July 2010

A message from Keith Martel, Director of the Center for Faith and Practice

In Luke 10, we find Jesus teaching about the good Samaritan, the unlikely aid giver. He tells the story in response to an expert in the Law who is trying to prove to Jesus how much he knows. But Jesus is not satisfied with the expert′s intellectual knowledge. In fact, His parable emphasizes that we are to love God not only with mind, but with heart, soul and strength-with everything that makes us human. This is the kind of love that we emphasize at Geneva College′s Center for Faith and Practice.

Our goal is to impact Geneva students as complete people-mind, heart, soul and body-and to help them reach out to each other in the same way.

We oversee one group of student leaders called Discipleship Coordinators. These students serve in the residence halls, not just leading Bible studies and small groups, but also planning and engaging in service projects with the students in their building. Our hope is that while these students are studying the Christian faith, they are enacting its principles by loving their neighbors as themselves.

Meanwhile, we also have Students In Service, student leaders who shape our community service opportunities (including Habitat for Humanity, Hosanna Ministries, care of the elderly, and after-school tutoring). As these students witness needs in our own backyard, we encourage them to serve with a love that honors others and points them to Christ.

Finally, our Quest teams lead short-term missions, service and cultural-immersion trips to domestic and international locations. Opening students′ eyes to issues like justice, diversity, hunger and poverty, these experiences prompt them to live lives of action and awareness.

At every point along the path of discipleship, we are trying to help students understand that all parts of who they are matter to God. He cares about the way we think, what we desire, and how we feel. Each of these parts, being aligned toward loving God, propels us to love our neighbor.

At the end of the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus tells the expert in the Law to "go and do likewise." Our hope at The Center for Faith and Practice is that as our students "do" for others, they will be reciprocally served, and that the Holy Spirit will shape their hearts and minds in the process.