Joseph Chinn
I meet with students who are searching to deepen their relationship with Jesus – just like me.
As a student at Houghton College, I’ve had opportunities to continue my spiritual growth in a variety of contexts. For one, my dorm holds prayer and accountability meetings regularly. These are led and attended by students who are searching to deepen their relationship with Jesus – just like me. The group provides a strong support system, which allows us to be honest and real as we confront the challenges we face. We try to find the biblical perspective of all our issues, so that we might indeed be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Another popular campus program is MercySeat Ministries which encourages students to come together and worship freely. Those involved in this group have different teams of worship leaders who volunteer approximately two hours during the weekday evenings to sing and read Scripture, and to provide an atmosphere wherein all who come might pray, praise, worship, and rest in the presence of God. MercySeat is an edifying service to this campus, and I thank God for placing the desire in people’s hearts to continue promoting this vital and spiritually revitalizing assembly.
One of the ways that Houghton students put their faith into action is the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day. In the fall of 2008, a group of us helped to clean up a garden at a local nursing home. The senior citizens at the facility told us how pleased they were that we would come and help them. Service, in the words of my father, is the greatest occupation. I received an opportunity to engage in that work, and I experienced the happiness and an inner satisfaction that only comes through serving others. More importantly, I saw someone else’s countenance improve because of a service done them.
