Student group practices peaceful evangelism, fosters discussion
There are many religious beliefs in this world. On one level are major faiths like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam, but the categories multiply when considering the denominations within each faith. Christianity has hundreds alone. Everyone has their own beliefs, but have you considered why you believe these things?
A year ago, I wrote an article for The Pulse entitled “How We Talk About Faith—Without Shouting” where I discussed how members from the UTC Christian Student Center set up a booth on their campus, handing out cookies and lemonade to passing students.
During this event known as “Ask Me About My Faith Day”—or “AMA Day” —the CSC’s goal was to start a conversation about faith. When they gave students refreshments, they talked with them, trying to form a bond while also explaining why they believed what they believed.
I observed the event and found it to be quite successful when I talked with students who stopped by. Many of them were happy to see such peaceful evangelism and several changed their minds about their views on Christianity.
It was amazing to watch other students talk so positively and I knew I had to do more if this event happened again. If my friends could put themselves out there, why couldn’t I? So when AMA Day founder and CSC student director Kaleb McDowd announced training for the newly-renamed Faith Day, I signed up immediately. That was when I began considering the reasons for my beliefs.
“We’ve done a disservice avoiding topics like politics and religion,” McDowd said when interviewed. “I want to show the students on campus and the CSC members they don’t need to be afraid to discuss faith.”
During the first training session, Kaleb asked everyone to think about what the Gospel means to us. For me, it was self-worth. After a lot of bullying in middle school, I felt like my life was pointless and I couldn’t do anything. Jesus’s death helped me realize I, and everyone else, had to be worth something if He would go through such an agonizing experience for us.
When we told the group, however, not everyone thought the same thing. Many participants, like fellow CSC member Kaitlyn Mesecher, were astounded by the plethora of answers everyone gave.
“I was shocked our answers were so different,” Kaitlyn said when asked about this occurrence. “I figured my views of hope would be the standard answer, but I realized not everyone had the same opinion as me. Even as I shared my own answer, I found it adapted after listening to the others.”
Faith Day will be held this Tuesday, April 12th from early morning until 6 p.m., and members from the CSC will be handing out refreshments while also discussing why we believe what we believe. We hope many other students will stop by so we can learn more about you and your beliefs as well. We look forward to talking with you.
For more information about the CSC, visit utcchristianstudentcenter.com.