Ohio Adventist Christian Fellowship: Campus Ministry from Afar

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 21, 2010

Campus Ministry from Afar

So for the past two months I’ve been vicariously living the campus ministry life through my husband, Darrin. You see, I was left in California to complete a two-year work contract while Darrin bravely started the campus ministry at Ohio University. I admit, I was a bit envious that Darrin was able to start this new adventure while I charged on with my Mondays-Fridays, 7:30am-4:30pm (sometimes 5:30 or 6, and occasionally 7pm) job. But mostly, I was a bit fearful that Darrin would be pursuing this on his own and very disappointed that I would be missing out on opportunities to serve and connect with students.

Well, I was proved wrong! Through God’s grace and through the support and assistance of our WONDERFUL Athens church family, Darrin has hit the ground running with Athens ACF! Yes, we’re starting off small, but Athens SDA Church and Athens ACF does not lack in faith, courage, and the willingness to serve!

And as for my lack of involvement? Well, through phone calls, Skype (thank God for Skype!), emails, and Facebook, I was able to meet some of our students and church family, assist in planning some ACF events, and listen in on the many stories of how God has already been working, and is continuing to work, at Ohio University! More importantly, I have found, once again, that prayer IS powerful!

You may wonder how you can get involved in assisting the Adventist Christian Fellowship groups at Ohio State University, Ohio University, and Wright State University. I encourage you to PRAY for us. Pray for the students at each of these colleges. Pray for the campus ministry leaders who have been given this great opportunity to serve in this capacity. Pray for the local churches that support the campus ministry team and our students. And pray for Ohio Conference who, through God’s leading, is making this happen. I guarantee you that your prayers will impact our ministry more than you’ll ever know. And I have no doubt that, because of your prayers, the Holy Spirit WILL move the mountains and the challenges in our way!

—Beamy Thurber

P.S. Praise God I get to join Athens ACF and our Athens family soon! I’ll be trucking across country next Friday to finally be with our Athens church family and students!... And yes, I admit, I’m excited to be with Darrin once again J

1 comment:

SabrinaOctober 22, 2010 at 8:35 AM
I'm excited for you to be down here as well!! I"ll keep you in my prayers for safe travels!! :) Yay for being back with your hubby!!
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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.