Spiritual Life at IWU
Pursuing a Firm, Resilient Faith
At the centennial celebration of Indiana Wesleyan University, President Wright committed to keeping the promises of our founders: to offer rigorous, faith based education that is rooted in scripture and prepared students to do Christ’s work around the world. As our community has grown, we have remained committed to a transformational education that introduces students to Jesus and challenges them to grow in their faith. We are known for prayer, learning through service, and helping students develop a deeper relationship with Christ— something that’s remained unchanged for 100 years.
CHAPLAINS
The IWU-National & Global chaplaincy ministry ministers to the needs of students in regional centers and online providing Christ-centered spiritual support, resources, and services while planting seeds for growth toward a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. They offer resources for many issues in life such as finances, marriage, and knowing God. They also keep a robust prayer list with the name of every student they encounter. Chaplains have dealt with students that are homeless, have experienced sexual abuse, eating disorders, family crisis, troubled marriages, etc. Chaplains offer counsel and provide referrals for additional support.
We have a chaplain/campus pastor serving the IWU-Marion campus who seeks to encourage students to take their next step in their faith journey. Meeting in community-wide chapel services and in small groups all over campus, students are given opportunities to worship, study Scripture, lead, and experience Christian community. The IWU-Marion campus uses a three-year Chapel Map that emphasizes Scripture, essentials of the faith, Wesleyan distinctives, Christian practices, testimony and public witness. By weaving these priorities into our MWF 10 a.m. Spiritual Formation Hour, an intentional rhythm of worship is fostered that connects moments into semesters and years in formative ways.
SUMMIT
Since its founding in 1920, the campus community in Marion, Indiana has initiated the academic year with a revival meeting. In time, those revival meetings transitioned into Spiritual Emphasis Weeks and then eventually Summit, three-day events with services morning and evening at the beginning of both the fall and spring semester. Each Summit features a special speaker selected by the chaplain/campus pastor for IWU-Marion students.
ATHLETICS’ ANNUAL WILDCAT COMMISSIONING SERVICE
Since 2008, the athletic department has begun the competitive season with a commissioning service. Athletes gather together to hear student testimonial, a devotional and join together in prayer for the coming season.
YOUTH MINISTRY EVENTS AND OUTREACH
The Youth Ministry department of IWU educates the School of Theology and Ministry majors while modeling ministry to the younger generations. This department thrives in putting what is taught in the classroom into practice. Each year, the Youth Ministry Events department hosts Never2Young for middle school students and Fusion for high school students on the campus in Marion, Indiana. During the summer, they send out ministry teams to serve throughout the summer at camps and youth events across the nation. During a typical year, the youth ministry outreach team will minister to over 25,000 teens.
PRAYER INTERCESSOR, DR. JIM “UMFUNDISI” LO
Each semester, Dr. Lo joins with approximately 25 students early in the morning equipping them as prayer warriors. Throughout the academic year, Dr. Lo provides takes daily prayer walks and provides many opportunities for students to join him as well. On Feb. 12, 2021, Dr. Lo completed his 1,500th prayer walk with a group of students alongside. Deeply committed to a ministry of prayer, Dr. Lo meets monthly with senior leadership to pray, offer advice and gather prayer requests. As the spirit leads, he initiates prayer initiatives on campus such as the one he led throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
