At Azusa Pacific University, our Christ-centered mission leads to transformative moments inside and outside of the classroom. Faculty members integrate faith into their curriculum, students attend chapel multiple times a week to worship the Lord, and students are encouraged to serve the local and global community while spreading the love of Christ. At the center of faith on campus is Spiritual Life, a group of staff and students who are committed to walking alongside the entire APU community and opening opportunities for faith to be an integral part of students’ undergraduate experience.
A highlight for many students, faculty, and staff, chapel is a time for the APU community to come together by worshiping the Lord and hearing from impactful speakers. Every other Thursday night, the Service and Leadership Training (SALT) team help behind the scenes to put on Kaleo chapel. “Students who feel called to ministry can serve while learning how to pray for students, set up chapel, prepare a sermon, read Scripture, and get hands on ministry experience all while being affirmed in their calling to ministry,” said Ta’Tyana Leonard, director of Chapel and Pastoral Care and campus pastor. She has seen many students join SALT and find that ministry is what they want to do after graduation. SALT applications open in the spring semester for the following year’s team. Applications for the Pepper team open in the fall. Pepper is for transfer students and freshmen who want to get involved in ministry by assisting the SALT team through prayer and sermon preparation.
Another way for students to get involved with chapel is by auditioning to be on one of the chapel bands. Students who want to lead others in worship by using their musical gifts are encouraged to apply and audition in the spring. “Our students help shape the spiritual climate, and they have ownership in our university which is so diverse and complex,” Leonard said. “It can be challenging to create programming that is broad and deep and in a community with so many denominational affiliations and needs, but it helps us recognize the complexities of the body of Christ right here on campus.”
Spiritual Life also oversees Local and Global Engagement opportunities. Leonard shared how impactful Global Engagement trips have been for students as they grow in their faith. “Many students go on the trips expecting to serve others, but they also come back having learned about faith and resilience from those they served,” she said. “Hearing students’ testimonies each year, I see how students give themselves opportunities to serve and be a part of Spiritual Life ministries as they grow in their faith.” Spiritual Life knows that service doesn’t have to occur in an unfamiliar place to make a profound impact on students. By engaging students in opportunities to explore God’s presence and use their individual gifts on campus and in local settings, they foster growth at each student’s own pace.
Part of encouraging spiritual growth is walking alongside students through curiosity, doubt, and hardship. Spiritual Life offers pastoral counseling for students who are interested in talking to a pastor instead of or in addition to a therapeutic counselor. Students can meet with a pastor one-on-one for confidential sessions to talk about goals, decision making, questions about faith, or anything else that they might want to open up to someone about.
Through meaningful conversations with campus pastors and even with their peers, many students have profound experiences surrounding faith during their time at APU. As an open enrollment university, APU does not require students to have any particular faith background, and this allows many students to find the Lord for the first time. “We have students that come to APU for some of our amazing programs or athletics teams that don’t necessarily have a faith identity. It’s amazing to hear their stories during baptisms,” Leonard said. After the fall semester, students who feel they are ready to say yes to the Lord in a transformative way can sign up to be baptized on campus surrounded and supported by their peers.
Fostering a supportive community of believers is at the heart of Spiritual Life’s goals, and another way they do this is through Discipleship Groups (D-Groups). These are intimate group sessions led by a student, staff, or faculty member. Each one is unique in what they cover, how they operate, and who their target audience is, but each one aims to help students deepen their faith in community. Allied health major Alyssa Miyake ’27 is a D-Group leader and discipleship leader in the Office of Service and Discipleship. She has been in D-Groups her entire time at APU and has been a group leader since her second semester on campus. “D-Groups create a culture of trust, confidentiality, and respect,” she said. “It is a safe place to openly share what you have experienced or are currently going through. I still talk to people I met in my first D-Group. Our group was small which allowed us to connect on a deeper level and learn each other’s stories. They really built up APU’s tight-knit community of relationships and shared experiences.” Miyake would encourage any student thinking about joining a D-Group to take a leap of faith and join even if it seems challenging at first. “APU builds community really well, and the Office of Service and Discipleship particularly has a lot of sweet people who are pursuing ministry and looking out for those who want to deepen their relationship with God.”
Spiritual Life provides many opportunities for students to deepen their faith, and their impact creates organic conversations and opportunities to explore faith on campus. “We host gatherings and provide opportunities for students to come together, but the fabric of our faith community is the organic gathering of students,” Leonard said. “We know that everyone is on different paths when approaching their walk with the Lord, and Spiritual Life hopes to encourage students to be a part of our faith community.”
Students are encouraged to reach out to Spiritual Life via email at [email protected]. They can also talk to Spiritual Life staff at one of their two offices. For questions about service requirements, chapel, accessibility and disability accommodations for chapel, visit Building 31 on East Campus, and for questions about small groups, service, or Local and Global Engagement, visit Building 1 on East Campus. “Take advantage of the resources available to students,” Miyake said. “APU emphasizes God First as their motto and genuinely wants students to take even a small step to say yes to Him. Use the resources because you never know how they’ll help you grow.”