Johnny Schnepp’s faith journey included a detour from aviation to theology. A senior religion major at Andrews University, he now helps lead an Anchor Group on campus; but it all started with a simple friendship. “I met this guy who was a theology student,” he recalled. “He was the first friend I had who really talked to me about God.” That friend, Adrian Jones, didn’t just share his faith; he walked Johnny through the Bible until he found himself eager to dig deeper.
At first Johnny was hesitant to speak up in the Bible study. But he kept showing up, listening and learning, until he eventually asked Rodney Palmer, the chair of the religion department, for materials to better understand the Bible and start a study group with his friend.
“I became so set on fire with studying the Bible from that point right there,” he said. Now, Johnny is part of the movement expanding small groups across campus, turning curiosity into community.
Anchor Groups is a small-group ministry initiative through Campus Ministries, designed to facilitate leadership and fellowship through student-led gatherings. Through these groups, students build community through sharing experiences and intentionality about growing their faith. The groups meet weekly at various locations on campus. Of the 38 registered groups during the 2025–26 school year, more than 30 were spiritual groups, while the rest were either activity- or service-based, according to data compiled by the office.
Anchor Groups are the offspring of Grow Groups, a small-group initiative through Pioneer Memorial Church. The program moved under the auspices of Campus Ministries a few years ago, and Associate Chaplain Jacob Gibbs changed the name to Anchor Groups in 2025.
“There’s a theme in the book of Hebrews; it talks about how we need to be anchored,” he said. People “don’t leave Christianity or Adventism or Jesus in a moment. It’s a continual process of drifting away, but you can’t drift away if the anchor is solid in the bedrock. So, I like the idea of being anchored in Jesus.”
Johnny started leading out a Bible study on his own in the spring semester of 2022 and eventually collaborated with other students. As more small groups developed on campus, Johnny talked with Chaplain Gibbs about partnering with Campus Ministries, which came to fruition in 2025. “He was like, why don’t we just come together and start working together?” Johnny said. They created a campaign to get people who would be interested in leading small groups. At the beginning of fall semester 2025, a retreat was held on campus to help prepare these leaders for their roles.
“The first semester was a bit shaky, as we were kind of figuring things out, learning how to structure the ministry,” Johnny said.
This year, Johnny led the Anchor Group “Revelation” on Mondays. As the name suggests, the focus was on the book of Revelation, one which people are somewhat hesitant to approach due to all the end-time prophecy it contains. He took the route of focusing on how to see Jesus in prophecy. “It’s called the Revelation of Jesus and that was the plain focus this past year. As Adventists, that is kind of our book,” he said. Additionally, he chose this book for personal Bible study and to help others understand it through a shared learning environment. His group typically has 15 to 20 people attending, consisting of both those who grew up in the church and those who have not.
Group leaders aim to be intentional with how they engage with their members. Katherine Coronel is a sophomore theology major who co-leads the anchor group “Wrestling Club” with senior Derek Wonenberg. The group “wrestles” with passages from the Old and New Testaments that get overlooked or easily misunderstood. For Katherine, creating a space where members feel comfortable falls onto the leaders. “Leaders must measure how vulnerable they themselves want to be and know where to draw the line before oversharing and overburdening attendees,” she said. “People move at their own pace and get into that comfortable aspect in their own time. It’s not something you can pressure them into.”
Although programs such as Thursday chapels, deans’ worship, and vespers services are established to be able to foster spiritual growth at Andrews University, they rarely offer the chance to create deep connection. Some students are more focused on meeting credit requirements than engaging with classmates to build community and enhance their spiritual growth. Moraya Truman, a senior digital communications major, is a frequent attendee of the “Wrestling Club.” She attends chapel for credit but does not believe it’s spiritually fulfilling due to being mandatory and speaking to a broad audience, not particular needs. “There’s been a couple times over the semester where I have thought about some spiritual thing and I’m like, I need to talk about this with somebody, like, this is fascinating to me,” she said. The freedom of choice within Anchor Groups makes it much more meaningful to come together as a community.
What makes Anchor Groups stand out on a campus replete with spiritual offerings is making room for connection, Gibbs says. “Jesus taught in lines, but he transformed in circles,” he says. “I think the environment is riper for transformation in a small group, a circle than in a grid of lines,” he added, referring to sitting in pews or classroom setups.
Through community, sharing experiences and creating meaningful conversations about the Bible or even just life, Anchor Groups become a space where faith can be strengthened, and not just another obligatory program students must attend
Participation isn’t restricted to Bible studies. Simone Jones, a graduate student studying speech-language pathology, hosts the “Crafty Things” group. Each Tuesday evening, they come together to do various crafts and discuss the highs and lows of the week. Crafting projects include making greeting cards, bookmarks, customized coasters and bracelets. What most inspired Simone to lead an Anchor Group is the community that comes with it. “Actually talking about how I felt and what happened throughout the week, and just making it a place to cultivate conversation and you can be honest about how you feel,” she said.
Being a student leader on campus comes with its own challenges, especially when balancing leadership roles and deadlines that come with homework assignments. However, for Anchor Group leaders, the impact of making intentional connections can outweigh other academic responsibilities. “You can’t take your grades to heaven, but you can take your friends to heaven,” said Johnny. Chaplain Gibbs has observed that Anchor Groups give students a chance “to be part of something bigger than just a degree.” He recalls hearing from a colleague whose friend has a son in an Anchor Group. “He said, ‘What you’re doing is making his son very excited to be at Andrews.’” Gibbs added, “It’s giving the students a purpose to change people’s lives.”
As Anchor Groups continue, with coaching support from Campus Ministries and the Discipleship Center, Gibbs hopes the groups continue to fortify students in fellowship and faith on campus and outside of Andrews. “If young people find community, in a place where their spirituality is being founded, they’ll stay for a lot longer, hopefully forever.”
Ysa Dennis is a digital communications major at Andrews University.