|
|
|
|
Short 
Circuit |
|
Volume
3 |
Number
1 |
January
2002 |
Campus Bible Fellowship, Syracuse, NY
The first CBF group began in the Midwest, and soon groups were
springing up in other parts of the country. Syracuse was not the first
in the Northeast, but it soon became the hub of CBF activity in the
Northeast United States and Canada. Some of the groups started through
local churches are still in operation. Many CBF Staff had their
ministry beginnings in the Syracuse area.
|
|
Bible study group picture
Click on picture for full picture.
|
In 1974 Paul and Sandy Jewell and their 2 small children moved to the
Syracuse area to “get their feet wet” in the CBF ministry, and to raise
the rest of their financial support. Other staff moved on to new
ministries, while Paul and Sandy remained to carry on the work on the
campuses in Syracuse. In 1977 they purchased a home near the Syracuse
University campus. Since it is a 5 minute walk to the campus bus and a
20 minute walk to the heart of campus, it acts as the hub of their
ministry.
They also minister at the Onondaga Community College, a commuter campus
about 5 miles from their home. OCC began downtown in 1962 with 500
students. They now have a campus on a hill overlooking Syracuse, and in
1998 had 7,345 students enrolled for credit, as well as many attending
non-credit courses. On-campus housing is being considered. The CBF
Bible study at OCC meets in the Campus Ministries Room at 11:00 A. M.
on Wednesdays.
|
|
Game time after Bible study
Click on picture for full picture.
|
Syracuse University is well known for its academics and
athletics. The 500 acre campus offers its 10,702 undergraduate and
4,886 graduate students degrees in its 13 colleges and schools within
the university. Total enrollment, including their University College
and International Programs Abroad, is 18,093. Students come from 50
states and 90 countries. The State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry is located on its own campus with
1700 students adjacent to SU. ESF students take some courses at SU, can
live in the dorms, and can participate in student groups on the SU
campus such as CBF.
|
|
Mountain hiking in Adirondack Mountains
Click on picture for full picture.
|
Paul and Sandy reach out to the students through
posters in the student housing and an information table in the student
center several times a month. The group Bible study/fellowship meets in
their home on Friday nights at 7:30. It is a time of fellowship,
sharing prayer requests, testimonies, Bible study and discussion. Food
and fellowship follow as long as students want to stay. Other
ministries are English conversation classes that can develop contacts
for Bible studies, and an athletes Bible study ministry that began in
1980. Ministry also takes place at events like dinners (including a
full Thanksgiving dinner the Friday before Thanksgiving), picnics,
hikes, and trips to attractions like the Adirondack Mountains and
Niagara Falls.
Since the group study is relatively small, they are able to place
an emphasis on individual Bible study for evangelism or discipleship.
The study can be tailored to the specific needs of the student.
Biblical principles are taught and life-long friendships are formed in
the group and individualized settings. Many CBF alumni, including
internationals, stay in contact after they leave campus.
We desire to communicate the truth of God’s Word with compassion and
sensitivity that emulates the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:
15, “…speaking the truth in love…”
|
|
|