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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
CAMPUS
MINISTRY From Wesley,
a United Methodist campus ministry,
holds weekly Wednesday night worship
services that typically draw about 300
to 400 students. In
addition, freshmen
cell
group
Bible studies draw some 80 to 100
students, and other small-group Bible
studies draw 150-175 a week. A coffee
house, held after the Wednesday
service, also provides a way of
bringing students together. "Over
the last 10 years, this ministry has
really grown," said the Rev. Bob
Beckwith, who has been the director for
the past four of those
years. The
foundation provides a welcome refuge to
students, according to Jake Hunt, a
former student now working as a Wesley
intern after his graduation. "The
main time to grab them is when they're
freshmen," said Hunt, who hails from
Trinity UMC in Warner Robins and
is "almost definitely going to seminary
and then on to some kind of ministry"
when his one-year internship
ends. Jake
Hunt is just one of many Wesley alumni
who've responded to the call to
Christian service, Beckwith noted. One
former UGA Wesley student, David Scott,
is now director of the Wesley
Foundation at Valdosta State
University. UGA
Wesley has 16 interns, whose tenure is
during the school year, as well as five
assistant directors who are
missionaries with the Mission Society
for United Methodists and who serve
anywhere from two to five years or even
longer. One
way Wesley students minister to others
on campus is through regular
outreaches. Twice a week, for example,
a team from Wesley goes to the Tate
Student Center to serve hot chocolate,
pass out Bibles and ask for prayer
requests. "Students
tutor the children, take them to camp
in April, and teach them how to pray,"
said Beckwith, who explained that a
Wesley student came up with this idea
two years ago, and it's now going
strong. One
of the key roles Wesley plays is
helping students who have already
professed faith in Christ learn to live
out that profession in the midst of all
the freedoms offered in a university
setting. "Even
the students that come from a
[church] youth group at home
are thrown into a whole new environment
here, with no boundaries and without
their friends and families, and they're
looking for connections," said Micah
Eldridge, an assistant Wesley director
whose home church is Marietta First
UMC. "We
want to fill that need for connection.
If we can reach them and help them make
good friendships and good choices
before the freedom and the pressures
get to them, we can have a lasting
impact," he said. He
should know. Micah's personal
commitment to UGA Wesley is because of
the impact the ministry had on him six
years ago when he was a
freshman.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
Word:
Recent
sermons
Our quarterly e-magazine
Gateway
Today
For the Gateway family
The
Gateway
Blog
(online
newsletter)
Gateway
Today
The
e-magazine of
Gateway Church
WINTER
2003
UGA
Wesley Foundation full of life, propels
young people into
ministry
Wesleyan Christian
Advocate
The
University of Georgia has many students
and alumni who are passionate about the
Bulldogs. But a different kind of
passion -- a passion for Jesus Christ
-- is what marks the UGA Wesley
Foundation.
"Dozens of students have gone into
different full-time ministries, from
orphanages in India to... missions all
over the world, to full-time study at
theology schools," he said.
An
activity that brings Wesley students
together with the community is called
"CrossTrainers,"
a program in which 60 students from the
foundation mentor 60 children from a
nearby housing project.
Gateway Church offers regular
financial support to the UGA Wesley
Foundation, and several of our
members serve on the UGA Wesley
board of directors.