It’s 9 o’clock on a Friday night—where are you going to be? If you’re a student at Andrews, there’s a good chance the answer will be “at Mosaic.”

What is Mosaic? It’s student testimony; it’s contemporary praise and worship; it’s being creative through art; it’s fellowshipping with friends in a café setting. “Mosaic is a way students can express themselves through worship,” says Richard Parke, senior business major and Mosaic’s current director. “It’s not about providing an activity, as much as it is providing a place for that activity. Wherever you bring God in, He’ll be there.”

The idea for Mosaic arose about five years ago when Nick Zork approached Steve Yeagley, Mosaic’s faculty sponsor, with a burden for an after-vespers activity. “Vespers was out by nine, and there was an empty couple of hours before curfew,” says Steve. “Friday night is a time when students are looking to be together in a Christian environment. They want to honor the Sabbath, but be together, letting go, relaxing.”

Under Nick and Steve's leadership, Mosaic has morphed through a variety of stages and names. First known as Second Story Café, and then Glo, both were a combined café and worship program held in the cafeteria. In its third year, Nick and Steve split it into two parts and renamed it Mosaic.

The Mosaic experience began with a café setting held in the Chan Shun Hall lobby, then an hour-long praise and worship program in the Seminary Chapel, ending with the opportunity for students to return to the café. This turned out to be a success, with students filling up both venues.

Richard became Mosaic's director after Nick graduated. Being involved and taking a leadership position on campus is not new to Richard, who had a key role in the development of Andrews’ college Sabbath school, Higher Ground.

Richard has been involved at church and in ministry as long as he can remember. As a child, growing up in a small church in Buchanan, Michigan, Richard remembers helping out in Sabbath school and taking up the offering. “I’ve never really been a pew sitter,” he explains, and says he came to Andrews because "it was easy to get involved here."

Mosaic continues to evolve under Richard's leadership and is now a weekly program. This year, Richard also added the Christian Concert Series, featuring independent Christian artists monthly. “It’s been an eye-opening experience,” says Richard.

Fusion, a popular student-led monthly Friday evening program combining Mosaic, the Black Student Christian Forum, vespers, and other programs, grew out of Mosaic last year. Fusion promotes campus unity and has become its own entity, normally replacing the regular 7:30 p.m. vespers once a month. An average of 600–700 students fill the Johnson Gym each time it’s held. “People really enjoy coming together,” says Steve. “At Fusion, it’s not unusual to hear gospel, Spanish, and contemporary praise songs in the same evening.”

As Steve explains, “Mosaic is meant to be a place for creative Christian expression, it’s diverse. Just like Andrews University, Mosaic is a picture made out of a lot of pieces.”

Beverly Stout is the University Relations Lake Union Herald correspondent.