New organization hopes to make big impact

Student organizations are a large part of social life for Buena Vista University (BVU) students. This year, students might be noticing a new organization on campus, although it is more different than new. This year, student leaders decided to combine Fellowship of Christian Beavers (FCB) and Beavers in God (BIG), two organizations associated with campus ministries, to create Impact.

This idea came about after the members of FCB began to look into changing their outdated constitution. Although both groups had worked together for years, technically FCB was still associated with the national Fellowship of Christian Athletes. FCB was used as an outreach and fellowship program while BIG was an unofficial organization used to inform students about Bible studies around campus.

"Because FCB and BIG work together anyway, and BIG does not have a constitution or receive money from Senate, the leaders decided it would be better to unify the two groups under one name," senior Andrea Ahrendsen, Impact leader, said.

The combination of FCB and BIG into Impact will help the leaders in their goals of outreach to the BVU community.

This benefits students because instead of just hosting campus ministry events, Impact will host a weekly meeting to allow students to participate in spiritual discussion and growth.

Also, Impact will continue to have a variety of Bible studies this year. By adding and making changes to the organization, Impact leaders hope to get more campus involvement. Student members are enjoying the change.

"I feel more united by the combination. Instead of focusing on either fellowship or Bible study, we feel that it's necessary to have them both under one roof and organized system. We will now have better communication and more assistance through leadership," senior Angie Eischeid said.

Some may be curious where the name 'Impact' comes from. "Impact is short and succinct, and can be applied to several different ideas. One idea is that the group can make an impact on individuals' lives.

Another idea is that the group can make an impact on (and in) the community, and lastly, but most importantly, we are impacted by Christ and his love for us," said Ahrendsen. Impact has already started the year off with exciting events like travelling to Sioux Falls, SD for the Lifelight Christian Music Festival, but the leaders have many more fun events planned.

Along with Bible studies and weekly meetings, they are planning to attend the Main Event conference in Omaha, movie nights on campus and a weekend retreat scheduled in November. If you would like to get involved with any of these events, or are just curious about Impact, you can contact one of the members of the leadership team: Andrea Ahrendson, Kristin Goodson, Molly Myers, Heather Herr, or Beth Alysworth for more information. They are also available through the campus ministries web site: http://ww.bvu.edu/living_at_bvu/student_services/spiritual_life/index.dot