ACF First Annual Spring Concert at OSU

After months of planning and hundreds of hours of work the Adventist Christian Fellowship at The Ohio State University hosted a Vespers Concert on Friday April 29. Performers came from as far away at Mt. Vernon and two of the vocal groups included ACF students proving that the Adventist Church indeed has a very gifted future. Pastor Kwesi from the Columbus African Fellowship acted as Master of Ceremonies. There were approximately 70 people in attendance. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that it was unanimously agreed that we should hold a concert more often than the intended once a year. A very pleasant surprise to the evening was when Dr. Gordon Gee, president of OSU arrived and stayed for several songs despite his busy schedule that evening. Robert Okyere our student president had invited him by email. He enjoyed himself very much and requested an invitation to our next event. We closed the evening with a drawing for free Frichick and an invitation for everyone to enjoy some refreshments.

The Lord's Passover Supper (Maundy Thursday)

The Ohio State University ACF group decided to forgo their weekly Bible Study this last Thursday to do something extra special for Holy Week.

It was a Thursday evening in 33 AD that Jesus sat down to a meal with his disciples and prefaced it with these words "I have eagerly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer." That was the evening that all Israel performed a special service in commemoration of God's redeeming act in Israel's past when He called them His own people, delivered them from slavery, bought them with a sacrifice, and led them into their promised inheritance. Type was about to meet antitype.

April 21 2011, 11 of us sat around a table filled with traditional passover foods and contemplated the meaning of the passover rituals while acting out Jesus' command to serve one another and "Do this as often as you eat it in remembrance of me." We learned what was significant about the bread (matzo) that Jesus broke, what the cup Jesus gave his disciples has to do with marriage, and why Jesus never concluded the Passover meal but walked out after the third cup. Then we sang hymns together before concluding the evening. James Randolph described it as a "real" worship experience. We're already looking forward to next year.

Our Holy Week activities continued on Sabbath with dinner at Dr. Pascall's house, a faculty member at OSU and ACF sponsor. Lunch lingered into evening as we shared and sang more together.

I hope you each had a blessed Easter Weekend. HE IS RISEN!

Cherry Blossoms

Last Sabbath a few of our ACF students and church members enjoyed the an afternoon walk around campus. We spent most of our time observing the beautiful cherry blossoms along the Hocking River. We concluded with a short worship and prayer.

Spring Break Zoo Trip!

ACF enjoyed a wonderful Spring Break at the Cincinatti Zoo and enjoying nature and the beautiful animals that our God created. :) It was a bit chilly but we still had a fun time!

Winter Quarter Re-Cap

Winter quarter turned out to be a hectic quarter for many students. While to do lists seemed never-ending, time was hard to come by! By the time finals hit, students were ready for a break, eager to be done with exams and looking forward to Spring Break.

As a source of encouragement for students, ACF and Athens SDA church got together and made 25 care-packages for students who were either actively involved in our student group or who we had come across one way or the other. In the packages, we put in little treats, school supplies, and hand written anonymous notes of encouragements for the students.

After the long week of exams, ACF hosted a game night during Spring Break. We had a good turn out and both students and community members alike enjoyed food, games, and socializing together.

Like always, time has flown by and we are already done with the first week of Spring Quarter. Students have hit the ground running and we are excited for what this quarter holds. We're looking forward to more great Friday night discussions, fun-filled social activities, and more community service. We hope you keep checking in to see what we have up our sleeve :)

ACF 1 on 1's

Last week was the week before finals.... and the stress was definitely building on our campus and with our ACF students. This last week I met 1 on 1 with all our core members in order to discuss their life, leadership with ACF, spiritual gifts, and where they are spiritually right now in their lives. It was such a blessing to be able to really talk for about 2 hours with each student and it has really brought me and the students together. The leadership is beginning to pick up this quarter and it is exciting to see them coming to each other, as well as me more for prayer or simply someone to vent to. I'm excited to have:

Michael Davis take over as President

Stephanie McCain take over as Vice-President

Abigail Klipfel as our Secretary

Courtney Simon to continue as our Treasurer

Rachel McMahan as our Social Coordinator

Jessica Blaza as our Outreach Coordinator

Josh Cabay as our Boys Mentor/Network

Part of the meeting was the find each individuals strength and find a way in which they felt they could lead the organization and group in order to be successful.

1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Our college students have so much going on in their lives right now and for many of them, faith is such a huge question because they learn so many new "ideas" about Jesus Christ in a Public University. Just like I did, they question if what we learned our whole lives is just another myth. I know that only the Holy Spirit can really do the work in each individuals lives, but I challenge all our church members to take the time to hear our students out and allow them to speak their mind and sometimes just vent the difficulties of trying to be a Disciple for God and still questioning their own beliefs on a Public Campus.

ACF Ohio is refreshed at Connect: 2011

This last weekend found Darrin and Beamy Thurber, David and Gina Helbley, and Sabrina Araiza connecting with students and campus ministry leaders at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Georgia Cumberland conference generously allowed us to join them for their annual retreat for students on secular campuses, Connect 2011. We had a wonderful time worshiping together, painted a large rock, and had an opportunity to talk with Michaela Lawrence, the director of Advent House, about what she has learned leading the Adventist student group at UTK. It was an encouraging and educational weekend.