At MNU our faith is lived out within our campus community. Weekly chapel services each Tuesday are the heart of our campus, with students, faculty and staff worshipping together. In addition, students can participate in a number of small group studies during each semester.
All undergrad students are required to participate in chapel and other spiritual life activities each semester to earn spiritual formation credits. Spiritual formation is an intentional part of our community—we strive to make MNU a place where students encounter God and grow in the Christian faith. Spiritual formation shapes us individually and as a campus as we grow closer to Jesus together.
MNU is a community of faith as well as a community of learning. Spiritual formation is a critical component of a student’s MNU experience—we strive to make MNU a place where students encounter God and grow in the Christian faith.
Our guiding principle is the truth affirmed by Wesleyan theology that our salvation is a dynamic process—we are both saved and being saved, holy and being made holy (Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:18).
Students not only attend spiritual formation events, they also assist in leading our spiritual formation on campus. Students help facilitate small groups, Going Ministries, and mission trips. Additionally, at each of our chapel services it is common for our students to assist with the worship in song, leading times of prayer and occasionally speaking in chapel.
All undergrad students are required to participate in chapel and other spiritual life activities each semester to earn spiritual formation credits. Spiritual formation is an intentional part of our community—we strive to make MNU a place where students encounter God and grow in the Christian faith. Spiritual formation shapes us individually and as a campus as we grow closer to Jesus together.
Spiritual life at MNU is not a spectator sport, but is something that we are shaped in as we participate together.
Dr. Brady Braatz, University Chaplain
Weekly chapel services are at the heart of spiritual life at MNU. These services allow us to be part of a true community and introduce us a variety of spiritual practices and disciplines. Above all, they offer a chance for regular reflection and deepening of one’s relationship to God. Students are required to attend a variety of chapel services and small group or service opportunities each semester.
Everyone has a story to tell and these chapel services will feature an interview with faculty from our campus. We’ll learn how God has worked in their lives, how they found themselves as a part of the MNU community, and where they sense God is leading them in the future.
The Christian faith has always been designed to be lived in and on behalf of the world that God loves so much. These services will feature some of our faculty sharing from their areas of expertise, and will challenge our community to consider how being a follower of Christ shapes the way we interact with our culture.
In the Christian faith, sometimes we need just to be reminded that there are others like us on the journey. During our Student Led Chapels, members of our community share from their lives, preach, and tell faith-filled stories of how God has been at work in their lives.
Athletic teams, residence hall groups, groups focused on particular majors, and groups that anyone can sign up for will be the communities that we will journey with for 6 weeks. Each small group will include praying together, discussion over the Christian faith, and a time of encouragement.
Small Group sign-ups will begin on Tuesday, October 5th at our Gathering Chapel service with our first week of small groups starting on Thursday, October 7th. As we get our groups set for the semester, check back and we’ll have a video describing each group, a description of each group and a link for you to sign-up for the group you’d like to be a part of this fall.
Interested in leading a small group? Contact Rev. Andy Cook and learn more about how to lead a group, the requirements for leading a group and when our fall small group leaders training event will take place.
Rev. Andy Cook: ascook@tjktp.net
The Christian community serves as the hands and feet of God in the world. For this reason, students can also participate in one of MNU’s designated weekly ministries to earn a portion of their SFC. Students are welcome to select a ministry that fits their interests & passions and receive one Spiritual Formation Credit each time that they attend a ministry.
Each semester there are between 45 to 50 spiritual formation credits available. Full-time students are required to have a total of 20 spiritual formation credits. Students need to acquire 10 of their spiritual formation credits in our Tuesday, Gathering Chapels and can acquire the rest of their credits in any of our spiritual life events. From time to time, however, academic requirements prohibit students from being able to attend enough spiritual formation events. The following is a list of circumstances that allow for a reduction in spiritual formation credits.
[Additional opportunities, such as spiritual life retreats and mission trips also allow students to earn spiritual formation credits.]
