March 06, 2010
By MARY STARR
The Brunswick News
The past year has seen tremendous change take place at College of Coastal Georgia including the establishment of a new campus ministry.
Called Converge, a college ministry of The Gathering Place, began at the start of September 2009, with Madhur Dey, a previous college intern with The Gathering Place, at the helm.
"We're connecting students," Dey said. "Converge means, to us, a place where life and faith meet."
College ministries are a part of the fabric of academic life on campuses far and wide, both large and small.
They give students a place to question, belong, grow and serve.
Literally thousands of college students are involved in Christian ministries, many in groups like Inter-Varsity Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ, others in denominational groups that operate on many campuses.
College is a time for sorting through life goals and it's also a time for stretching leadership muscles and identifying gifts.
Dey and his leadership team have literally built Converge from the ground up, and he says the ministry relies on God's provision to see them through.
He likes the concept of leading the ministry's start-up team, and he says the students involved are excited about transforming the campus.
"It's great to pioneer something," he said. "We're not constricted; we get to see what students' needs are and not follow any preconceived path."
Dey acknowledges that establishing a new ministry comes with a lot of responsibility and a bit of a learning curve.
It also takes quite a bit of faith.
"We're relying a lot on the direction of God through other people," Dey said.
The fledgling program began with 15 to 20 students consistently attending the 5 p.m. Thursday bi-monthly worship services in the new Student Activities Center on the Brunswick campus.
Services consist of contemporary worship, followed by teaching and a free meal supplied by the Chik-fil-A at Golden Isles Plaza.
Dey said the worship time is very untraditional, and with Converge emphasizing relationship building, a number of students have been attracted to the group.
Now, the group has grown to 40-50 students.
"There was a need on the campus," Dey said.
He is quick to explain that Converge is not a church, but it hopes to connect students to churches and communities where they can become leaders.
The group's vision is to reach, equip and send Christians out into the world to be disciples for Jesus Christ.
"We want to engage all of the students of the College of Coastal Georgia in a Christ-centered community," Dey said.
The challenge, he said, is to figure out how to accomplish that.
Dey says he encounters students who are grappling with some of life's biggest questions, including death and grief, understanding how to make Christ real and authentic in their lives and how to live out their faith.
He has also met with students who consider themselves agnostic, but open-minded.
The interdenominational ministry does not seek to minimize denominations, but focuses on worship, he said.
"We have students from all different types of churches," he said. "We're focused on who Jesus was."
Another advantage of Converge is its multicultural makeup. "We have all," he said.
It wasn't all that long ago that people of different races and backgrounds did not worship together. "They weren't even able to do life together," Dey said.
So far, the focus has been on discipleship and building small groups of believers who meet together.
"We're hoping we can connect students with pastors, mentors and business people," he said. "We're about intentional discipleship."
The group's intent is not to only meet for worship, but its discipleship focus makes mission work a priority.
Members of Converge are working with Manna House, which provides a daily meal to low-income persons, and Dey is looking forward to developing relationships with other area missions so students have more opportunities to serve.
"We're hoping to connect with the teen center and help with tutoring," he said. "And, we're hoping to send some students to Haiti this summer."
Dey, a native of India, who spent his adolescence in Griffin, was a Gathering Place college intern for two years.
"I love the community here," he said. "It's open-handed and open-hearted."
The timing couldn't have been better to start a campus ministry at the Brunswick school, and President Valerie Hepburn agreed.
"She invited us (The Gathering Place)," Dey said. "She saw the need to have a ministry here."
Dey is a graduate of the University of Georgia and attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for a year, but felt a more immediate call to enter campus ministry.
"The timing was right to step into college ministry," Dey said.
"I was going to seminary for collegiate ministry."
Dey said he's with Converge for the long term, but plans to finish seminary eventually.
Operating Converge on less than a shoestring, Dey has been amazed by the generosity of the college and area residents.
Dey supports himself by working at Wake Up Coffee in Redfern Village, St.
Simons Island.
"There's no funding for this (Converge)," he said. "God has provided everything, including the space and the equipment; we're running on fumes."