The Christian student organization formerly known as the Wesley Foundation has changed their name to “Alive in Christ” in hopes of becoming more welcoming to a wider array of students and their denominations.
“It’s good that we pray together with other Christian student organizations to show that we get along,” Reverend Rick Howell, the facilitator of the group, said.
The name Wesley Foundation came from the name of the founder of the United Methodist Church, John Wesley. The group was originally given that name because the United Methodist Church sponsors for the organization.
“The only thing that has changed about us is the name,” junior John Brasche, president of Alive in Christ, said. “We still teach the same thing, and we still teach about God.”
On Monday, Sept. 13, Alive in Christ met for the second time this semester. The new name allowed students from different church backgrounds to feel welcome without question. During the meeting, the members sat in a circle of desks, ate pizza and talked about the future plans for the group.
“One thing about our group is that our teachings agree with the other teachings of most Christian student organizations,” said former group officer and FMU graduate Michael Burke.
On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the group will be co-sponsoring “Prayer at the Fountain” with BCM. They also will be participating in the local Annual Bike Rally. They plan to begin having a movie night in the future.
Alive in Christ members have been very active in catering to first semester freshmen. On freshmen move-in day, officers of Alive in Christ were volunteering and helping freshmen get started with the college experience.
Alive in Christ builds on the simple phrase “love, learn and live.” The focus of Alive in Christ is to help students to form friendships with other Christians (“love”), encourage students to study the Bible and to grow in faith (“learn”), and provide opportunities for students to embody the love of Christ through service both on campus and in the surrounding community (“live”).
“Our goal in Alive in Christ is to reach out to the unbelievers or people who need help,” officer Laura Hutchison, a sophomore, said.
At the meeting, Brasche gave a homework assignment to the group. He told them to do ten good things for the people that are causing stress in their lives and be prepared to share it in the next meeting.
Alive in Christ will soon begin their traditional bible studies. As of now, they meet every Monday in the Leatherman Science Facility (LSF) room 104. People that are interested in can check out the group’s Facebook page or email them at AiCsm@ymail.com.