The Summit speaking series is an opportunity for spiritual renewal among the IWU student body at the beginning of each school semester.
Lyon started as one of three General Superintendents in 2008, the first woman ever chosen for the top job in the Wesleyan denomination. She came to the Wesleyan Church from World Hope International, a worldwide relief ministry that Lyon founded in 1996 in a converted back-bedroom home office. Today, World Hope has a presence in 14 countries worldwide. Dr. Lyon became the sole General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church this past summer after a reorganization at the denomination's 2012 General Conference.
Dr. Jim Lo, Dean of the Chapel at Indiana Wesleyan University, said that Lyon's Summit messages will be rooted in her passion for mobilizing Christians to serve the world around them.
"That's her heart, is to be reaching out to people who have needs," Lo said. "If we go deep with the Lord, it is never just for selfish purposes, but it is always for us to be ... looking out for the needs of other people-and, in the power of Christ, seeing if we can meet those needs."
Lyon will appear in chapel at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday and 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17-19. On Friday, September 21, the student chapel will revolve around "cardboard testimonies," in which students will write short messages on cardboard sheets revealing some of the ways God has influenced them through the Summit series.
"Every year that I've been in this role the students have loved coming to Summit services," Lo said.
Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian comprehensive university of The Wesleyan Church, which has its world headquarters in Indianapolis. The University was founded in 1920, and is committed to liberal arts and professional education.
More than 3,200 students are enrolled in traditional programs on the University's main campus in Marion. Another 12,200 adult learners attend classes at education centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and online.