A New Model of Connection

At Loyola University-Chicago, students gather at Agape, where they used to "come for worship and some testimonies and then get numbered off in small groups to study Scripture," says campus minister Mike Moore.

Now Moore and Agape, a ministry supported by Christian Reformed Home Missions, are trying a new model.

In the spring of 2014, Moore and his leadership realized that having new groups every week was "deterring deep conversations and intimate friendships."

The community had grown from 30 students to almost 70, so a new model of connection was necessary. The shift to more stable groups was "a challenge and a reward," says student leader Derek Ferguson.

"Having the same people in your group every week allowed you to get to know the souls around you and what they were struggling with."

Groups might have anywhere up to nine students at their midweek meeting, but as the groups got to know each other, the leaders were able to "foster an intimate space where we could ask questions and wrestle with doubts," Moore says.

Ferguson found that "something as simple as taking prayer requests weekly and then following up on them the next week could have a profound effect on students, who are often so busy worrying about school that they really don't ever have a time or place to share their spiritual needs with others."

Through the word of God, the guidance of the Spirit, and the prayerful discernment of its leaders, Agape fosters a community of young Christians eager to learn the faith alongside their academic studies.