John Brown University prides itself on educating the head, heart and hand. This past weekend gave students the opportunity of exercising their hearts and hands.
Over 50 students from the university teamed up with Campus Ministries’ Christian Ambassadors United for Service and Evangelism on Saturday to serve the Siloam Springs area.
Students had the opportunity of helping one of five CAUSE ministry teams at the event.
All CAUSE ministries are student led and initiated.
Senior Bonnie Black, outreach ministries director for the Student Ministries Leadership Team, welcomed the group who gathered in Walker Student Center and gave instructions for the rest of the day.
Frank Huebert, the University’s director of discipleship, prayed over the group before the students broke up into five different teams.
The John Brown University Nature Society, led by Laticia Warren and Olivia Hilario, was one ministry represented at the workday. Students involved in this ministry are devoted to being good stewards of the earth, Warren said. This group cares for the environment throughout the semester by doing things like cleaning up trash and growing small houseplants in their dorms. They picked up trash around Dogwood Trail and Sager Creek on Saturday.
Cornerstone Construction Ministry also participated in the event. The students involved in this ministry build wheelchair ramps at the homes of people who are in need, said Jonathan Jenkins, who co-leads the ministry with Michael Merrill. This group traveled to an area home on Saturday to disassemble a ramp from a home that no longer needed it. The team will use supplies from that ramp for future ramps, Jenkins said.
Another ministry that joined the event was Community Service Outreach. Emily Pearce and Josh Bartlett lead this team. It seeks to meet tangible needs of different people and organizations in the Siloam Springs community, Pearce said. They volunteered at The Manna Center of Siloam Springs, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting those in need. The Community Service Outreach team helped clean donated clothes and package donated chicken on Saturday.
The Nursing Home Ministry also participated on Saturday. Salina Adolph and Katherine Holderness lead this group who visits residents of area nursing homes, Adolph said. Students who joined this group on Saturday were able to play Bingo and talk with residents of Siloam Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
The Great Abandon Dance Ministry met on Saturday too. The women in this ministry use their talents of dancing to minister to the University and the surrounding community, group member Janelle Hale said. Hope Eidson is the leader of this group. Students who joined this ministry on Saturday helped create dance costumes for the members of the group.
The groups worked for three hours on Saturday, but all CAUSE ministry groups meet frequently throughout the semester to serve and plan events.
To learn more about the ministries of CAUSE, visit www.jbu.edu/faith/student_ministries/cause or the Student Ministries Leadership Team’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JBUSMLT.