By: Syd Bickers
A group of eight students began meeting at the campus gazebo every night at 10 pm last week to “spiritually encourage” one another, and this Thursday the group’s attendance doubled to 16 people.
“We want to be the community that God has called us to be,” said senior Katie Crumley.
The meetings are informal and raw. Campus Minister Brad Wallace attended one night and said the group had an “organic” quality about it.
The group opens by splitting off into prayer partners to get to know each other and pray for others’ concerns. This can last up to 30 minutes. Then the group convenes in the gazebo to listen and respond to a member’s testimony. A closing prayer is offered around 12 am, and then the group travels up Blowers Boulevard.
Some get into their cars to drive back to the dorms and others walk. Walking or driving, they all heckle each other all the way.
“It’s the one thing we look forward to in the day,” said Crumley. “When I see people from the group on campus they give me hugs.”
Members say the group is made up of a variety of people that did not all hangout together before.
“Prayer has this way of sort of drawing people together from different social groups,” said Wallace.
“There are so many strange faces, but yet we all can connect,” said sophomore Zekarias Goitom. “It’s because it has nothing to do with us, but it has everything to do with God.”
A week before spring break Goitom and sophomore Zach Jones began talking with one another about a campus wide lack of Christian unity. They described it as spiritual “loneliness.” After spring break the two spoke with Crumley, who felt the same way.
“I feel like God laid it on our hearts,” said Crumley.
Crumley transferred to Milligan last fall and will graduate this spring. She felt that she wasted time at Milligan under the mindset that she was preparing to be a disciple of Christ. She wished she had spent more time acting as a disciple of Christ during her time at Milligan.
Jones has planned campus wide community events for April.
“We are planning to do the events, but it’s not because of our group,” said Jones. “I am just getting activities started up so people can get outside and talk to each other more.”
These are the events, which have been approved by Katy Mosby:
Community Week:
April 12 – Bro/Brah Day (Bro and Brah are slang for friends. Bro refers to males, and Brah refers to females.): This day includes activities around campus that you compete in with a friend. Competitions are like best handshake and a three-legged race.
April 14 – Sports Day: This includes a “massive” dodge ball tournament with 22 dodge balls and two teams, a volleyball tournament and an earth ball game with four goals and one large exercise ball.
Water Week:
April 18 – Water Balloon Capture the Flag: This is a wet game of capture the flag. Players get others out by hitting them with water balloons.
April 21 – Call of Duty Night: This is a “real life” video game were players break up into teams of three and engage in a “water war” with water balloons, balloon catapults and water guns. Water balloons and small water guns will be provided, but players are encouraged to bring larger water guns.
*Zachary hopes to add another event to Water Week.
Break Week:
April 24 – Get the Gorilla: This game centers on a plot: Players have all been stranded on an island, and a gorilla has captured their radio. A person dressed in a gorilla suit will run around campus, and players must capture them.
April 27 – A Video/ Photo Scavenger Hunt: Teams will be given a list of things to do, and they must take videos and photos of their team doing each activity.
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