From Delight to Abide: women’s Bible study at NGU
Abigail Dickerson, Staff Writer and Photographer
Student-lead Bible study is welcoming big changes this semester after becoming independent of a larger ministry organization.
North Greenville University’s student-lead Bible study, previously called Delight, changed its name to Abide in the spring of 2022. This change was brought about because the study no longer runs under the umbrella of Delight Ministries.
For the past two semesters, a group of students lead a women’s Bible study on Monday nights called Delight which runs under Delight Ministries. Delight Ministries is a Christian organization focused on ministry and outreach for women in college.
Delight studies work by equipping students on 205 campuses around the country to start a group at their school, which is then overseen by Delight leadership in that area.
The students leading Delight at NGU decided to transition to an internally run study on campus rather than one provided by a larger organization. This way, the study can be run in collaboration with the women’s ministry team on campus.
“We found that it would be more beneficial to become directly involved with the women’s ministry team on campus,” said junior Ramey Jenkins, so the leaders took it upon themselves to make changes. The group stepped away from partnering with Delight Ministries and set out to create their own study.
Due to the fact that the study is no longer being run under an outside organization, the team only had a few weeks to find a new name as well as a new study book.
The student leaders for the spring 2022 semester are junior Emily Snodgrass, senior Maddie Taylor, junior Jordan Pracht, sophomore Gabbi Mina, senior Emily Williams and junior Ramey Jenkins. They landed on the name Abide, which came from the verse John 15:4: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
The women’s ministry team consists of several women who are here to serve the female students at NGU and are working alongside the students in this new Bible study. The Director of Women’s Ministries is Ruth McWhite, who is overseeing this change alongside graduate assistant Hannah Staubs.
Staubs will be helping the leaders of Abide by overseeing the study and through prayerful encouragement for the students. On occasion, she visits one of the studies to speak and build relationships with the students.
After several brainstorming sessions over Christmas break, the team settled upon an in-depth study of the book of Jude.
The study book Jude is written by author and speaker Jackie Hill Perry and was approved by the team due to its accurate theology and agreement with the school’s beliefs.
Each week the students study a selection of verses and then the leaders break out into groups where they discussed the content of the book. The time also consists of games, worship and fellowship.
Freshman Sarah Ann Morgan has attended both Delight and Abide shared what she thought about the change. She said, “I like the direction it is going, the book is more work, but I would recommend it to others who want to learn.”
Rather than following an agenda set by a large company, the leaders now have the freedom to come alongside the women’s ministry in more ways than just Bible study.
The leaders collaborated with the ministry team to host a Valentine’s Day party for the female students on campus. They will also be collaborating on more events to come.
Young women on campus are encouraged to join the study on Monday nights at 8:30 p.m. in Hayes Ministry Center.
