When John Brown University opened up its doors to the class of 2030, campus became alive again and chapel sessions started to overflow.
In the first few weeks of the semester, students were not in the cathedral for chapel sessions; instead they were spread out through various locations, most notably the quad and Walker Student Center.
These spots weren’t exactly what people had in mind when they think of chapel; nevertheless, the services these past couple of weeks have shown that wherever JBU students gather can become a wonderful place to worship. Not to mention, as JBU continues to grow, adaptation comes to every aspect of the institution, including chapel.
Students are required to attend a certain amount of chapel sessions each semester, but the purpose of chapel is not to simply be something students check in and check out of. Rather, the overall goal of these sessions is to help students grow in their relationships with the Lord.
Understanding that everyone thrives better in different circumstances is not something to ignore. People don’t all function the same way in their spiritual lives — there’s not a single person on this earth who is the exact same, something that is seen reflected in each student’s personal relationships with God. This is something chapel leadership should keep in mind if students want to take advantage of their time at chapel.
“I think small group time [during chapel] was wonderful and I think JBU should do that more often. A lot of times we think that Christianity is about our personal relationship with God, and while that is important, I believe that God called us to do life together with the believers around us,” sophomore Kalista White said.
The Cathedral of the Ozarks is a beautiful building and getting to gather there to worship the Lord is a special experience not many have access to. However, this is not to say that students cannot experience just as fulfilling chapel sessions elsewhere, as God is not bound by four walls and a roof.
“I enjoyed the unique environment of chapel, it felt more intimate than normal cathedral services allow for,” senior Sarah Landers said.
While JBU has done many positive things in response to the growing student body, there are still many things that they could change in order to make it even better.
“I think for the first couple weeks of chapel something that JBU could do differently is push Spiritual Emphasis Week a couple weeks back. I think it may be a little overwhelming for students and they may not be as intentional as they’d like to be because of how stressed or maybe homesick they are. I think having spiritual emphasis week further down the road might be better in the future for the students,” White said. “Additionally, it’s good to have a variety of worship with some hymns and some more contemporary worship to help bring in students from different church backgrounds.”
As the semester continues, chapel will be following the split schedule. Keep your eye out for emails from chaplain Keith Jagger for weekly updates.
Photo by Sam Shetterly
