Campus Ministries has become more active recently with new groups like Delight starting.
Delight Ministries is a national organization for college women. The Bluffton chapter had their first event Sept. 6 on Neufeld lawn to kick off the group’s beginning. Because the group is found all across America, there are guidelines in place for the leaders to follow and a team of women for the leaders to reach out to for help. Delight headquarters are found in Nashville, Tennessee, with regional directors found across United States.
Delight opening event kick-off on Neufeld Lawn.
The group’s mission statement is “to invite college women into Christ-centered community that fosters vulnerability and transforms stories” according to the Delight website. Riley Garmatter, a sophomore elementary education and intervention specialist major, found out about the group on social media and decided to pursue starting a chapter on campus in March.
Along with Garmatter, the team consists of nine other women: Grace Zickafoose, Stacey Chirewa, Sarah Rios, Leslie Diaz, Ella Wiley, Alysha Like, Brianna Keeler, Ashley Eachus and Caitlyn Renner. All of the women have different roles ranging from social media coordinator to worship leader.
A Sept. 6 kick-off event formally introduced the organization to students. The group also had a table set up at the Student Engagement Preview for first-year students Aug. 28. Meetings will be held weekly with many components involved. Worship and prayer start the gatherings, followed by a Bible study of the curriculum book, Known.
The book includes passages from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament with a goal to invite vulnerable communication on topics and create more discussion on Christ. Garmatter is excited to start this group no matter the turn out.
“Even if one girl shows up, Jesus is still moving and working,” Garmatter said. “Even if no one shows up and it’s just our leadership team, God is still moving.”
About 100 women attended the Sept. 6 event. Among the women who came, the group ranged from first-years to seniors, all sports teams and multiple majors. Madison Ellerbrock, a freshman nutrition and dietetics major, was among those in attendance.
“I never really had something that was Christ-integrated and yet so friendship based,” Ellerbrock said. “I would definitely come back just to make as many friends through Christ as I can with people who are working on doing the same thing.”
Gatherings will at 9:15 p.m. Mondays in Stutzman Lecture Hall. For updates, follow Delight on Instagram @delight_blufftonuniversity. For any questions, direct message to their Instagram page or email the group at Delightblufftonuniversity [at] gmail.com.
