Last week, the Indiana Wesleyan University residential community experienced the first campus-wide invitation into small groups. On Wednesday mornings, instead of gathering in the Chapel Auditorium for community-wide worship, students gather in small groups all across campus.
As a community, IWU prioritizes Spiritual Formation Hour, which takes place at 10:05 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. During this hour, the IWU community pauses to worship, learn from God’s Word, connect with each other and grow spiritually.
Spiritual Formation Hour emphasizes a unique focus for each day of the week:
- Mondays – Word with an emphasis on Scripture
- Wednesdays – Wisdom with an emphasis on small groups
- Fridays – Witness with an emphasis on testimony
The new format comes from a firm belief that the way to spiritual wholeness lies in consistent, faithful responses to God, both as individuals and as a community.
“When we consider how many hours a student participates in chapel over the course of four years at IWU, it is a significant amount of time,” said Dr. Andrea Summers, campus pastor and dean of spiritual formation. “I had a growing desire to make every moment count and to build these moments toward growth in the areas we value most as a Christian community.”
Students gather in the Chapel Auditorium on Mondays and Fridays. On Wednesdays, students instead gather in small groups all across campus. Groups are led by students, faculty and staff, and can choose their topic of study, as long as the content is approved through the Spiritual Formation Office. There are over 1,000 students meeting in over 150 small groups on Wednesdays.
“Coming together as a sisterhood outside of practices and races to discuss the Word, pray, and pursue fellowship has created such strong unity in our team,” said Sterling Simek, a senior who leads a small group comprised of the IWU women’s cross country team. “I have learned much about my own spiritual pursuits from being in community with others these four years, and I am ecstatic that it is now being encouraged and supported in many ways by the Spiritual Formation Office.”
Summers and the Spiritual Formation Office have already received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, staff and faculty in response to the Spiritual Formation Hour.
“The response so far tells us that our community is ready and even hungry for the more intimate community that small groups can provide,” said Summers. “Having a weekly rhythm of both gathering to worship together as a community and also unleashing students, staff and faculty to lead these powerful pockets of Spirit-inspired formation reminds us of who we are and who God is calling us to become.”
For more information about Spiritual Formation Hour at IWU, visit indwes.edu/spiritual-life.