Flourishing Faith, the new Bible study group on campus, combines mental health promotion, scripture reading and embracing the God’s love.
Emma Collins, a sophomore BFA acting major and the president of Flourishing Faith, started the club last August after feeling a call from God to begin a Bible study on campus.
“I had a calling before school started to start a Bible study from God,” Collins said. “At first, I didn’t really know much about what I was going to do… and so I prayed a lot about it, and God kept telling me ‘mental health.’”
Collins said that Flourishing Faith is a unique Bible study because it not only includes scripture reading but also heavily emphasizes the importance of good mental health.
“The important thing about Flourishing Faith is that it not only focuses on the Bible but also focuses on the mental health in the Bible, and just in general,” Collins said. “Let’s say we read a chapter or a verse; we talk about how that can help our mental health. Usually, we focus on something each week, like… anxiety, depression and how the Bible and our relationship with God can help our mental health.”
Collins also said that learning about how God loves ultimately helps with the way you view yourself.
“When you focus on mental health in God and with your relationship with God, you get closer with him,” Collins said. “I think that that’s something a lot of people should realize more, is that you need to love yourself as much as God loves you.”
Anthony Clark, a first-year hospitality management major and the vice president of Flourishing Faith, said that, once he started going to the Bible study, he loved it and has continued to go ever since.
“There was something about Flourishing Faith that really caught my attention. I don’t know how to describe it, but it was literally God leading me there,” Clark said. “God wanted me to be there…to strengthen my relationship with him.”
Clark described what Flourishing Faith means to him, and that his goal for the group is for more people to come to know God.
“For a while, I was really confused about why I ended up going to BW of all places,” Clark said. “My goal for Flourishing Faith is to get as much people to come as possible, and to learn not only about mental health but also God, and to get some more people on this campus to recognize God.”
Both Collins and Clark said that Flourishing Faith is open to all students and encourage everyone to check it out, including those who are not Christian and might want to learn more about it.
“Before I was actually a devoted Christian, before I had God in my life, I definitely struggled a lot,” Collins said. “I believe Flourishing Faith brings this positive, welcoming environment.”
“Even if you don’t have much of a relationship with God, it’s still a good place to hang out and talk about good things and good topics,” Clark said.
Additionally, Collins said that Flourishing Faith is a great group for those who are Christians to help them go even deeper in their faith.
The typical Bible study starts with everyone talking about how they are doing, and Collins said she wants to make sure everyone is comfortable with each other, especially the new members. Then, the group goes over the mental health theme for the week, which is announced, and then go through Bible verses and discuss how scripture can help and relate to the mental health topic.
Collins said that right now, she’s working on getting the group recognized as an official club and hopes to eventually host “The Chosen” TV show watch parties.
“It’s just a really positive, good group to join because it just reminds you of all the love and hope,” Collins said.
Flourishing Faith meets Thursdays from 5-6 p.m. in the Lindsay-Crossman Chapel and will soon be hosting worship nights in the Chapel on Sunday nights.
