Hands in the air, students sing praises displayed on a projector screen while peers play instruments in front, leading the worship.
This may seem like the typical church youth group worship service, but this particular spiritual gathering takes place on campus, in Mitchell Auditorium, every Thursday night.
The local Chi Alpha ministry, along with seven other student religious groups, provides this place and time for USI students to explore their already standing beliefs, or find new ones.
“This is the time that you’re kind of pulling away,” Christine Hoehn, director of Religious Life, said. “My responsibility on campus is to help students stay connected to the faith of their choice.”
The Office of Religious Life, formerly known as the Office of Campus Ministry, helps students along their path of spiritual growth, hoping to help students mature in their faith.
Chi Alpha, a non-denominational Christian group, welcomes any and all that happen to wander through its doors, whether that be students already with faith and looking for others with similar beliefs, or those with no religious background exploring their options.
“When I came to Chi Alpha, I thought, ‘This is it; this is me,'” sophomore psychology major Kayla Gerhl said. “It’s not just a group, it’s a family… We want everyone to feel welcome.”
The ministry has been on USI’s campus for two years now. Campus Pastor Bev Freund, along with her sister, is in charge of the campus ministry, although she wouldn’t put it that way.
“I’m not here to run a Bev show,” Freund said. “I’m here to show people Christ and help to train them to lead other people to Christ.”
Many of the activities of Chi Alpha are student-led, from worship to Bible studies. Freund said this helps get students excited about their faith and gives them a sense of ownership of the ministry.
Chi Alpha, along with the other groups on campus, deal with some from of Christianity. According to Hoehn, 87 percent of students claim Chrisitianity as their religion.
There have been past attempts to help the other 13 percent in their spiritual life, but attempts on campus have met difficulties.
Hoehn tried organizing a student Islamic group, but the group decided to discontinue after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.
Recent tries have proven difficult because of the religious differences between Sunni muslims and Shi’a muslims.
“There’s no way the Shi’ite and Sunni will come together,” Hoehn said. “There’s too many minute differences.”
For religions not represented on campus, Hoehn helps students find spiritual support within the surrounding community, whether it be a Buddhist sangha downtown or a nearby Jewish synagogue.
“Really our office is here to be a touch point for students who need or want to get in touch with a community,” Hoehn said.
