DELIGHTful By Jant<-en Teague Juniors tviikayla Ballard and Keslee Dunavin, along with sophomore Tiffany Metts, were part of a team of seven students who started the Searcy chapter of Delight Ministries, a women's college ministry centered around the power of stories. After seeing a Delight chapter on another university campus, ~.frets felt the ministry would thrive at Harding, so she spent the pring 2016 semester gauging intere.st and gathering a leadership team. "I went through applications, talked to some people and really prayed over what I was going to do," Metts said. "I found my leaders - my team - from that." \\Tith l\!Ietts and Ballard in place as co-directors,.the team held a Delight kickoff on Sept. 23, 2016, at Harding Park. Ballard said the goal of the launch was to pique women's curiosity and to advertise Delight on campus. "I think the launch served its purpose," Ballard said. "We wanted to preface what we would be doing in the meetings. The heart behind it is an intimacy between college girls." At the launch, the leadership team handed out prizes and giveaways, but they also discussed what the bimonthly meetings would look like. Delight in Searcy was centered around the "Delight Stories + Devotionals" curriculum book, but Metts and the rest of the leadership team really wanted to include their own stories as well. "We got to show them our passion behind Delight and what it means to us," Metts said. "We encourage people to share struggles and praises. v\Te want to be a community for each other. We want it to be about them. We want it to be about all of us." They held their first official meeting on Oct. 27, 2016, where they jumped straight into the curriculum book and presented their personal testimonies of faith. "Our first meeting was super vulnerable, and with that, I think more girls [felt] comfortable," Dunavin said. "We want it to be here when we come back 25 years from now for Homecoming. We want Delight to be huge." According to Ballard, the learning curve was steep. She was confident, along with Metts and Dunavin, that God's timing made the ministry possible. The group of girls were prepared for whatever awaited them on their endeavors. "I didn't know what to expect," Ballard said. "I didn't know if five girls would show up or if 500 girls would show up, but my [goal] behind all of this was to be a good shepherd to whoever showed up." Sophomores Kathryn Forrester, Tiffany M etts and arah. Creeley, and juniors Mikayla Ballard, Keefy Baldridge and Keslee Duna vin lead Searcy's chapter of Delight Ministries. Metts and Balla rd originated the idea of bringing a chapt er to Searcy and recruited the other Jive leaders to help them. I Photo by Macy Pate ~\ .' (' .. , '11,- 'Jl \ IOH~ .( IYJ { ..... ),-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==