Ohio Adventist Christian Fellowship: The Calling

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.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Calling

Why would someone become a public campus chaplain? Do you realize how difficult that job is? I have to admit - I didn't!

I (sometimes) think it is tough to be a minister in a church - an established congregation. Then I think what it would be like to start a group "from scratch" - which is essentially what we are asking these teams to do. More than that, however, they are building a community of young adults - people whom our society has declared as "dead" to religion. Add to that - their budget to do these monumental tasks is negligible.

What I have witnessed is the power of the Holy Spirit - because only God could be behind something as audacious as this! Already (just a few months in) I see college students excited to be part of this ministry.

I still see the challenges - but more than these I see the opportunity for more people to realize that we ALL are called to ministry. We all have chances to form friendships, to use our blessings for the good of someone else, and to share our relationship with Jesus through our actions. Please join me in praying for each of the teams - and in humbling asking God what crazy challenge He has for each of us!

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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.