– Senior Year of Nursing School
All reductions are applied to students accounts within a two weeks of the first day of the semester. There is no need to contact the Spiritual Life Office to receive a reduction because all reductions are applied based on a student’s academic schedule. If a student does not fall in one of the categories for a reduction in their spiritual formation credits, no reduction is available.
From time to time students will arrive at the end of the semester having not completed their spiritual formation requirements. If you find yourself in in this circumstances, each student is eligible for a one-time reduction or elimination of their spiritual formation fine.
Here are the details:
The following are ways students fail to complete this program:
Students who enroll at MNU are not required to identify as a follower of Jesus. Our community is led by faculty, staff, administrations, and coaches who love God and whose lives have been transformed by Jesus Christ. Further, MNU is a university that is sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene. For these reasons, individuals attending MNU should know that we are a community of people working to become more like Christ and we’d love to invite you to join us in this process. That said, students who do not profess faith in Jesus are welcome amongst us! We look forward to living out our passion for Christ with those who are new to the Christian faith, unfamiliar with the story of God, or those who are skeptical of God.
Despite students not having to profess faith in Christ, we do require that student participate in the rhythms of our community. Our rhythms includes chapel services, small groups, student ministries, mission trips, and retreats. MNU is an institution of learning and faith. For these reasons, spiritual formation is a co-curricular part of your experience at this university. There are a variety of events on campus that are extra-curricular in nature, such as intramural sports, social life activities, and campus clubs. Spiritual formation is a part of the DNA of our campus community and is a part of what it means to attend MNU.
Traditional undergraduate students at MNU need to earn 16 Spiritual Formation Credits (SFC) each semester. This requirement can be fulfilled as student attend events and services put on by the Spiritual Life Office.
There are typically around 45 spiritual formation credits available in the course of a semester.
A calendar with the dates, times, locations and a brief description of the event is located on the spiritual life tab of the portal. To access this calendar, see the following link:http://mnuspirituallife.com/calendar-of-events/
Likewise, using your iAttended App, you can see a list of all the upcoming chapel services.
Students attending one of our spiritual life events or service by downloading the iAttended App on their smart phone or tablet. At each event/service or event students will be provided with a QR code to scan into the event/service and a QR code to scan out. Once this has been completed, their attendance at the event will be immediately be recorded with their iAttended App on their smart phone. In order to receive credit for attending a event/service a student must arrive within 5 minutes of the beginning of the event/service and stay for the duration of the event/service.
Reductions in spiritual formation requirements are not based on individual circumstances, but are based on a student’s academic requirements. Being of a different faith, living off campus, work schedules, or other extra-curricular involvement do not qualify a student for a reduction in their requirement. From time to time, academic requirements prohibit students from being able to attend enough of the Gathering Chapels. In this instance, students may qualify for a reduction in their spiritual formation credits for a semester. Students who have a reduction for academic reasons do not have to apply for this reduction. The reduction will be made in the 2nd week of the semester, based on the specific courses a student is enrolled in. To see details about reductions in spiritual formation credits, please see our requirements.
Students can check how many spiritual formation credits they have by accessing iAttended app on their smart phone or by going to www.iAttended.com
We encourage MNU students to join a local church, but participating in a church service doesn’t count toward meeting your spiritual formation requirements. Our spiritual formation rhythm is intended to gather our whole community together and is a unique aspect of what it means to attend MidAmerica.
Students who fail to earn all of their spiritual formation requirements will receive a fine. The first missed SFC is a $50 fine and $10 for each additional SFC they fail to complete. (For example, if an individual got 12 out of 16 SFC for the semester, they would receive an $80 fine.). Consecutive spiritual formation fines will result in a student receiving a progressively higher fine each semester. Spiritual formation fines are intended to hold students accountable to the commitment they made to be a part of the MNU community.
Yes, there is a one-time fine reduction/removal program that is available to students who are returning in the following semester.
Here is an overview of the fine reductions:
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