Campus Ministry currently offers five Bible study sessions for the fall semester — three for women and two for men. The Bible studies are led by student ministers Nathan Yeager, Sydney Triggs, Lauren Keith , Natalie Hertel, Peggy Frazier, and seminarian Caleb Kuestersteffen.
It is the first year for the study and the high level of interest came from Catholics and Christians alike — the study is open to all faiths. The idea of a Bible study was proposed by Campus Ministry at the beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year, and students gave an overwhelming positive response. Campus Ministry Administrative Assistant Monica Borger had more than 40 students express interest in the study at the Back to School Social and Involvement Fair.
Sessions are taught by one leader with the exception of the duo Triggs and Keith who teach a women’s session together. Splitting the groups and leaders by gender fosters a more comfortable atmosphere for students, Hertel said. “When you have the genders separated, you’re able to go deeper into content and people are more free to share things,” said Hertel.
For content, the student ministers use resources from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) study ‘The Crux.’ The FOCUS website states, “The purpose of The Crux is to invite participants to make Jesus Christ the center of their lives. … We want this study to be an experience where the participants can gaze upon the cross of Jesus Christ and come to a decision about Him in their own lives.”
Yeager said, “Our goal with this Bible study is to lead college students here at Newman into a deeper relationship with Christ through scripture.”
Borger added, “The whole reason we’re doing the Bible study came from the yearning of students wanting to do this.”
Sessions started Sept. 18 and are held weekly, ending the week before finals. It’s not too late to join a study group. The women’s study currently has eight members each, but the leaders hope to see that number continue to grow. Yeager said commitment can be hard for college students because of their busy schedules. “We don’t pressure students to come to every session but if they are able to make it to every one, that would be great,” he said.
Women’s bible studies are held Monday at 2:30 and 7 p.m. and Friday at 2:30 p.m. The men’s studies are Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. All sessions are held in the Heritage Room located on the main floor of Sacred Heart Hall.
Those who wish to sign up can stop by the Campus Ministry office located in Sacred Heart Hall, room 219, or email Borger at [email protected].
