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Home > Resources > Worshiping Communities > Campus > MinistriesMessiah College
Grantham, Pennsylvania
| Denomination: Rooted in the Anabaptist, Pietist and Wesleyan traditions of the Christian Church | Size: Nearly 3000 students |
| Affiliation: Member of the CCCU | Website: www.messiah.edu/ministries |
College Ministries Mission: Christ Preeminent
While everything you do at Messiah will have a faith dimension, it is the particular goal of the College Ministries office to provide specific opportunities to focus on your spiritual life.
These opportunities range from wilderness discipleship trips to puppet ministry, residence hall "Life Groups" to overseas mission trips, playing an instrument in Chapel to singing in the gospel choir, inner city tutoring to intentional community living.
Spread your wings, stretch your faith, nurture your soul-check out some of the opportunities listed at the right.
Chapel
Common Chapel: Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 or 9:45 am
Alternative Worship: Tuesday/Thursday 9:45 am
Types of chapels: preaching, liturgical (communion), praise music, multicultural
Required attendance at 24 chapels per semester, with alternative options
Students with Junior standing or higher have the option of fulfilling up to two semesters of their chapel requirement through participation with a Messiah College Outreach Team.
Mission of Chapel
Chapel at Messiah College is a central expression of our identity as a community of Christians with a deep commitment to spiritual growth and academic excellence.
In chapel we seek to nurture holistic Christian faith through:
- worship that expresses our faith with a full range of contemporary and traditional form
- teaching that connects God's Word and our world
- community building that affirms our common identity in Christ and celebrates our diversity
Chapel at Messiah College is a central expression of our identity as a community of Christians with a deep commitment to spiritual growth and academic excellence. Chapel is a required opportunity for exposure to forms of worship, various speakers and ideas which are put together with the intention of affirming our common commitments while they both reflect and challenge individual preferences in style. Though we hope that students will be challenged in their faith through chapel, we realize that spiritual nurture is ultimately a function of each person's will, preference and responsibility and cannot be subject to requirements. Chapel is required as a common experience. Spiritual nurture is each student's own responsibility.
Sundays
Attendance at local churches is encouraged; a directory of local churches is provided.
Other Worship Opportunities
Bible study & fellowship groups, opportunities for service
Highlights
"The Portal"
This new area of the website, for students only, is an interesting way to get information out about other opportunities for worship and retreats. Once a month, it offers an hour-long web chat about worship issues.
Issachar's Loft
In today's culture of compromising values and unclear direction, we need men and women who are aware of our times and who will obediently respond and give right direction to the world around them. The Loft offers a variety of opportunities, including adventure activities and Bible study, for students to explore and make connections between faith and every area of their lives.
The Agapé Center
The Agapé Center for Service and Learning develops, administers, resources, and coordinates programs of service-learning, community service, and mission, contributing to the mission of Messiah College to "educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character, and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society."
The Worship Community
The Office of College Ministries is pleased to announce that the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has awarded a grant to Messiah College as part of their Worship Renewal Grants Program. Funds for this program are provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc. Douglas Curry, minister of worship, will serve as director of Messiah's project, entitled Campus Worship Formation Program. Key components include establishing an understanding of worship as Trinitarian, enhancing the visual arts in worship, developing intentionality and coherence in planning worship (particularly with regard to elective chapels) and resourcing student worship leaders.