My first experience with college ministry came not at Ozark Christian College, where I now teach, but as a young girl. My dad was a minister in Weatherford, Oklahoma, the home of Southwestern Oklahoma State University—Go, Bulldogs! Every Sunday morning, my dad taught a class, preached a sermon, and often served as the worship leader, too. Then on Sunday evenings, he’d preach an entirely different sermon and lead the high school youth group. And then! Because he hadn’t done enough that day, a dozen or so SWOSU students—Jan and Larry and Martha and Grace—would come to our house for a weekly college group rightly called Koinonia, a Greek word meaning fellowship or community.
At Koinonia, my mom made nachos and popcorn, and my dad taught his fifth lesson of the day. I was young, so my bedtime always came before the fun began—though after the day he’d had, it was my dad who should’ve been sent to bed early. Each week, I fell asleep listening to college-age laughter and prayer and conversations about Scripture. Koinonia, indeed.
Koinonia has been a priority for the church since its inception. The first church in Jerusalem “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) And, more than 2,000 years later, in Oronogo, Missouri…so do we. Small groups, classes, weekend gatherings, and more give us a chance to build friendships and have fellowship—to experience koinonia.
The college students my parents served were far from home, away from the parents and churches who raised them. But at Koinonia, they found the nourishment they needed. Nourishment, not from nachos and popcorn, but from God’s Word and one another.
Similarly, the Apostle Paul told young Timothy to train himself to be godly, “nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” (1 Timothy 4:6-7) Paul knew just what the young minister needed most: to be nourished—formed and educated—by the truth of the gospel. “For physical training is of some value,” wrote Paul, “but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)
Paul was saying, “Do you want a deeper faith? Do you want to live for what lasts and experience completeness in Jesus? Then be nourished by Scripture and prayer and koinonia.”
These days, college ministry looks different for me. Somehow, the students are much younger now, and instead of SWOSU, it’s OCC—Go, Ambassadors! But some things haven’t changed: there’s still plenty of late-night snacks, and in my apartment in the men’s dorm where I live, I still fall asleep listening to laughter and conversations about Scripture. Koinonia continues!—May it always be so. And may all of us—from the five-lesson-teaching minister to the nacho-eating student to the sleepy girl overhearing it all—grow in koinonia with one another, and be “nourished on the truths of the faith….That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)
Amy Storms
Amy is a part of our Christ’s Church family and has taught Women’s Bible studies and served as a Pathways guide. She is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications, as well as an English Professor and Strong Hall Residence Director at Ozark Christian College, one of our Impact Partners.
Amy is pictured here with her husband, Andy, and children, Nathan, Anne, and Molly.
