University of Richmond: Why do they go?

It can be hard to convince college students to leave the most beautiful campus in America—and that’s not hyperbole. In the 2024 edition of the Princeton Review, the University of Richmond ranked #1 for its stunning beauty. There are secluded gardens, castle-like architecture, and a lake surrounded by Adirondack chairs. The campus has everything that students could want or need. Even the cafeteria food ranks in the top 15 nationwide!

So why do University of Richmond—or “U of R”—students pile into cars several times a week and head off campus? They go because Redeemer Anglican Church, in partnership with the CCO, welcomes local college students into something even better.

All of this began in 2020, when CCO staff member Tee Feyrer met with Scott and Grant in the U of R dining hall. 

The students were intrigued as Tee shared a vision for a college ministry integrated with the larger body of Christ. When Covid shut down campus that spring, they moved their Bible study online, and when U of R returned in the fall, Scott and Grant were ready to be leaders. 

It was a challenging time to start anything, so the students and the church were creative. Meetings were held outside, burritos were individually wrapped, and physical distance was observed. But students were hungry to gather in person, and so the ministry grew. 

The next year, Scott and Grant started a men’s accountability group on Sunday mornings. After their meeting, they caravanned to Redeemer. Soon a women’s group began, the groups multiplied, and eventually the students filled several long pews.

Redeemer serves communion every week, and students came to love the weekly rhythm of small-group confession followed by confession with the church, receiving Christ’s forgiveness, and taking communion together. 

“What I loved most of all was meeting to confess and connect, and then leaving to go to church together,” says Izzy, the leader of the first women’s group. “It just prepares your heart so well. Communion started to mean so much more to me in college.”

As they became integrated into the church’s life on Sunday mornings, the college students were getting to know Redeemer members in other settings. Church volunteers served food at “Bibles and Burritos” on Monday nights and got to know the students who came regularly. And then, Tee and his CCO coworker Audrey Cisco began to pair college students with host homes.

David and Caitlin Loughin signed up to host two college students.

Both of the Loughins had been blessed with positive mentors when they were in college, and they also wanted to be part of a ministry they could do with their three young children. 

The routine quickly became established—the students would arrive, and the kids would drag them outside to play soccer or t-ball. Then everyone would come in for dinner, and later, one parent would put the kids to bed while the other one would stay downstairs to chat. 

The students would often stay late, which fascinated the Loughins.

“Sometimes we were surprised they wanted to hang out with us,” Caitlin laughs. “And we almost wanted to say, ‘Guys, we're not that cool. It’s fine.’ But I don’t think that most people realize how much college students long to have some relationships outside of college. They want to have people who listen to them, because other 18- to 22-year-olds don’t always listen well. They don't necessarily have that perspective and care.”

“Perspective and care” is a good summary of what makes intergenerational ministry so rich at Redeemer. There is mutual blessing as different generations interact, each with unique perspective and need, and each with something to offer. The Loughins experienced this when the students hosted their family at the college dining hall, an experience their kids still talk about!

And this mutuality is on full display when students are baptized at the church.

Over the past few years, a number of college students have been baptized at Redeemer, but Glen’s baptism on All Saints Day of 2023 was especially memorable. Glen came to U of R without any Christian background and was embraced by the CCO student community. His first visit to Redeemer—or to any church—was at a foot-washing service during Holy Week. 

During the service, Glen had an embodied experience that brought his relationship with Jesus to life. He asked to be baptized later that year, and in the moment after his baptism, the students “absolutely erupted with cheers!” 

“It was deeply moving,” one of the pastors remembers. “There were tears throughout the sanctuary.”

Cheering has become the pattern for every student's baptism, and it’s no wonder. It’s a deep moment of celebration—and also of connection between generations. 

And these connections are building something new, something that we witness in church partnerships all over the country.  When students choose to step away from campus and church members move toward them with care, the bridge they create is beautiful.