From the Center for Rural Ministry at Grove City College
By Emma Ruby Zannis
CRM Writing Intern
Service-Learning Projects are a major means by which the Center for Rural Ministry works to strengthen the bonds between college, church, and community. Designed to channel in-class learning experiences and the class assignments of Grove City College students towards making real and tangible impact in local communities, these assignments span the whole semester and encapsulate sizeable teams of students.
By carrying out rigorous academic work for the enrichment of the local church, students are exposed to the importance and value of offering up their giftings and capabilities to their church homes for the purpose of service. As students learn about the importance of steadfastly investing in a Church, the Church is given further means by which to thrive and expand their kingdom impact. With the Center for Rural Ministry as a bridge, students and churches are mutually and simultaneously further equipped for a life of ministry.
This spring semester, Professor Shannon Barrios’s Research Methods class worked alongside Christ United Church in New Castle, Pa. to explore how this church might more effectively engage with rising generations. Their streams of research included data analysis, interviews, and focus groups; as a result, their findings were extensive. Christ United Church partnered with this student team in the hopes to discover how they, as a congregation, might better grow, support, and understand the needs of the rural areas surrounding them. This team of six students, thus, dove into uncovering what defines Gen Z and how the Church might engage and retain the rising generations. Flowing from the research, the team discovered three key characteristics of Gen Z.
For more about their research, read the full story here: Service-learning project helps church connect to Gen Z.
For more stories from the Center for Rural Ministry, visit CRM resources.