An evening of prayer, praise, and fellowship

A new academic year is underway and a number of religious campus organizations are gathering to pray for the staff and students that have just begun classes at the University of Toledo.

To do so the community will join together during Toledo Campus Prays which will take place Sep. 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the University Bible Fellowship on 2841 Dorr St.

The evening will be spent in worship and prayers solely focused on the administrators, professors and students at the University of Toledo.

Greg Lewis, a lay pastor with University Bible Fellowship and a math and statistics professor at UT, says this event has been something he has wanted to do for about three years.

“This is the first time this kind of thing has been done — at least that I am aware of,” Lewis said. “I was encouraged that this may be God’s time to bring such an event into being, especially after the ‘Toledo Prays’ event held last year for the city of Toledo.”

Aside from University Bible Fellowship, Lewis says there will be about 15 other campus ministries and organizations participating in the event, including Chi Alpha, Corpus Christi and the Catholic Student Association, as well as the Vineyard Church. Active Christians Today (ACT), a student campus ministry, will also be participating in the event.

Scott Weaver, campus pastor at ACT, said he was very excited about the possibilities when he first heard about Toledo Campus Prays.

“There are many student organizations who share the same faith but we rarely have the chance to join together for a higher purpose,” Weaver said.

Toledo Campus Prays will be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to unite these groups through a common purpose.

Jacob Wenhold, a third-year student majoring in operations management and supply chain management and member of ACT, said he is excited to be a part of this special event.

“I have personally experienced the power of prayer in my life and believe that God will do amazing things on this campus if we invite Him to do so,” Wenhold said.

Although this event will unite the Christian community, Lewis hopes Toledo Campus Prays will spread throughout UT’s entire campus.

“We have international students from 80 plus countries attending classes,” Lewis said. “As the Body of Christ pressing into campus souls and lives, we want to witness and testify to the kingdom building work God is doing.”

Lewis said he is not certain if the event will be put on annually but that he anticipates trying to hold such an event each year. He hopes this will be the start of more relational partnerships among campus organizations and even the Center for Religious Understanding.

“We are all on the same team,” said Lewis. “We want to share God’s vision, direction and resources to better reach the increasing spiritual and practical needs of college students here at UT.”