Click here to read Renee’s story.

Click here to find out Denny’s top three favorite things about his job, the craziest thing a student has ever asked him, and his favorite sport.

Click here to read how Kevin’s life was transformed by the CCO’s ministry.

“I think it is important for people to understand that we, as Americans, have more than we need and more than most people in the world. The simple act of giving something of ourselves that we probably won’t miss can change someone’s life. The sweater your grandmother gave you that you hate, can make a difference in someone’s life,” says Nicki.

To read the full article by WVUToday, click here.

Click here to find out Becky’s three favorite things about her job, what she believes are the biggest challenges college students face, and what she likes to read.

Click here to read Kate’s story.

“The church that was being held in this building was in decline,” explains Jake. “There weren’t enough members to keep the place running. Ever since my first year on staff in August 2007, I’ve wanted to start something up here. It was necessary to end what was going on in order to allow space for something greater to happen.”

In collaboration with the Reverend Michael McGee and the Reverend Paul Cooper, the rector of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Cranberry Twp., College Hill Anglican Fellowship was born.

Before any services could be held in the building, it needed to be refurbished. Over the course of a weekend, Jake, local residents and Geneva students scrubbed, hauled, dusted, weeded and planted all around the church’s property.

The building was finally ready to host its first preview service on a Sunday evening in September 2009. Word spread among community members and students alike.

“The first week we had over 100 visitors,” remarks Jake. “We ran out of bulletins. We ran out of seats. The place was packed. It was standing room only.”

In order to make the church more accessible and appealing to students, all services are held on Sunday evenings. Afterward, a home-cooked meal is prepared by student volunteers. Visitors stay well past the hour-long service chatting with one another, laughing and sharing stories.

“There’s something about what we’re saying and something about what we’re doing that makes students want to be here, and it creates a safe space for them,” comments Jake.

For students raised in a Christian home and attending a Christian college, it’s easy to feign belief in a system you’ve practiced your entire life. By making students partake in the process and not just observe it, students are making what were once their parents’ beliefs into their own.

Roman, a senior at Geneva College, grew up in the church. He never made a serious heart connection with his faith and eventually became jaded by Christianity. Roman and his girlfriend, Lauren, began attending St. Christopher’s and found the church members open and genuine. They became invested by joining the leadership team.

“It was refreshing for Roman to hear that church was not about what you do or don’t do. You don’t need to have it all together,” says Jake.

When it was time for College Hill Fellowship to commence services, Roman and Lauren were among the group of core students to help get it off the ground, and they continue to contribute to the church in significant ways.

“About 80% of our members are students,” says Jake. “We’re very intentional about getting students involved. They serve in hospitality, the worship band, as greeters, in a student choir, and with the meal after services.”

When asked what students tell Jake about the newly established church, he responded, “They say that it’s a refreshing sort of thing, and a safe place where they can ask questions. They don’t have to come here, they want to.”

Photos by Cory Morton.

Click here to find out why Avery works for the CCO, what he thinks makes a successful leader, and what he does before he goes to sleep at night.

We hear personal stories and struggles about believers learning what it looks like to live out their faith in every area of life.

Before I went to college, I compartmentalized my faith. I was never taught that being a pastor or a missionary or working for the CCO wasn’t any more glorifying to God than being a teacher, a waitress or a lawyer.

There is no such thing as sacred and secular professions, music, art or authors. Paraphrasing Colossians 1:16-17, all things were created by Him and for Him. Everything. Every bit of this creation is God’s.

This past six years of my life, I’ve been learning what it looks like to give Him all of these different areas of my life in order that He may take and use them and make them into the good, gloriousness He originally intended for them to be.

I want to live the complete gospel. The creation, fall, redemption, restoration gospel. The God created the world to work a certain way, but we’re broken; He makes us new, but it doesn’t stop there gospel. We are to bring the Good News to others, to play a part in bringing restoration to other disjointed people, professions, films, music and books.

This is what students heard, saw, and talked about this weekend. This is what they were encouraged to take back to their campuses.

Pictures of this dynamic conference are here.

Alicia Hoey
Marketing & Media Relations Associate
CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach)

“I know what it’s like to be a student athlete and to have your whole identity wrapped up in that world. I know what it’s like when that’s all taken away.”

Julie Manfred was a member of Slippery Rock University’s soccer team when an injury ended her varsity career. She was heartbroken. Suddenly, she felt lost, unsure of her place on campus—and in the world.

And then she met some Christians on campus, and her sense of who she really was shifted and fell into its right place. Julie found her identity in the God who created her, not in the expectations of her peers.

Today, Julie works as a CCO staff person with student athletes at her alma mater, and she takes joy in seeing their lives changed the way hers was.

The college campus is a microcosm of our complex and often confusing world, and many students are just learning how to navigate those complexities. Thank you for making staff people like Julie available for today’s students, that they might discover the true source of their identity.

—Daniel J. Dupee, President & CCO & Robert R. Long, Chairman of the Board

On Campus Magazine © Coalition for Christian Outreach, Fall 2008