Often times, the transition to college brings new ways of thinking and new experiences, and students may turn to religion to explore bigger life questions. At Colorado College, students can get in touch with their faith through the college’s Revolution Ministries program.
The Revolution Ministries is a Christian spiritual life group that is dedicated to “proclaiming and embodying” the person and the work of Jesus Christ on the CC campus, according to their mission and vision.
“[The group] is committed to serving the CC campus,” said Revolution Ministries Director Joshua Stephenson.
This group hosts a wide variety of events, including free coffee the first week of the block, late night pancake breakfasts, rides to airports around breaks, study nights, and more. Another aspect of this group is the weekly dialogues about spirituality.
“Revolution Ministries hopes to model productive dialogue between people of alternative viewpoints on matters of faith,” said Stephenson. “This does not mean agreement on all issues, but the ability to have meaningful conversation in the midst of significant differences.”
In addition, this group meets during the block to discuss and explore some of the key themes of Christian faith. For example, Block 5 focused on the overall story of the Bible and Block 6 will be delving into what the Bible says about Jesus as a person.
“These gatherings are designed for three types of people: the cautious, the curious, and the committed,” said Stephenson. “We welcome cautious students, those with a healthy skepticism about Christianity but a desire to engage with a faith they don’t hold. We welcome curious students, those with a desire to explore and learn about the Christian faith.”
He continued: “We also welcome the committed, those students who are passionate about their Christian faith and have a desire to grow spiritually.”
The group is committed to helping students develop spiritually, whether that is through small group meetings, reading or memorizing the Bible, reflecting on what they have read, and sharing their thoughts and interpretations with their fellow group members.
“We want Revolution Ministries to be a safe environment where students of all stripes with genuine interest can feel welcomed to engage in productive discussion,” said Stephenson. “We desire to facilitate these conversations in such a way that students seek to understand one another’s perspective just as they seek to be understood in their own.”
“Revolution Ministries is faith-specific in the sense that it is a Christian spiritual life group on campus. We teach from a Christian perspective and serve the campus in order to demonstrate the love and grace of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ,” said Stephenson. “However, students of all faith traditions are welcomed to come to our meetings, receive the service we provide, and join in the conversations we desire to facilitate on campus. We simply are committed to remaining faithful to our Christian faith tradition in our teaching and practice.”
The Revolution Ministries is a group with open arms and a large heart, and Stephenson summed up the mission of the group when he said that the Revolution Ministries wants to demonstrate and proclaim a message of love, hope, grace, and forgiveness through actions and words.