Club Spotlight: Christian Fellowship
By AMERSON LIANG, ADRIAN CHAN, and HENRY WISE
As the clock ticked past 6:35 p.m., the quiet murmur of conversation gave way to a solemn moment of prayer. Heads bowed, hands clasped for a moment of respect. The heads rose and the warm aroma of pizza filled the room, followed by scriptural reading or biblical games and competitions.
A welcoming ethos lies at the heart of the club’s mission. While rooted in Christian theology, the club is open to everyone, regardless of their background or level of familiarity with the faith. King-Diorr Willsun, current senior and co-head, said, “We’re a club that’s open to all, of course our lesson plans and the program for that day will always be centered around like Christian theology and tradition. I really enjoy that beause of the atmosphere and it shows that there are people interested, interested in the life of Christ and then learning what the Bible has to offer.”
Meetings are weekly from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday with “people coming from long practices.., especially JV teams in time for a Christian fellowship (because they appreciate that food.”
For members of Christian Fellowship, each meeting begins with a grounding moment—a shared blessing of the food—before diving into an evening of spiritual discovery. Towner Akers explained, “A meeting of Christian Fellowship typically begins with us blessing the food and eating together for about 30 minutes. Then we move into games and after that, we do Bible Study. Then we discuss the reading and pray out, blessing the week ahead.”
“My favorite thing about Christian Fellowship is definitely the community that we build on a weekly basis,” reflected prep Richard Byun. “Knowing that there are many like-minded individuals on campus gives me something to relate to at Exeter.” Religious affinity clubs help students on campus relate with each other, and build new relationships on spiritual foundations.
On the same topic, Akers shared, “My favorite thing about Christian Fellowship is our community and how we all come together every week to unite around a common cause of worship.” For many students, the community the club creates is what gives students the conviction to continue to come back and practice their religious traditions.
The Fellowship inspires members to deepen their faith and grow as individuals. Prep Luke Sanders reflected on how other members of the group motivate him: “Other members inspire me to be stronger in my faith, to become a better leader, and to spread positivity.”
“My friends at Christian Fellowship help me uphold my faith. Attending the club together is helpful to understand scripture and add to the meeting,” added Byun.
On the sense of connection, Willsun said, “Christian Fellowship is a place that is very dear to my heart because of the community and because of how earnestly we just pursue the blood of Christ, how earnestly we try to understand the Bible and apply it to our daily lives. If anyone has any questions about the Christian faith, or if anyone just wants to be surrounded by good people just in general who like to share food and also have some type of meaningful, substantial insight on how to live our lives, from a Christian perspective, they should come to Christian Fellowship.”
Whether sharing pizza in the church basement or Christmas dinner in Grainger, the students of Christian Fellowship create a community rooted in faith, one prayer and one laugh at a time.