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During the past school year, the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity for the Adventist Christian Fellowship team to stop and reevaluate the mission on the campus of the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point.
Joshua Guerrero, ACF advisor/coordinator, says, “I believe God used this unprecedented year to open our eyes and to turn what seemed like an evil situation into good—to reveal to us how to truly start a gospel-multiplying movement on campus, impacting people personally.”
One of the students with whom the ACF group connected was an agnostic who had deep hesitations about Jesus. They invited him to share during a time of thanksgiving, and as he revealed his struggles, he was able to fellowship and see what living for Christ looks like. A couple weeks later, after another young adult shared with him his testimony of how he used to be against God yet Jesus met him in his struggle, the first student was deeply convicted. He later messaged Guerrero and shared how he had started reading the Gospels and was inspired.
Another account is of a young man who accepted Christ as his personal Savior and started reaching out to his roommate and friends. He later told Guerrero that it changed his life. He said, “I wish I had connected earlier with you all. Since coming to the small group Bible studies and hanging out, I’ve experienced a lot more peace in my life than I’ve had.” He started meeting with ACF for weekly discipleship, and at one of the Wednesday socials, he ended up inviting some friends as well as students walking by. One of them was a young lady who, after playing ultimate frisbee with us, was befriended by other ladies in the ministry.
In May 2021, two new students made the decision to be a part of the Seventh-day Adventist movement—one by baptism and the other by profession of faith—and two more are starting their faith journey. Guerrero says, “It was a joy to connect them with the local church and see them become a part of the body of Christ.”
ACF at UW—Stevens Point also seeks to encourage, motivate, and inspire Adventist students to remain faithful to Jesus. Each week, the students on campus are invited to a Monday night discussion of God’s Word in the student cafeteria, a Wednesday night social activity, and Friday Night Fellowship at the Campus House, with packaged snacks, singing, and digging into the book of Revelation.
Throughout the week, student leaders receive training and pray together for the campus, then go out to do surveys to discover where God is working and what hearts are open to Him. They then follow up with students over lunch to hear their stories, share their own stories of how Jesus changed them, and invite these students to know Jesus, too.
Students who want to go deeper meet for one-on-one discipleship meetings over supper or go outside when it’s warm. The student leaders also meet and hang out with students after class through activities such as spike ball or supper so as to build relationships.
Over time, the group has grown, and by the end of this past spring semester up to 20–25 students were connected to ACF. During the summer, the students are staying in touch via video calls, where they are learning and growing in discipleship and small group leadership, as well as practicing skills to connect and share with students in the fall.
The Stevens Point Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major supporter of campus ministries, with the Wisconsin Conference and Lake Union Conference contributing a grant to have a house on campus.
For more information on ACF at the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point or to questions regarding resources and how you can start impacting your public campus in your area, contact Joshua Guerrero at jdguerrero95@gmail.com or (715) 498-4763.