Among student organizations focused on professions, majors or skills, some organizations bring students together through religion. Students within these organizations find that their faith helps them cope with life’s stresses.

“Our students find real answers to difficult situations at Everdeeper,” said President of Everdeeper College Ministry Joy Asoodeh. “Our messages bring hope, healing and help to those who come. There have been students who have been through some really difficult situations and have found restoration and peace through this ministry. We are a close-knit group, and building relationships are very important to us.”

Trenton Coyle, one of the founders of the Southeastern Christian Association, struggles with chronic depression. Although he does not believe that having faith in God causes all worries to vanish, he feels that it helps him manage his everyday stress.

“If I’m not careful, I’ll be on the edge of a mental breakdown until I remember God’s in control, and I give the problem to Him,” said Coyle. “Being a Christian certainly does not make all your problems go away, but it does make you able to face them. The concept is simple. You literally just hand the worry over to God. The practice is quite difficult. It’s unnatural for us to put our trust on anything besides ourselves.”

Asoodeh explained how her organization tries to reach out to students on campus.

“Throughout the years, Everdeeper has also put on smaller events where we would set up a table outside of the union and pass out hot soup or grilled cheese sandwiches to students during midterm and finals week,” said Asoodeh. “Through events like these, we were able to connect with students on a more personal level, show them the love of Christ, and invite them to attend our college group.”

Coyle discussed how his religion influences his approach to life.

“While our relationship with Christ should shape our actions, they shouldn’t be our focus,” said Coyle. “In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul lays out the argument against this. He states that our goal is to focus more on God, to bring our hearts to Him, and submit them to His authority. The end result is we begin to see our attitude change, and our actions become more like God wants them to be.”

The university has numerous religious organizations for multiple faiths to provide students with a spiritual outlet. A list of these organizations can be found at https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/stu_orgs/student_orgs/index.html#religious.