Chi Alpha is a national Christian fellowship with the mission of reconciling college students with Christianity. It is open to all students of any race, religion or sexual orientation. It has over 300 chapters in different colleges and universities all over the country.
Most meetings begin with members of the club introducing themselves and their personal interests. Member Tiffany Kwong said, “I like the interactions with other people. It’s fun.”
The mission of Chi Alpha is to create an environment where people with questions about Christianity can receive answers as well as providing on campus opportunities for Christian fellowship.
The name Chi Alpha comes from the Greek initials for Christ’s ambassadors. The ministry is sponsored by the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal group which provides resources and connectivity to a larger worldwide movement while allowing individual groups to focus on the local community.
The group spends most of their time together in prayer and conversation, but they also play games and provide snacks at the meetings during their discussions.
“It is nice to find a group of people who share my faith and are like-minded,” BC student Naomi Harden said. She enjoyed the various themes that are discussed at the meetings, and seeing what other people think.
Kellie Rickers, leader of the women’s meeting and founder of the Bellevue College chapter of Chi Alpha, is pleased to be part of the club.
“I like how we are able to be here to answer those hard questions that sometimes people feel too scared to ask for fear of judgment,” Rickers said.
Ben Bothwell, leader of the men’s group and also a founder of the Bellevue College chapter of Chi Alpha, said “Jesus Christ is one of the best things that has happened to me and I want to be able to share that with other students who haven’t had the chance to experience him.”
Bothwell also explained how they are currently working on developing leadership amongst their current members.
“Without sustainable leaders, there is no growth,” Bothwell said.
In the future Chi Alpha would like to fill Carlson Theater with students for biblical lectures and worship services with music.
Group meetings take place in C103 on Mondays at 12:30. There are also separate meetings for men and women on Wednesdays. The women’s meeting takes place at 10:30 and the men’s at 2:30. More information on Chi Alpha can be found at their Facebook page and the Chi Alpha website.