Building campus faith, step by step

How's your walk?" Often times, I find myself answering that question. But the first time someone asked, it threw me off a little, until I realized the person was asking me about my spiritual walk with Christ. It was the most considerate and sincere question that has been posed to me since I arrived at Penn. "How's your walk?" They wanted to make sure that I was OK. They wanted to know if I needed anything spiritually or emotionally and if they could help me. We talked about my walk and we talked about theirs. The conversation was not about who had the better walk -- it was about whether or not we were still, indeed, walking with Christ. The Christian community is growing at Penn. On the heels of Total Praise Cafe, an event sponsored by a few exceptional young women on campus, I realized just how strong an impact God has made on this campus in just the past few years. The Cafe was a fellowship and outreach ministry for both Christians and non-Christians on campus who demonstrated their love for God through song, dance, stepping and more. The students who started the Cafe saw a need for God in some of the hearts and minds of students on campus as they went through their daily routines. As a result, they organized the Cafe last year in the Multi-purpose Room of DuBois College House. Since then, the number of people in attendance has grown so much, that the event had to be moved to the ARCH this year -- a testimony to the sincere origins from which the Cafe got its beginnings. But that is not the only event making Christians stand up around campus. There are many organizations that minister to Christians and non-Christians alike -- Faith Fellowship, Emmanuel and Campus Crusade for Christ just to name a few -- whose numbers have increased and whose message has grown in complexity over the years they have been in existence. There is also the New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir and Full Measure, whose message of praise through song has made them two of the most highly sought after performance groups on campus. Some of these groups also work with students from Drexel University to spread the message of God to other campuses. Often, speakers from Drexel visit Penn and vice versa to show support for Christian events on campus or to participate in each other's Bible studies. A new initiative of the Christian community is campus-wide prayer, where members from many Christian organizations meet to pray with each other. They also work to maintain communication between the individual groups on campus since they realize that they all have the same goal and need to work together to accomplish it. A member of Faith Fellowship expressed this beautifully when she said, "We see the need for diversity. It is important to have smaller groups, but we must realize that we are a part of a bigger community -- God's community -- and that our vision is the same." As a Penn student, but more importantly, as a Christian, I have felt the impact of the presence of our thriving community on this campus. Many people have become more embracing and loving toward one another. And although Penn still has a silent air of academic competitiveness between students, that air does not exist among Penn's Christians. Another Christian attributes the maturity and growth on campus, not to sheer numbers, but to increased interest and desire for God amongst our peers. "People are more interested in ministry and serving God and building personal relationships with God," she said. "That is one reason all of the ministries are meeting the needs of so many students." As this community continues to persevere, it is my prayer that even if you are not a Christian, you will be impacted by the love we share with all of those around us, and see the benefits of a more embracing and loving community. It is important to take the time to be compassionate. As one of my professors pointed out to me, "Our purpose on Earth is to test our compassion towards each other." So I pose to you, the reader, the same question that someone so thoughtfully asked me one day: "How's your walk?"

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