MURFREESBORO, NC – Chowan University Campus Ministry works throughout the school year to change hearts at home and abroad. The Ministry spearheaded mission trips to North Charleston, SC, and Shelby, NC, this year, with plans to travel to Atlanta, GA, and Johannesburg, South Africa to help build better communities through ministry and physical labor. A network of supporters works to make this possible, including the Chowan Christian Service Association, individual donors, local churches, and contributors to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Mission Resource Plan, and many others.

Campus Ministry stays extremely busy. Every night of the week but Saturday there is a student-led Ministry that meets on campus. Often weekends are spent ministering in local churches. Campus Ministry is in their third year of training Ministry Chaplains, upperclassmen living in freshman resident halls providing another layer of welcome, hospitality and friendship to the newest Chowan family members. Additionally, Campus Ministry is excited about the mission opportunities they will be able to share with students in the upcoming year.

Campus Ministry concluded this past school year with a mission trip to North Charleston, SC. They departed right after graduation to work with Metanoia, a ministry in a neighborhood that has largely been abandoned by institutions and business. They participated in construction, painting, and working in a community garden that serves as a co-op for a healthy food desert. A highlight of the trip was their visit to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, affectionately referred to as Mother Emmanuel, where they were guests at a Wednesday night Bible study nearly a year to the day after the tragic shooting. Reverend Drew Phillips, Associate Minister to the University, says, “The grace and hospitality with which we were welcomed was a challenge and a humbling event.”

In December, Campus Ministry took part in a weekend construction and worship trip to Shelby, NC. Ten students attended this mission trip to serve a community in need, sacrificing part of their winter break in order to serve others.

In March, over spring break, the organization will go to Atlanta, GA to work in the Grant Park neighborhood. They’ll be placed at several ministries that serve the neighborhood, as well as take part in discussions and ministries focused on racial reconciliation.

Following graduation Campus Ministry will go to Johannesburg, South Africa to work with the ministry Door of Hope, which for years has welcomed babies who’ve been abandoned, for whatever reason, no questions asked. Initially, they raised children and helped them find adoptive homes. With the rise of human traffickers adopting children and using them for profit, Door of Hope has now committed to raise the babies left to them until they are 18. Door of Hope has asked Chowan University’s Campus Ministry to help build homes for the children they raise.

Reverends Mari Wiles and Drew Phillips, Minister to the University and Associate Minister to the University respectively, share their thanks with the Chowan University and Murfreesboro communities for partnering with them to help make the world a better place. “You are generous people and churches who help us serve alongside our students better. Thank you for your prayers, your generous giving and your invitations to worship with you (we welcome them year-round!),” stated Reverend Phillips.

These transformative experiences are not possible without the generous support and the many ways in which the community helps the Ministry serve. For more information on partnering with Chowan University’s Campus Ministry please contact Reverend Mari Wiles at wilesm@chowan.edu or (252) 398-6268 or Reverend Drew Phillips at philld1@chowan.edu or (252) 398-6383.