Spiritual Formation
Our community comes together in many ways, but Chapel is one of our anchors. Here we gather, pray, learn (listening to speakers like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter Yolanda King and musician Paul Wright) and talk about the meaning of life.
You will also have opportunities to experience Christ beyond Chapel--in the residence halls, the café, on retreats and through service learning opportunities in Scotts Valley, San Francisco, South Africa and more.
Christ lives in Chapel at Bethany, the Café and, yes, in us. We take an integrated approach to ministry at Bethany, doing ministry in three ways:
It starts with our five-days-a-week Chapel programming. (Monday night Chapel is the place to be at Bethany.) Here you will have the chance to deepen your worship as well as develop and support Chapel programs you'd like to see.
Next, we focus on discipleship, where we take Christian education and leadership into the dorms. Here our student Quest Teams (aka Q Teams) develop spiritual, social, academic and fitness activities-things like Bible studies, canoe trips, beach walks, movies and more, giving you opportunities to brush up your scriptural savvy, personal skills and body-as-temple ethic. (Your body really can be more than a pizza depository.) You'll discover that Bethany discipleships give you opportunities to learn and lead.
Finally, you'll acquire compassion and resume-worthy experience through service learning. Every year we offer mission trips to nearby urban areas as well as overseas (recently to South Africa, Romania, India and Scotland). Our trips are closely tied to Bethany majors, providing real world ways for you to put your education to work. (Students traveling to Romania, for example, gain valuable child development experience working in the Romanian orphanages.)
This is Bethany University, remember? Of course, you'll grow spiritually.