GREENEVILLE – Local churches that have established and grown connections with Tusculum University are having a noticeable impact on students and their families, including many Pioneers accepting Christ.
Juanfer Monsalve, pastor of Riverview Community Seventh-day Adventist Church, prays during the event.
Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum University’s president, speaks during the Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast.
Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president, highlighted the relationships and the correlation during the annual Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast Wednesday, Oct. 11, which kicked off this year’s Homecoming celebration. The event also gave these ministers an opportunity to pray for the students, the university and community needs.
The Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast came in the wake of a recent compilation by Bible Keeper, a Christian website, that ranked Tusculum No. 1 in a list of the “20 Best Christian Colleges in Tennessee to Unleash Excellence in Education.”
“Thank you for your collaboration with us in ministry for the benefit of not just our students but also our faculty and staff,” Dr. Hummel told clergy from a variety of denominations. “I greatly appreciate your investment of time and talent and participation in campus events and want to continue these great partnerships.”
Among the examples Dr. Hummel cited was participation by nearly a dozen churches in Pioneer WOW, an acronym for Welcome Orientation Week. This initiative supports new students through a variety of fun and informative activities as they transition to Tusculum. At the start of Pioneer WOW, churches have helped students move into their residence halls and prepared a lunch for them and their families.
“I’ve had numerous families say essentially the same thing: We certainly expected to be welcomed by the university, but we have been very pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by the community,” Dr. Hummel said. “That makes them feel even better about leaving their child here not just at Tusculum but in Greeneville and Greene County. That makes it more likely these students will connect with one of your churches right off the bat.”
Campus Ministries
Some of the participants and student Josiah Morris, third from the left, converse.
Some of the participants in the Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast have a discussion.
Tusculum’s robust campus ministries program fosters relationships with churches. For several years, Tusculum Baptist Church, which is next door to the university, has provided the Students Praying on Thursdays ministry at its facility. Dr. Hummel said 87 students attended that program last week. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has met weekly on campus for a long time as well.
For about four years, the Breaking Bread ministry, supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (USA), has met on campus. The weekly sessions, which consist of fellowship and discussion, are open to everyone and attract students from a variety of denominations.
Since fall 2021, Tusculum has offered voluntary weekly chapel services, which include a faith-based message from a Tusculum family member or local church leader as well as music. This activity takes place during the daytime as a way to provide all Tusculum family members a break to focus on their spiritual development.
The number of programs continues to grow under the leadership of Dr. Chris Shumate, the campus minister, in collaboration with area churches. During the last academic year, Thrive Church began holding a weekly service on Sunday afternoon in the Meen Center lecture hall on campus. Many other churches welcome Tusculum students to their facilities for ministry activities.
“When you combine all of these interactions with the chapel services Tusculum holds, you begin to have hundreds of students that are actively engaged in worship and discipleship,” Dr. Hummel said. “That is very important and has a positive effect.”
Adoption of athletic teams
Ministers pray during the Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast.
One of the larger initiatives Tusculum has established has been the adoption of the university’s athletic teams by local churches. Churches invite students to attend their services or prepare a meal for them, and they attend these student-athletes’ games to provide additional support. Dr. Hummel believes the connections with the churches are the reason eight or nine football players accepted Christ at First Baptist Church in Greeneville the week before the fall semester began.
“They love it when you invite them to your churches, but they really appreciate it when they see you rooting for them at their home games,” Dr. Hummel told the ministers. “That leads to some natural organic relationships.”
The Rev. Todd Jenkins, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Tusculum’s mother church, said the adoption of the women’s basketball team provided an excellent way for the players and his congregation to interact.
“We would attend a game, and the team would invite us into the locker room afterward to have a conversation with our whole group,” he said. “Then, we invited them to come to one of our Wednesday night meals, and the people who work with our kids planned a big craft activity that the players got to help the kids complete. The kids and the players loved that. We’ve also invited the team to come to our church services, and some of the players have attended.”
Student perspective
Tusculum student Josiah Morris addresses the participants during the Pastors’ Prayer Breakfast.
Junior Josiah Morris, who is pursuing an environmental science major and is also a member of the men’s basketball team, said it is important for students to build their relationships with God. He is hopeful they will recognize the value of being discipled and making those connections. He has started a Bible study, and one of the discussion points is the need to have more people sharing the Gospel on campus.
Most Tusculum students are also athletes, and that can wear on them mentally and physically, Morris said. He sent a biblical message of support to one fellow athlete who was experiencing this difficulty. He prayed that all student-athletes would lean on Christ as they successfully manage their seasons.
Morris also shared that many students come to Tusculum from long distances and are homesick.
“I ask that all of you will pray that they will come to meet people and that God will comfort them,” Morris said. “There are also students who come from broken homes. They need to know that people here in the community love them, but they ultimately need to know that God loves them with an unconditional love.”
To learn more about Tusculum’s campus ministries, please visit https://site.tusculum.edu/campus-ministries/ or email Dr. Shumate at cshumate@tusculum.edu. More information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu.