OUR STORY
We have been serving in collegiate ministry for almost 20 years, including the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI), the Community College of Rhode Island (Warwick, RI), Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), and Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, TN). We recognize that a person’s time in college is critical for determining the path that they will take in life. During that time, a student’s belief system is challenged, they are figuring out who they are going to be, and they are often facing difficult temptations. Students are prone to anxiety, fear, and uncertainty as they are deciding what they value the most, and what they will do with their life. RCF is here to give them hope!
We both grew up in church, but during Matt’s time in college at Oklahoma State University, God used the Baptist Collegiate Ministry to help him work through those tough questions that students face, and to encourage him to follow Christ wholeheartedly. After college, he wanted to help other college students in the same way. As we met and married, we served together at the Vanderbilt BCM for several years in various capacities. God continued to mature our faith and show us how He could use us to minister to college students as we were able to mentor and invest in students. We especially found that as we serve together, we are able to each bring our own gifts, abilities, wisdom, and life experiences to minister to college students. In addition, we strive to provide a biblical example of what it means for a married couple to follow Christ together (as many of our students today come from homes that have not modeled a biblical marriage). Most importantly, we understand that colleges are some of the biggest mission fields in our nation (with students from all over the world coming to study in the U.S.), so there is a great opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples on these campuses among these unique people groups.
As Matt graduated with a Masters degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY) in 2010, we were praying about where the Lord was leading us. In 2011, God directed us to New England, opened the door for us to serve, and has given us a heart for the students in Rhode Island. We started Rhody Christian Fellowship that year at the University of Rhode Island main campus, and we have continually seen how great the need is for the gospel in this area of the United States. Less than 2% of the people in southern Rhode Island attend an evangelical church on any given Sunday, so there is a great need to share the gospel in this area and impact this state and region. The Lord has blessed our efforts and we have seen the ministry growing and thriving, even allowing us to expand our reach to the Community College of Rhode Island main campus in 2018. We are excited to see how He will continue to work through us and this ministry to reach college students, and we pray that we can see RCF impacting every Rhode Island campus in the near future.
THE CAMPUSES
The University of Rhode Island (URI)
The New England region as a whole is renowned for its schools of higher education. The region has a student base of approximately 1 million. Many nations of the world send their citizens and leaders to New England for a quality education. URI is no exception. There are over 15,000 students at URI’s main campus in Kingston. The majority of them come from Rhode Island and other New England states, but like so many of the other schools here, there are also students from most other states in the US, as well as many countries around the world. In fact, over 75 nations are now represented at URI!
URI is highly regarded in several areas of study including pharmaceutical sciences and ocean sciences, which attract students from around the world. However, it’s close proximity to the Rhode Island beaches also attracts students who choose to live the college party life. Over 90% of freshmen live on campus, which provides great potential for connecting with students in their first year of college. Campus life includes cheering on the Rams NCAA Division I-A sports teams (such as basketball, baseball, and soccer) in the Atlantic 10 Conference. URI is a growing university, and since we have been on campus, we have seen the constant additions of new student housing and new state-of-the-art classroom and research facilities.
Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI)
CCRI has a combined total of over 16,000 students on their campuses. The Knight campus in Warwick is the main campus and largest of the CCRI system. The college provides opportunities for a variety of students, including high school seniors who want to get a jump on their college education, and students who might otherwise struggle to get in to a 4 year university due to academics or finances. CCRI is a two-year college, so many of the students who complete their associate degree will go on to a 4 year school like URI.
ABOUT THE MINISTRY
Ultimately, our desire is to see Jesus Christ glorified on the University of Rhode Island and Community College of Rhode Island campuses. These are campuses of thousands of students who desperately need the gospel. Unlike college campuses in other parts of the US where Christianity is culturally accepted and even often expected, few students at URI or CCRI would claim to be Bible-believing Christians. We pray that all people at URI and CCRI would come to know Jesus and follow Him, believing that He alone is their hope for salvation and worthy of their worship. While we long for a day when these campuses are filled with 15,000+ students, faculty, and staff gathering in His name, we know that Jesus has simply called us to “make disciples.”
We take the Great Commission (Matthew 28) very seriously, and as we look at how Jesus ministered, we see that He spent the majority of His time not talking to large crowds, but making disciples by investing in a few. So while there may be opportunities for us to present the gospel to large crowds at one time, our strategy is to invest our lives in students through sharing the gospel, training and discipleship, and just walking through life with them. We not only want to be teaching the Bible to these students, but we want to teach them how to study the Bible. We not only want to share the gospel with these students, but we want to teach them how to share the gospel with others. Our prayer would be that those students will then go and invest their lives in others, making disciples (a ministry of multiplication).
While our primary goal is to disciple individual students or small groups of students, we do look for ways to reach out to the campuses as a whole. We strive to be involved in campus life and connect with various campus student organizations in order to share the gospel with students. We do outreach events in the dorms and in other places on campus where students gather. We also have a Bible studies on campus each week, where we study a book of the Bible verse-by-verse. Students of all backgrounds are invited and encouraged to come and ask questions.
It is also important to us that students be plugged into the life of a local church. While there are few Bible-teaching churches in the Kingston, RI surrounding area, we believe that God desires for all of us to be a part of the greater body of Christ (the church). This is important for our growth as Christians. We are not trying to build a standalone ministry; we desire to be an extension of local churches. By giving focus to the university campus, we are able to reach students that many churches cannot. But we also value the opportunities that students have through the church to learn and be mentored by older Christians, and to invest their lives in the younger children and youth as well. Therefore, we want to send students to the local churches. We want our students to see the value and importance of the local church, and it is our vision that this college ministry strengthens local churches. We have already been able to see this happening as we have partnered with churches of various denominations.
We are able to continue this ministry through the support of like-minded individuals and churches, who desire to see this generation lift high the name of Christ. To find out how you can partner with us in this effort, please check out the “how you can help” section below, or contact us for additional information.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Prayer - We always need more prayer! You can sign up here to receive our monthly email newsletter, which always lists specific prayer requests. And if you are on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to follow our ministry; as you see events coming up, we would appreciate it if you would stop and pray.
Giving - We raise 100% of the funds for this ministry each year, and as the ministry grows, we need more ministry partners who give monthly, quarterly, annually, or one-time contributions. You can click here to find out how to give by check or credit / debit card.
You can also help us with items that can be used for ministry:
– WalMart, BJs, or Stop & Shop gift cards help us purchase food and supplies for the various meals (weekly prayer breakfasts, monthly dinner fellowships, cookouts, etc), where we strive to provide high quality homecooked meals.
– Panera Bread or Five Guys gift cards help with introductory meetings with students for discipleship.
– Staples giftcards can help with printing costs and some office supplies. We print promotional and outreach materials throughout the year.
– Once or twice a year we purchase books that we believe are helpful resources for our students. Contact us for specific needs for this year. Christianbook.com or Amazon.com gift cards can also be helpful for those resources. Costs have ranged from $250-$400.
– During our outreach events, we typically give away candy, snacks, etc. Depending on the outreach, we usually try to reach at least 500 students.
– At the end of each semester, we provide our students with a gift bag of snacks. Final exams can be stressful, so we use gift bags to remind them that God cares for them. Cost is usually $6 per student.
Spread the word - Help us expand our prayer partner team and ministry partner team by telling others about us, or inviting us to speak to your church or small group. We can always connect via Zoom, Skype, etc, or we can work to schedule a time to visit. We love to tell the story of how God has called us to Rhode Island, and what He has been doing through our ministry on campus. (FYI – Matt is also available to lead worship or preach if requested.)
Come serve with us - We are praying that more people will come serve on these campuses with us, and even perhaps help us reach students on other Rhode Island campuses. If you are interested in learning about the possibilities of joining our team, contact us.
