Renewing the Campus at TCNJ

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 13:43:39 +0000

September 4, 2013

Gordon Govier

Renewing the Campus at TCNJ

On the Wednesday before the start of fall classes at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), just over one third of the freshman class competed vigorously to win a catered meal for their dorm floor in a Family Feud-style competition. Floor Feud was sponsored by TCNJ’s ��Ƶ chapter, and the commercials that ran during the competition promoted upcoming chapter activities to the more than 500 freshman who were competing or watching.

Through Floor Feud, move-in help at the dorms, a Sunday worship service on campus for freshmen, and other activities, new students at TCNJ have ample opportunity to learn about ��Ƶ. But Campus Staff Member Christine Loesser knows from her own experience that a personal invitation from a dorm neighbor or classmate is often the most important entry into ��Ƶ activities.

Christine first started attending ��Ƶ as a sophomore. An injury that temporarily sidelined her track career gave her some extra time for reflection about her Christian faith and her purpose in life so she decided to give ��Ƶ a try. But she was the last to arrive and the first to leave, and didn’t really meet anyone.

When the track team announced plans to get together socially on Thursday nights at the on-campus pub, she faced a decision. Hang out with a bunch of people she knew and liked or keep going to ��Ƶ, which intrigued her but where she knew no one? “I decided that I wasn’t going to go back to ��Ƶ,” she recalled. “I was just going to start hanging out with my team on Thursday nights.”

A Fateful Meeting in Lit Class
But then at her Thursday literature class, the room divided into small groups and Christine ended up in a group with Amanda and Laura. After they finished their assignment, they chatted idly and the conversation turned to spiritual matters. She discovered that Amanda and Laura were attending ��Ƶ’s Large Group meeting after class, and they invited her to sit with them. So she said yes, and went after all.

“Just knowing that there was someone who I could enter this community with was huge for me,” Christine said. “Amanda wound up being one of my closest friends. She showed me what it was like to be a follower of Jesus in college.”

Christine stayed involved with ��Ƶ through the rest of her collegiate athletic career plus one year of graduate school, becoming chapter president. “Through ��Ƶ I got to know Jesus in a real way,” she said. “��Ƶ was fundamental in my leadership development, in my spiritual development, and who I am as a person.”

Becoming an ��Ƶ Team
After graduation in 2008 she joined ��Ƶ staff to continue her involvement with the TCNJ chapter. She also began dating Chris. He had actually been involved in the same undergrad chapter as Christine but admitted, “As a student I didn’t really get what ��Ƶ was all about.”

Chris had a job in his family’s business, a financial planning company. He was doing well and had a very attractive career path ahead of him. But after he and Christine married, God began to call him to a different career path: campus ministry.

“My involvement with ��Ƶ increased both because I wanted to be near Christine but also because we were seeing lots of growth at TCNJ,” he said. “It was really compelling to see God move. ��Ƶ became more and more central to what I was about.” One year ago Chris left the family business and joined Christine on staff with ��Ƶ.

The Growth God Has Accomplished
Christine and Chris say that their complementary spiritual gifts have worked well in campus ministry. She likes planting new groups within various communities on campus, and he likes building up the groups. The TCNJ chapter has tripled in size since 2007, when Christine was chapter president. With about 300 students currently involved, the chapter makes up about 5 percent of the TCNJ student body.

“We’ve gone from being a group that was clumped with other student organizations to a group that certain administrators and lots of students recognize as a prominent group on campus, a group that’s doing good things,” Christine said. Increasingly the ��Ƶ students have enjoyed new witnessing opportunities as their chapter continues to be invited to partner with other groups on projects that benefit their college community.

Christine and Chris believe that a focused strategy for small groups has been key to growth at TCNJ. Christine explained: “As we shifted our small groups to Athletes ��Ƶ, Nurses Christian Fellowship, English Majors Life Group, the History Life Group, and Greek ��Ƶ, we invited students to join with others who are like them to study the Scriptures, pray for renewal of that part of campus, and reach out to that part of campus through their small group. That has made a huge impact.”

Even as Christine and Chris are once again overwhelmed with the flood of events focusing on New Student Outreach at the beginning of another school year, they are excited about building more new witnessing communities on the TCNJ campus. And as ��Ƶ grows to become more a part of the TCNJ campus, they believe that God will not only renew the campus but also transform increasing numbers of students and faculty into world changers.

News Keywords

The College of New Jersey

NSO

Running with God

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:10:05 +0000

News

November 8, 2011

Abi Christian

Running with God

Fidgeting nervously, Lauren stood before a crowd of 40 student athletes—including her cross country teammates, half the soccer squad, and others at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). It was the first time she would share parts of her story aloud. Reciting to herself the words of Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and shield,” Lauren took a deep breath and began.

Filling a Void

As a child, Lauren endured sexual abuse, and feelings of shame and brokenness continued to color her life. When she entered college, she sought to cover her pain with relationships, parties, and TCNJ’s track and cross country team. Occasionally, guilt drove her to attend church. “These things didn’t make me happy, but it filled a void in my life,” said Lauren.

Last fall, an injury limited Lauren’s ability to run. With her extra time, she attended an ��Ƶ small group Bible study for athletes, led by her team captain. Intrigued, Lauren continued to come each week and began going to church more often. “I realized I wanted this other life, this new life I saw in the Bible. I needed God,” said Lauren.

She met with Christine Loesser, an ��Ƶ staff member and assistant coach for Lauren’s team. Christine explained that God could fill the void in Lauren’s life and take her shame away. Right there, Lauren prayed to give her life to God.

“I felt myself washed away of all this dirt,” Lauren told the student athletes. She ended her testimony, urging students to accept God’s gift of grace so that their hearts and minds would also be renewed. “I’m more at peace now,” said Lauren. “All my desires for those other things that filled the void—they’ve gone away.”

Nine Say Yes

Later that evening, the athletes were invited to fill out a card, indicating where they were in their spiritual journey. Nine students expressed a desire to invite God into their life for the first time.

One of those nine athletes, Julie, is also senior on the cross country team. After hearing Lauren’s story, Julie asked to meet with Christine. Julie had gone to church with her family before college, but she knew she didn’t have the relationship with Jesus that Lauren talked about.

Julie told Christine that during practice, she grew quickly angry with some of her teammates, and that bothered her because she knew the Bible said to love your neighbor. She realized the sin in her heart, and with Christine’s guidance, Julie prayed to turn from her sin and follow Jesus.

Transforming Athletes

Christine and Lauren are celebrating these new lives among athletes. For several years, little ministry had happened among student athletes. But this fall, 70% of the cross country team’s freshmen came to ��Ƶ’s Fall Conference and 50 athletes have been attending the weekly meetings, many of them non-Christians.

“We’re building foundations, so that across the board, they know who God is and why he wants to be in a relationship with them,” said Lauren.

Christine said, “Much of this growth is due to the transformation we’ve seen in athletes like Lauren, which is changing the culture on the cross country team. Lauren’s now using her story to share the gospel in an athletic context, and God is drawing athletes to himself!”

Though Lauren’s past has been hard, she chooses to focus on the present. “I don’t think people should focus on why things happen—it will make you go crazy. If through my experience I can help someone, that’s enough for me,” said Lauren. “God is my new strength and hope.”

News Keywords

The College of New Jersey

TCNJ

athletes ministry