College Avenue United Methodist Church
1968 W. Main St.
Muncie, IN 47303
Service times: 9 and 11 a.m. on Sundays
The $100,000 grant is from Lilly Endowment, Inc., a private philanthropic foundation based in Indianapolis.
The ministry program will start in Fall 2016, and is designed to appeal to Ball State students. Students who decide to get involved will have opportunities to have mentors from different congregations in the community who may work in their future occupation.
"The congregation[s] will provide students diverse experiences to explore God’s call in their lives and how that call intersects with their gifts and talents," the press release said.
Chris Mahon, the church's intergenerational minister, will work closely with the new ministry. Over the next few months, she will be working on plans, overseeing the progress of the ministry and doing follow-up work with Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Mahon has attended College Avenue since the 1990s, but just began working as a minister in January 2015.
"I was not here but two weeks on the job when the process began," Mahon said.
That January, the church submitted a request to Lilly Endowment, Inc. for permission to apply for the grant. After it was approved, the process of writing a lofty proposal began.
Along with the proposal, the church created a very detailed budget for Lilly Endowment, Inc. to approve. The grant money will mostly go towards hiring a BSU graduate student from the Counseling Center to help oversee the ministry, purchasing materials for the students who will be participating, buying food, traveling to conferences and covering the costs of meeting outside the church on occasion.
In September, Lilly Endowment, Inc. announced the list of 40 Christian organizations nationwide who received the grant. College Avenue was one of them.
The idea for this ministry came directly from the organization. Lilly Endowment, Inc. wanted different Christian organizations connected to public universities to give students help with their vocational goals.
"It was a natural fit for us," Mahon said.
Mahon said actually getting students to participate might be the most challenging aspect of their newest ministry.
"We know students are busy," Mahon said. "We'll have to go to them. We're going to get the word out."
Trisha Louden, a senior math education major, said she has been attending College Avenue Church since her sophomore year.
"They made me feel welcome; it wasn't hard to keep going," Louden said.
After two years of attendance, Louden now knows almost everyone in the congregation. She said the chair of her department and even some of her math professors go to church with her.
Louden does what she can to help out at her church, from teaching Sunday School to volunteering occasionally on Saturdays. Today Louden works in the nursery during church services.
Louden said she would recommend her church to any student, as they have something for everyone. They have a 9 a.m. service, a 10 a.m. Sunday School intended directly towards college students and an 11 a.m. contemporary service.
"They're really welcoming, always looking for fresh faces," Louden said. "And there's just a lot of opportunities to get involved with the community at my church."
Mahon said that Ball State students have always been a part of their church. With her role as intergenerational minister, Mahon's goal is to create opportunities for different generations of people to come together to learn from one another and encourage one another.
"While they're here, we can nurture them and help them grow into their faith and they go all over the world," Mahon said. "Through worship, mission, study… through every possible way imaginable."
Her job directly ties to the goals of this new ministry. Students will be able to talk in large group discussions, eat meals, meet new students and people in fields they are desiring to enter. Ball State faculty members and professionals outside of the Muncie community will get involved as well.
Mahon is excited for this ministry to take off, and has high hopes for it.
"We're two blocks from campus for a reason," Louden said. "Students will go all over, and take a piece of us with them."
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