William Jewell College’s Christian Student Ministries (CSM) kicked off the year with their annual “Thrill on the Hill” event in Gano Chapel Aug. 23. Approximately 20 students attended this session of joint worship.
The event consisted of music performed by the group’s five-member band, open conversations with the audience about CSM’s plans for the upcoming year and group prayer.
This annual event is held routinely during the first week of classes to provide a space for students to worship amongst peers. CSM will be conducting similar student-led worship at different locations around campus at MOSAIC every Thursday at 7 p.m.
Organizer and speaker, Jeff Buscher, chaplain and services coordinator, commented on the value of student-led worship.
“[It] is a way to develop leadership and to give expression to their own personal faith as well as share it with peers on campus and be a voice and a movement for the good of others,” Buscher said.
As Buscher led those who attended the event in worship he urged students to be themselves, be teachable, be ready to share and to serve others. Simultaneously, Buscher constructed a cairn – human-made stacks of rocks originally used to mark trails – on the chapel’s stage using the structure as a metaphorical guide.
The president of CSM, Brooklynn Reynolds, senior international relations, French and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major, is excited about the group’s upcoming activities. The group plans to host joint events with the Black Student Association and QUILTBAG, Jewell’s LGBT organization.
“CSM is a non-denominational group that serves a purpose of supporting each other as Christians but also as students on campus,” Reynolds said. “We welcome everyone to our events.”
