Welcome Week at Nashville Bible College: A Student’s Perspective
On Move In Day, several students enjoyed home fellowship as moms worked together to feed and host students.
Returning to Nashville Bible College
Coming back to school after the summer is equal parts exhilarating and soothing. I’ve come to appreciate the dichotomy of the school year, where summers apart give us time to explore, adventure, and come back with stories to share. The rest of the year though, that places us in close proximity, running through the standard day to day, is also something I’ve come to love. I feel a great sense of peace about getting to experience every day with the people I’m closest to.
Why Welcome Week Matters for our Student Community
On the seam dividing the summer and the return to school is welcome week, which I particularly looked forward to since a good number of my friends had been spread across the country and beyond. I think one of the greatest parts of Welcome Week for us students is that it carves out a time right at the beginning of our year to fellowship, mostly unfettered by the soon-to-be much busier schedules of school and work. It can be difficult to get everyone together in one place, it’s such a vital part of having a healthy group dynamic that can be easily overlooked.
The Pool Party evening was a great kick off to fellowship for our year.
Testimony Night, A Pool Party & Time to Reconnect
One of my favorite moments of welcome week was our testimony night. All of the students got to come together and have an open platform to share about how their summers had impacted them, the things they learned, the people they met and served, and how the Lord had grown them. It’s moments like these, that we get sparsely otherwise through the year, that define Welcome Week. I really value being able to come together and hear one another’s stories, especially before everything starts in full because it allows us to be on the same page with one another.
Another thing that we did during welcome week was a pool party for all the students and faculty. It was a really peaceful time to fellowship with one another, where we got to hang out without worrying about the responsibilities that come with the school year. I’ve been reflecting on that time we had because of how it settled us going into our weekend before classes. Having that moment to be present with one another and relax and talk about what we’re excited about, or what we think is changing, or a variety of other topics was such a needed moment for our student body.
Freshmen students enjoyed lunch with our executive chef from Stone Table catering, getting to know his story and opening up avenues for ideas and feedback throughout the year.
Building a Christian College Community Characterized by Love
On the other side of welcome week, a scripture that I’ve been lingering on has been 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. I strongly feel that this year at Nashville Bible College, we should be characterized by the love we have for one another, more than ever. We got to start off strong during welcome week, but it also re-emphasized the importance of how we love one another. It’s important to maintain an attitude of interest towards one another, to love each other by showing genuine care in what they’re doing, how they’ve been, not just over the summer, but in our everyday lives.
I think welcome week fosters this kind of environment so early by allowing us to have dedicated time to share time and company and show our love. It can be so easy in the midst of the year to let things slip through the cracks and forget to make intentional time for our friends, but when we let it have the front and center of our schedule at times, we remind ourselves of the benefit and the importance of it all. If for no other reason, welcome week excels at letting us love each other after a time apart. Creating space for the reconnection of people spread across some distance, we get to be near to each other.
This nearness is so important for people, we’re inherently relational after all, and God is a relational God whose platform is on the kind of network we have with the believers around us. I’m so glad to know that I go to a college that respects the value of these relationships and gives us time to strengthen them.
I’m hoping that as the year goes on, we can all make an effort to be characterized by love for one another. It’s been strongly impressed on my heart this year to see how our student body can be characterized by love. I’m hoping that it can be a driving force for our actions, our service, and our relationships. Overall, I’m looking forward to another year at Nashville Bible College, and I’m confident that this year can be one characterized by love.
