Point Loma’s ASB has recently chartered a new campus club that seeks to
involve students who are unsure about their Christian faith.
Members of Young Life College, an active group on campus last year, are excited
by the possibility of continual growth now that they have received official club status.
The national organization was founded in 1941 and groups have been meeting on
school campuses across the world ever since.
Mike Curran, the Area Director for Beach Cities Young Life here in San Diego says the
club is a non-denominational, faith based outreach community.
“It’s a great outreach for kids who are still questioning (their faith),” says Curran,
who explained his belief that college students are in the prime time of life for spiritual growth.
The college director and western division coordinator for Young Life in San
Diego, John Byard says Young Life College is, “a place for community, a place for
adventure and a place for significance. You can be who you are and say what you want to say and you won’t be judged or
looked down upon for it.”
Due to the club’s evangelistic nature, some are unsure if Young Life College will
be a good fit on Point Loma’s campus where the majority of students are Christians.
Victoria Roth, a Point Loma senior, was active in the group last year and says Young
Life College is rather different from some of the other groups on campus.
“Young Life is an outreach program primarily, and so that’s why I think some
people are maybe more apprehensive about having it at Point Loma, because it’s a
Christian school,” she says. However, Roth expressed how welcomed she felt in the
group last year and says it can serve as a place for anyone.
Associate Vice President for Enrollment, Scott Shoemaker, who has been a
supporter of Young Life for many years, also has reservations about the club taking root
here on campus.
“I love Young Life, and I certainly don’t stand in the way of it, but if it never
really catches on, I won’t be surprised, ”
he says.
However, after the club’s first meeting last Tuesday it seems as though Young
Life College is catching on. Led by junior Gianna Faulk, nearly 70 students joined in on
the group, as they played games and studied passages of the Bible together. The club
will continue to meet every week at 8:30 pm in Smee Hall.
Faulk says she is excited to be leading the new club and hopes to see many
students find a new place to explore their faith.
“We’re just a group of people who want to walk with you no matter where you
are in your life,” she says. “Everyone is invited.”
