACF meeting we learned one of the first principles of evangelism that Jesus taught his disciples - "Eat Other People's Food." Many of us were really encouraged by the simplicity of this idea. Since Thursday I have heard from several of our group members who have said that they are looking for ways to put that principle into practice by eating with people that they see and meet frequently around campus.

For those who find it difficult to eat with strangers it is easier to start with those within our group. In fact, it was suggested and voted in unanimously that we move our meeting up from 7pm to 5:30pm. Part of the rationale for this is that it will provide us with a chance to eat together each week. David and I are also looking for opportunities to share food with others. On Friday the president of ACF OSU and I had bubble tea together and then David and I spent the evening visiting with another student at our home. On Sabbath, Worthington church sent us 6 new friends for lunch as part of their "Guess who's coming to dinner" program. The day ended with several students stopping by in the evening for popcorn and games.

We are learning a lot more about each other as we spend time together and look for ways to heal and share the kingdom of God with one another.

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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.