Western Kentucky University Campus Ministries

Right now is one of the most exciting times in the life of graduating high school seniors. They have just finished the first chapter of their life and they are ready to move on to bigger and better things. And for many of these graduating seniors that means its time to move on to college. College can be both one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking times in a incoming freshman's life. Often times that first semester of college can go a long ways in shaping a young person's life. Freshmen will gain new friends and responsibilities in their first year of college, and that is where campus organizations can go a long way in easing freshmen into the college experience. In particular, I am going to talk about campus ministries and how they can impact your time at college.

The reason I am writing about this topic is because I have been there as a wide-eyed freshmen not knowing anybody on campus. One of the things that helped my transition immensely was my involvement with a campus ministry. I am here to let you know about one of the up and coming campus ministries on the campus of Western Kentucky University that can be vital in helping freshmen "survive" their first year. This campus ministry I am talking about is the Wesley Foundation, aka the Methodist Student Center. It is located a block down from Cherry Hall at 1355 College Street across the street from the Catholic Student Center. The Wesley Foundation has been around since the mid-1950s and has established a strong presence across WKU's campus over the last few years. The campus minister of the Wesley Foundation is Sami Wilson, who has been at this ministry since the fall of 2002. The Wesley Foundation officially meets every Tuesday and Thursday for free food and fellowship, but all of the students keep in contact with one another throughout the week. Attendance will vary from week to week but usually there are around 10 to 20 students who will attend.

So there is a little background information on this particular campus ministry, and now I want to tell you why you need to get involved with the Wesley Foundation. Here are just a few reasons why joining the Wesley Foundation is a good idea:

1.) It will keep you actively involved with Christ. I've heard over and over from many different people that once they start attending college, they stop attending church. The reason for that is they are moved away from their parents and their home church and are a little nervous about branching out on their own. If you attend the Wesley Foundation, not only will you be involved with Christian Fellowship throughout the week, but you will also make connections with local churches as well. Every Thursday night, a different local Methodist church provides the meal for the students and often times they will hang around and worship with us. Also throughout the year, we go from church to church with our outreaches and testimonials to help better our relationship with the rest of the Methodist community. So this is a great way for you to get to know some of the members of these churches. It's very easy to skip church once you are in college, but you have that support system at the Wesley Foundation it makes it a whole lot easier.

2.) You will instantly make lots of friends. So in short, there are many reasons to come to the Wesley Foundation, but the most important one is that this is a great place to continue your relationship with Christ. It can be very easy for students to cut their ties with Christ after a year or two of college, but I guarantee if you stay actively involved with the Wesley Foundation and a local church that will be impossible to happen. As soon as you walk through the door at the Wesley Foundation, you will be amongst some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. It is a very friendly environment where anyone and everyone is always welcome. In fact, at least half of the students who came to this ministry did not have any roots in the Methodist Ministry when they first joined this organization. Baptist, Church of Christ, and Lutheran are just a few of the different backgrounds that are represented at the Wesley Foundation. Every freshman's nightmare is coming to college and not having any friends, so one of the biggest reasons for coming to this ministry at first is just to meet lots of new people. I remember the first few times I attended the Wesley Foundation and they wouldn't let me leave without giving me a hug. Even if your not a hugger(and I am definitely not) this is a place where you will enjoy meeting everyone.

3.) Fun events and activities are always happening at the Wesley Foundation. It seems like last year, we were constantly on campus doing all sorts of activities to reach out to the rest of the student population. We grilled out on south lawn and tailgated before several of the WKU football games. Also, we projected several different movies on one of the academic complexes last spring and fall. Those are just two of the many examples where we reached out to the rest of WKU's campus.

4.) We have a great campus minister. Sami is a Western and Wesley alumni. She is one of the most upbeat and caring ministers that I have ever met. She makes your time at the Wesley Foundation as much fun as possible, and she always has time just to talk with you if that is what you need. Sami has a true passion for Christ and she definitely is not shy about expressing that passion to you through many creative lessons she delivers every Thursday night. To top it all off, she will even buy you a free lunch at any restaurant in the city the first time she meets you. If you don't think a free lunch is a big deal just wait until you get to college.