A Renewed Campus Movement

By the middle of his freshman year, Alex Thang was already thinking about leaving Andrews University. 

Then he remembered his commitment to lead a small Bible study Spring semester. 

Earlier that year, Alex and a friend went from small group attendees to leaders, starting a Bible discussion through the book of Romans. The group grew quickly, drawing students from across campus and even neighboring University of Notre Dame. Most weeks, about a dozen students gathered to share a meal, study Scripture and encourage one another. Some nights, attendance reached 22.  

By April, Alex’s plans had changed. 

“At the beginning of the semester, I had decided that I was going to leave Andrews,” he told fellow students at an end-of-year celebration. “But then we started this group and now I don’t want to leave. Because this has meant so much to me, seeing how God has worked.” 

This all began when Alanna Rodriguez, director of the Andrews University Discipleship Center, invited Alex to join the discipleship group she was hosting on campus. That invitation became the first step in a journey that changed his plans and prepared him to help lead others. 

Stories like Alex’s are why Andrews University established the Discipleship Center. In its first year, the center has become a place where students deepen their relationship with Christ, build lasting friendships and learn to disciple others. 

According to Alanna, Alex’s story represents “a small splash, so to speak, but I believe it’s a token of what God wants to do and is going to do on this campus.”  

Located in the Campus Center, the Discipleship Center isn’t just another department at Andrews; in just a year, it’s become a hub where faith, friendship and leadership combine, bringing transformation and purpose to students.  

The center is an initiative borne from brainstorming and partnership between President John Wesley Taylor V, the Department of Discipleship in the Seminary, the Office of Campus Ministries and the Department of Religion & Biblical Languages. The desire was to provide a space to develop the spirituality of young people on campus, specifically through discipleship, or mentoring. 

“Discipleship affects every aspect of life: It impacts your academic choices, your marriage choice, your time management, the friends that you choose,” Alanna said. That part of the Christian life doesn’t come automatically upon baptism. “To learn how to frame our lives in context of God and His will for us and who He is — that takes practice. And therefore, you need someone to walk with you in that journey, especially as a young person.”  

When a donor came forward to fund a discipleship initiative, the dream became reality; there would now be a space to help students grow their relationship with Jesus, form friendships and realize their purpose. 

“One of the biggest needs is for young people to be really grounded in their faith as a Seventh-day Adventist, but it being inextricably bound to their relationship with Christ,” Alanna said. “Oftentimes we know doctrine, but we don’t know the God of the doctrine.”  

Alanna, hired in May 2025, came to Andrews after working at the Michigan Conference as the assistant to the director of public campus ministry. For almost 20 years, she worked on up to 13 different campuses, working closely with Adventist students at universities and local churches.  Though the setting is different, she brings the same passion she used to develop student leaders on public campuses to the Discipleship Center. 

“I enjoy working with people and talking with our young people, especially,” she said. “I want to discover what their view is of God, because that translates to everything else.” 

The Discipleship Centers functions as an auxiliary to any department wanting resources to delve deeper into spiritual guidance. Alanna said, “If the department wants to consult or collaborate with the Discipleship Center on how to bring discipleship in a more prominent role, that’s how the Center functions.” For example, leaders of Anchor Groups, officially the small group-initiative through Campus Ministries, receive training through the Center.  

The Center helps host IGNITE, a three-week summer discipleship program for young people ages 16–21 to grow deeper in their relationship with God through mentorship and community. It features four components: a three-credit class on personal witnessing; daily devotion time; discipleship; and evangelistic training. The program also helps participants leverage their social media use for outreach.  

“Adventist Connect trains them on how to engage in spiritual conversations on social media platforms,” Alanna explained. “How do you ask questions? How do you take someone who gives a one-word answer and grow that into an opportunity for Bible studies? So, they’re getting really practical training on how to actually disciple someone through maybe having just an initial spiritual interest to growing that interest deeper.” 

This year, the Center helped organize Standout, a spiritual retreat weekend on campus for homeschooled students or those attending public schools. They used a small group model for the weekend sessions to foster community. The Center was also co-sponsor of the D3 Conference, held in October, which brought together leaders to discuss discipleship in a global context. 

“It’s really neat because Andrews University is a microcosm of the world church. And I believe that it’s one of the reasons why the Discipleship Center has been established here of all places,” says Alanna.  

Alanna is encouraged by the work happening on campus. Students are drawn to what the Center offers, even though the campus is a busy place with many activities and events.  

“When I see the dedication of these students to share the Word, students that show up every single week, even if someone doesn’t come,” she says, “that tells me that God is doing something and that students are willing to make sacrifices for God. God honors that.” 

While you can count the amount of discipleship groups a year or attendance at events, she says there are other ways to see the impact on students who connect with the Discipleship Center, including talking about personal devotionals naturally, comfort praying aloud, attending Sabbath School at local churches and sharing their faith. 

“Those are just some practical things that I see where there’s spiritual growth. These are observable things that happen naturally because the Holy Spirit is working in someone’s life.”  

Some students specifically point to the Discipleship Center and its staff as pivotal to their Andrews experience.  

Olivia Horvath, a nutrition major, was an Anchor Group leader this year, running a crochet small group. “It’s been really impactful to get to be working closely with people who are very mission-driven and really want to foster community for other people on campus.”  

She found the spiritual community she was looking for at the Center. “It’s about creating spaces for people to really feel connected and like they can use their gifts. I think that’s what keeps people in the church and makes it meaningful to them … feeling like you are part of something that’s bigger than you is just so important.”  

Involvement in these groups has made Horvath more excited about her faith and deepened her sense of connection to Andrews. “Being involved in Anchor Groups has allowed me to feel like, yeah, this is my school and I’m involved in something that I can be proud of.” 

Anchor groups were also a point of introduction to the Discipleship Center for Elena Hardinge, a graphic design major. After hearing about it during a program for incoming freshmen, she joined Olivia’s crochet group. By the end of the semester, Hardinge felt inspired to launch her own Bible study group, her first, focused on Asaph — “Songs from the Sanctuary.” She said Alanna’s mentorship and guidance helped her feel confident to lead.  

“Anchor Groups was an answer to prayer, giving me a community to study the Bible with,” she said. With the Discipleship Center, “I feel like I have people that I can go to if I need help or just someone to be happy with. It’s helped me feel like this is where I need to be right now.”  

This is what the Center’s work is about, Alanna says, “identifying the leaders, [and] then empowering them to lead as well.” 

In addition to deepening the relationships formed this year, Alanna and her team are looking forward to what lies ahead. Both staff and students are anticipating the opening of the Discipleship House, a recently renovated house on campus for students to fellowship and host small groups. “I want the Discipleship House to be known as a place where I can grow in my relationship with God,” Alanna said. “If I want to connect with people who love God and want to grow in that relationship, this is the place for me.” 

There are also plans to launch discipleship coaching for students, expand opportunities for faculty and staff to be involved, and continue partnerships with Campus Ministries, the Seminary, and local churches for training and mission opportunities.  

“I believe that God is working through individual lives.  And we just have to work where He is working,” Alanna said, reflecting on the past year.  “When we do, He pulls all these amazing different pieces together. That’s what I see has happened this year in the Discipleship Center. I believe there’s a revival that’s taking place on this campus that’s going to surprise everyone.” 

Kaara Baptiste is an assistant professor of communication at Andrews University.