Slava Cherempei, a U. of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore chemistry major (right), having fun with friends at the Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute in Seattle this summer.
Debbie Michel
August 19, 2025“It was very discouraging,” said Slava Cherempei, a sophomore chemistry major who had just returned from a summer discipleship program in South Dakota. He discussed their great disappointment with the Wisconsin Conference Public Campus Ministry Coordinator Joshua Guerrero, and he advised them, “‘Be faithful even if things don’t work out.’”
That tension — trying, failing and trying again — would define their first year of campus ministry.
A Small Start
Slava arrived in Madison in 2023 by way of Ukraine and Germany, with the support of a scholarship for talented STEM students displaced by the war and funded by philanthropist Ken Griffin. Though he had grown up Adventist, Slava only began to claim faith as his own at 15, when he says God freed him from an addiction. His first year at UW–Madison was consumed with chemistry labs and research. Ministry wasn’t on his radar.
But something shifted after DiscipleTrek, a three-week small group retreat for Adventist college students in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. “The main thing for me was just talking to people who were very motivated,” he said. “Being around mentors who could answer hard questions made me realize I wanted to offer that kind of community back on campus.”
When he returned to Madison, Slava and freshman Sara Arihood registered Adventist Christian Fellowship (ACF) as an official student organization. A fellow Madison East Church member and professional IT developer Johan Jaeger readily agreed to join them in the campus outreach.
On Aug. 28, 2024, Slava and fellow ACF students set out supplies for a s’mores night by the campus fire pit. He arrived early and was surprised to find students already sitting there.
Maybe they’re waiting for us, he thought. “Soon more people came — 10, then 20, then nearly 30. Students roasted marshmallows, talked and lingered. For the first time, their ministry felt real. Even their coordinator Joshua, was taken aback. “He was very surprised… very happy to see that something is happening — and that he’s not in charge of it,” Slava said with a laugh.
But the momentum faded. Game nights that began with dozens of attendees dwindled until one night only a single student showed up. “It was a little sad,” Slava admitted. “I was feeling very frustrated because we put so much effort in and nothing really came out of that.”
That disappointment forced a decision: keep hosting social events that felt shallow, or risk starting a Bible study. “I was hesitant,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if people really wanted it.” But in November, the group set up a table on campus, offering pizza and conversation. To Slava’s surprise, four students came the next night for Bible study — and stayed. One of them was Xavier Miller.
“I think he said something like, ‘What could be better than Bible study and pizza?’” Slava recalled.
Soon, Friday nights became routine: Bible study from six to eight, then long conversations that sometimes stretched to midnight. “Xavier was always one of the ones who stayed,” Slava said. “He had so many questions.”
Slava, Johann and Xavier began meeting one-on-one in discipleship sessions. By December, what had begun as a failing game night had turned into a small but committed group digging through the book of Ecclesiastes.
The Surprise Decision
The turning point came this summer at the Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute (ACFi) in Seattle. Another student casually asked Xavier if he wanted to be baptized. Xavier said yes.
Slava was caught off guard. “I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said. “I thought we still had more lessons to cover. But the pastors reminded me that if someone wants to give their life to Christ, you don’t hold them back.”
On Sabbath, August 2, 2025, Xavier was baptized — surrounded by his mentors, including Slava. For Slava, the moment felt like the fulfillment of Psalm 126:5: “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”
“It was very rough in the beginning,” he said. “I remember feeling desperate. But seeing Xavier give his life to Christ reminded me that all those little efforts mattered. God was working, even when we couldn’t see it.”
Today, Slava balances research in the chemistry lab with leading ACF, hopeful that more students will find in the group what Xavier did: friendship, faith and the chance to belong.
Debbie Michel is editor of the Lake Union Herald.
If you’re on the campus of a public university, or know of an Adventist attending one within the Lake Union, reach out to your conference representative to connect with an Adventist Christian Fellowship group:
