Stories

Luis had planned to end his life the night before his classes were scheduled to start, but then a room full of balloons caught his eye. He found himself at a meeting for Resonate partner InterVarsity Christian Fellowship led by CRC campus minister Kendall Everett on the campus of William Patterson University in New Jersey.

Students from the University of British Columbia-Okanagan got lessons on leadership and evangelism from horses.

“My connection with horses is fairly immediate and direct through my wife,” said Todd Statham, campus minister of Resonate Global Mission partner CRC Campus Ministry at UBCO. His wife, Annika Voeltz, owns Lightbulb Coaching. She rescued four wild horses to assist in coaching people through trauma or challenges they face in the workplace.

When Heng Li fell away from God, he walked through what he calls “the darkest valley.” But God gave him hope when he attended a movie night hosted by Nancy Smith, international student ministry leader at Geneva House, a Resonate Global Mission campus ministry partner at Queen’s University in Ontario.

Heng became a Christian in China after his aunt invited him to church. Even though the rest of his family disapproved of his faith, he was baptized a year later.

Fresh out of Calvin Theological Seminary, Paul Verhoef was called to serve as the first Christian Reformed chaplain at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta. He recalls arriving at his newly renovated, freshly painted office on August 3, 2004, and looking around.

There was no furniture in the room. The office was just a 10-by-10-foot space connected to seven other empty offices along a common hallway and joined by a gathering space, said Paul. A new thing was starting, but work had to be done.

“I have always heard, my whole life, that God loves me unconditionally and that if I follow his directions then that is good and everything will turn out OK,” said Josh, a fourth-year student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario.

But Josh doubted whether he measured up to God’s ways. Raised in church, he earnestly sought God and desired to share God’s love with others—but questions plagued Josh’s mind.

“I was wondering about my actual effect on others. Am I actually loving those around me? Am I doing as Jesus would do? How do I know?”

“Individuals with disabilities are often included somewhere—and then they’re left behind,” said Peter Gordon, a campus minister at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). “I’m always trying to propel the students forward. What next?”

Hailey was a freshman at GRCC when she first stumbled upon the table Peter set up for Jabez Ministries, a Christian Reformed campus ministry supported by Resonate Global Mission that primarily serves students with disabilities.

Last winter, as temperatures dropped in Vancouver, Christian and Muslim students from Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) came together for their community. They worked to assemble fifty bags of toiletries, food items, and warm hats and clothes for those in the area experiencing homelessness and went to Surrey Urban Mission, a local Christian ministry center, to hand them out.

“The idea was to express that both traditions are keen on serving the poor,” said Ethan van der Leek, a Resonate campus chaplain at KPU. Both faiths emphasize a God of love, forgiveness, and mercy.

Amy’s past experience with organized faith communities left her skeptical. As a law student at the University of Calgary with a passion for social justice and advocating for marginalized communities, she wasn’t sure where faith fit with the kind of career she wanted.

Of her church experiences, she says, “In a way, I felt unseen, like I wasn’t interesting or important enough,” recalling how her childhood church hadn’t appointed any female board members because they “believed the Bible.”