We have been serving in collegiate ministry for almost 20 years, including the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI), the Community College of Rhode Island (Warwick, RI), Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), and Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, TN). We recognize that a person’s time in college is critical for determining the path that they will take in life. During that time, a student’s belief system is challenged, they are figuring out who they are going to be, and they are often facing difficult temptations. Students are prone to anxiety, fear, and uncertainty as they are deciding what they value the most, and what they will do with their life. RCF is here to give them hope!
We both grew up in church, but during Matt’s time in college at Oklahoma State University, God used the Baptist Collegiate Ministry to help him work through those tough questions that students face, and to encourage him to follow Christ wholeheartedly. After college, he wanted to help other college students in the same way. As we met and married, we served together at the Vanderbilt BCM for several years in various capacities. God continued to mature our faith and show us how He could use us to minister to college students as we were able to mentor and invest in students. We especially found that as we serve together, we are able to each bring our own gifts, abilities, wisdom, and life experiences to minister to college students. In addition, we strive to provide a biblical example of what it means for a married couple to follow Christ together (as many of our students today come from homes that have not modeled a biblical marriage). Most importantly, we understand that colleges are some of the biggest mission fields in our nation (with students from all over the world coming to study in the U.S.), so there is a great opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples on these campuses among these unique people groups.
As Matt graduated with a Masters degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY) in 2010, we were praying about where the Lord was leading us. In 2011, God directed us to New England, opened the door for us to serve, and has given us a heart for the students in Rhode Island. We started Rhody Christian Fellowship that year at the University of Rhode Island main campus, and we have continually seen how great the need is for the gospel in this area of the United States. Less than 2% of the people in southern Rhode Island attend an evangelical church on any given Sunday, so there is a great need to share the gospel in this area and impact this state and region. The Lord has blessed our efforts and we have seen the ministry growing and thriving, even allowing us to expand our reach to the Community College of Rhode Island main campus in 2018. We are excited to see how He will continue to work through us and this ministry to reach college students, and we pray that we can see RCF impacting every Rhode Island campus in the near future.
THE CAMPUSES
The University of Rhode Island (URI)
The New England region as a whole is renowned for its schools of higher education. The region has a student base of approximately 1 million. Many nations of the world send their citizens and leaders to New England for a quality education. URI is no exception. There are over 15,000 students at URI’s main campus in Kingston. The majority of them come from Rhode Island and other New England states, but like so many of the other schools here, there are also students from most other states in the US, as well as many countries around the world. In fact, over 75 nations are now represented at URI!
URI is highly regarded in several areas of study including pharmaceutical sciences and ocean sciences, which attract students from around the world. However, it’s close proximity to the Rhode Island beaches also attracts students who choose to live the college party life. Over 90% of freshmen live on campus, which provides great potential for connecting with students in their first year of college. Campus life includes cheering on the Rams NCAA Division I-A sports teams (such as basketball, baseball, and soccer) in the Atlantic 10 Conference. URI is a growing university, and since we have been on campus, we have seen the constant additions of new student housing and new state-of-the-art classroom and research facilities.
Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI)
CCRI has a combined total of over 16,000 students on their campuses. The Knight campus in Warwick is the main campus and largest of the CCRI system. The college provides opportunities for a variety of students, including high school seniors who want to get a jump on their college education, and students who might otherwise struggle to get in to a 4 year university due to academics or finances. CCRI is a two-year college, so many of the students who complete their associate degree will go on to a 4 year school like URI.
ABOUT THE MINISTRY
Ultimately, our desire is to see Jesus Christ glorified on the University of Rhode Island and Community College of Rhode Island campuses. These are campuses of thousands of students who desperately need the gospel. Unlike college campuses in other parts of the US where Christianity is culturally accepted and even often expected, few students at URI or CCRI would claim to be Bible-believing Christians. We pray that all people at URI and CCRI would come to know Jesus and follow Him, believing that He alone is their hope for salvation and worthy of their worship. While we long for a day when these campuses are filled with 15,000+ students, faculty, and staff gathering in His name, we know that Jesus has simply called us to “make disciples.”
