"God is on the move"
Six weeks into Fall semester, Father Brokaw received incredible news from the national chaplain of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Illinois is one of the top 2 campuses in the country for student engagement in a Bible Study, with more than 600 students currently involved in one of nearly 80 Small Groups.
The fruits of these groups are easily observed in the halls of our Newman Center. And each day, the experiences of community, fellowship, and prayer that Catholic Illini students find in small groups are radiating out onto campus.
Aidan Beckett, small group student leader
To one student small group leader, this exciting news was a confirmation of what he had prayed for, “I was talking to Fr. Brokaw at the start of the of the year, and I was just like, ‘Father, I had this feeling, the Holy Spirit's really gonna cook this year. I don't know what it is, but something's gonna blow up,” said Aidan Beckett, class of 2027. “Things are really gonna get going,’ and this is just another sign of it.”
The growth has not come out of the blue; instead, it is the result of transformative changes that are happening in the lives of small group members. “God is on the move,” said Clare Campbell, a second-year FOCUS missionary at the University of Illinois. “I think the biggest difference I'm seeing this year is that our leaders are really convicted, more than ever before. They actually believe that a small group has the capacity to change someone's life. And I think they're experiencing that more deeply because they've seen it change their own.”
A Catholic Illini small group meets on the main quad
A “plus one” attitude has also contributed to the steady growth of small group participants, said Campbell. Creating a culture where students are encouraged to bring a friend with them to small group gives students the comfort of knowing they will have a familiar face in the room and an accountability partner in their faith journey.
Daniela Martinez, a senior small group participant, noted that small group bible studies had been a tremendous avenue of growth in her faith life at St. John’s. “It was a beautiful way to enter into a community with other women who also want to follow Jesus. And it’s also provided a space for me to grow and learn and also to fall, but then to have other people to be there to help me up.”
For another inspiring story of how a Catholic Illini Small Group made waves in a fraternity house, click here.
