In the foothills of Mt. Ogden lies a college campus east of downtown Ogden, Utah, home to purple-wearing Wildcats fans and commuter students from all over the Wasatch front mountain range.
This campus has been host to Saturday game-day celebrations for their winning football program that has produced NFL greats. In the winter and spring basketball season starts a whole new wave of excitement and anticipation for another winning season, hoping for another NBA star to come out of their ranks.
Amid all this is Weber State University’s college ministry, Semper Veritas, that has reached Weber State students for many years with a clear gospel message and truth-filled perspective of Christianity. This year Semper Veritas is experiencing change, but it is a good change.
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Redemption Church Ogden has spent the past several years overseeing the ministry at Weber State under the name Semper Veritas, but the decision has been made to transition to the name Redemption College Ministry.
“We are off to an awesome start to the school year,” leader Casey Swails explained. “We started off … with a rebrand of our ministry … to help with the goal of connecting students to the local church and for a clearer representation of who we are.
“Our leaders are doing an awesome job connecting with students. We have been averaging 10–12 people at our weekly Bible studies; a few of these students are not believers. One non-believing student actually joined us at Redemption Church this past Sunday with her boyfriend.
“Our leaders are leading discussions through the book of Philippians [which] has prompted much discussion, questions and deeper relationships among students,” Swails continued. “It has been incredibly encouraging to see this kind of attendance and fruit so quickly in the semester.“
‘Tabling’ on campus
Students have also been engaged consistently in “tabling” on campus — when student leaders stand by a table in a public setting, more often in high traffic areas on campus, and post large banners or a white board with a probing spiritual question. The question sparks continuing conversations that lead to gospel appointments and opportunities to share the truth of God’s word.
“We are using the tabling opportunities to invite students to a Perspectives Conversations event,” Swails noted, “[to] promote healthy relationships with non-believers so that we can get to know them and show them that Jesus has met them where they are.”
The tabling alone has prompted several gospel conversations that have contributed to the increase in Bible study attendance.
Redemption Church’s college ministry is asking Baptists to pray:
- For non-believers to be interested in having these discussions.
- For open hearts to the gospel.
- For relationships to be formed between the believers and non-believers on campus.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Utah Idaho Southern Baptist Convention.