We take the Great Commission (Matthew 28) very seriously, and as we look at how Jesus ministered, we see that He spent the majority of His time not talking to large crowds, but making disciples by investing in a few. So while there may be opportunities for us to present the gospel to large crowds at one time, our strategy is to invest our lives in students through sharing the gospel, training and discipleship, and just walking through life with them. We not only want to be teaching the Bible to these students, but we want to teach them how to study the Bible. We not only want to share the gospel with these students, but we want to teach them how to share the gospel with others. Our prayer would be that those students will then go and invest their lives in others, making disciples (a ministry of multiplication).
While our primary goal is to disciple individual students or small groups of students, we do look for ways to reach out to the campuses as a whole. We strive to be involved in campus life and connect with various campus student organizations in order to share the gospel with students. We do outreach events in the dorms and in other places on campus where students gather. We also have a Bible studies on campus each week, where we study a book of the Bible verse-by-verse. Students of all backgrounds are invited and encouraged to come and ask questions.
It is also important to us that students be plugged into the life of a local church. While there are few Bible-teaching churches in the Kingston, RI surrounding area, we believe that God desires for all of us to be a part of the greater body of Christ (the church). This is important for our growth as Christians. We are not trying to build a standalone ministry; we desire to be an extension of local churches. By giving focus to the university campus, we are able to reach students that many churches cannot. But we also value the opportunities that students have through the church to learn and be mentored by older Christians, and to invest their lives in the younger children and youth as well. Therefore, we want to send students to the local churches. We want our students to see the value and importance of the local church, and it is our vision that this college ministry strengthens local churches. We have already been able to see this happening as we have partnered with churches of various denominations.
We are able to continue this ministry through the support of like-minded individuals and churches, who desire to see this generation lift high the name of Christ. To find out how you can partner with us in this effort, please check out the “how you can help” section below, or contact us for additional information.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Prayer - We always need more prayer! You can sign up here to receive our monthly email newsletter, which always lists specific prayer requests. And if you are on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to follow our ministry; as you see events coming up, we would appreciate it if you would stop and pray.
Giving - We raise 100% of the funds for this ministry each year, and as the ministry grows, we need more ministry partners who give monthly, quarterly, annually, or one-time contributions. You can click here to find out how to give by check or credit / debit card.
You can also help us with items that can be used for ministry:
– WalMart, BJs, or Stop & Shop gift cards help us purchase food and supplies for the various meals (weekly prayer breakfasts, monthly dinner fellowships, cookouts, etc), where we strive to provide high quality homecooked meals.
– Panera Bread or Five Guys gift cards help with introductory meetings with students for discipleship.
– Staples giftcards can help with printing costs and some office supplies. We print promotional and outreach materials throughout the year.
– Once or twice a year we purchase books that we believe are helpful resources for our students. Contact us for specific needs for this year. Christianbook.com or Amazon.com gift cards can also be helpful for those resources. Costs have ranged from $250-$400.
– During our outreach events, we typically give away candy, snacks, etc. Depending on the outreach, we usually try to reach at least 500 students.
– At the end of each semester, we provide our students with a gift bag of snacks. Final exams can be stressful, so we use gift bags to remind them that God cares for them. Cost is usually $6 per student.
Spread the word - Help us expand our prayer partner team and ministry partner team by telling others about us, or inviting us to speak to your church or small group. We can always connect via Zoom, Skype, etc, or we can work to schedule a time to visit. We love to tell the story of how God has called us to Rhode Island, and what He has been doing through our ministry on campus. (FYI – Matt is also available to lead worship or preach if requested.)
Come serve with us - We are praying that more people will come serve on these campuses with us, and even perhaps help us reach students on other Rhode Island campuses. If you are interested in learning about the possibilities of joining our team, contact us.