Rider University’s latin motto is In Omnia Paratus, which means, “In All Things, Prepared”. Rider’s website says, “Our goal is to prepare you—for a life of success and a life of significance”.
Are the students at Rider prepared? For a life of success and a life of significance? Perhaps they are being prepared for career. Perhaps. What is the definition of success? And, what is deemed a life of significance, outside of God?
Today’s university shapes tomorrow’s leaders. In the university, women and men are encouraged to pursue truth, often without regard for God, and to pursue personal goals, often without concern for a higher purpose.
InterVarsity longs to see education lead to a lifetime of Christian worship and service. We believe that when students and faculty are transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, their campus is transformed, and ultimately society as a whole comes to more closely reflect the priorities of the kingdom of God. That is why we invest ourselves in the lives of students and faculty, wherever they are on their spiritual journey.
Rider University prepares students for all sorts of things, but one that they specifically do not prepare people for is a life of spirituality and of significant purpose. The Dean of Campus Life actually said this to me himself, that the school works on preparing students for leadership with the student government, preparing students for their career with education, preparing students for the “world” with study abroad, providing students with opportunities to keep healthy with the gym and exercise classes, but have had little focus on the spiritual well-being of students at Rider. The Dean sees the lack of spirituality, emphasis on faith, and the detriment of a life lived without hope.
At Rider, I am working with students to help them find God, find their purpose, and become prepared in all things. In leading Bible studies, in developing spiritual disciplines that will transform their lives, prepared in being missional in their careers and in their communities, prepared to mentor others, prepared to effectively share their faith, prepared to lead in the church, prepared to give financially, prepared to give their lives to serving others and serving God, and prepared to stand before the throne of God, confident in his grace and love for them.
https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate
designate your gift for: staff work at Rider University
Tags: campus ministry, christianity, intervarsity, intervarsity christian fellowship, Jenna Garrison, Rider University
