Just a 10-minute walk I t was a Sunday morning - free time at last - a perfect day to sleep in and to take life easy. Yet the majority of the student body was out of bed, making their way to a single destination . . . the College Church of Christ. I realized this as I stood at Race and Grand Streets waiting for the light to change, I saw hundreds of students composing a steady stream of people from the campus to the red brick building. " Yes , Harding is really an unusual place," I remarked to my friend, "Where else would you find so many students setting their alarm clock for a Sunday morning, just to be sure they would make it to church on time?" But was it because of Harding that we were on our way to church that morning? No, it wasn't. Although the school did encourage students to attend services, there had to be something special about a church that attracted this many students. I wondered what it was . As I entered the building, I realized that for some students the attraction may have b~en that College Church was convenient. The presence of so many Harding students takes me into the pulpit each week with anticipation and fear. They keep me on my toes - and even more on my knees . g 0 College Church 6 Student Life to church "College Church is great because of the people. They are so friendly and are genuinely on fire for Christ." - Debbie Burke It was a ten-minute walk from any part of campus, and with double services morning and evening ; it could fit into any schedule. As the service began , I thought of my own relationship with this church since I was four years old. Here I'd learned all the stories of the Bible and I was baptized while the church met in the university's administration auditorium due to the expansion construction of the building. Throughout high school, I learned from speakers like Jimmy Allen, Jim Woodroof, Joe Cannon, and Landon Saunders as their messages molded my life. I saw the church grow and face the need for adding even more space for classrooms and it was at .. College Church that I encountered many great men and women of the faith who served the lives of others, helping out in times of need. ' Now, I thrilled to the sound of 2,000 voices lifted in praise to a single heavenly Father. I communed with God through the prayers of saints and through the reverent reading of God's Word. I also listened to the message of Mike Cope, the pulpit minister. With his deep love for the Word of God and his simple, genuine way of communicating the life-changing truths of that Word, he appealed not only to the students , but to all people seeking a better way to deal with life. After more singing and a closing prayer, the crowd began dispersing, going off to the different calls of different lives. But for that period of time, we had experienced something that made us more than a gathering of various lives - we had united as a body which praised one Lord and throughout the week we should continue to serve Him in our different capacities. The College Church of Christ meant more than words on a sign, it meant people, and it meant us. - Sheila Underwood What a job. Dwight and Barbie Smith, campus ministers, work in the campus ministry house located on Center Street. The couple counselled students as just one of their many services. - photo by Chris Lasley.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==