Ryan Elliff: Theology Question

1. Is Chi Alpha a church? Should a student be involved in a local church on Sunday mornings in addition to their involvement in Chi Alpha? Are your reasons more pragmatic or theological?

Yes, I think Chi Alpha is a church. According to Bird’s definition, the mark of the is oneness, holiness, catholic and apostolic. I believe that Chi Alpha embodies all of these “marks”. Although Chi Alpha qualifies as a church, I do believe a student should also be involved in a local church. While Chi Alpha meets all of the marks of a church, the one area where most Chi Alphas fall short of is in diversity. I don’t mean diversity in the sense of ethnicity, I mean diversity of age, life stage, spiritual maturity, life experiences. Chi Alpha groups consist mostly of young people ranging from 18-25 years old who, even if they have been Christians their entire life, still may not be very spiritually mature. Being a part of a local church in addition to Chi Alpha allows the student to be a part of a more diverse community of believers. This does two things for the student; it allows for them to be poured into by believers that are much more spiritually mature than any of their peers, and secondly it sets the student up for success once they graduate. I have seen far too many students who are very involved in Chi Alpha, but not in the local church, who fall away from the Lord after they graduate. This is especially true for a student that comes to know the Lord in Chi Alpha. They don’t know how to be a part of a church outside of Chi Alpha and may find it intimidating or scary to try to find a church after they graduate. The thought of going to a more “traditional” church service may not be appealing to a student that only knows a worship service filled with people with 5 years of themselves, singing all of their favorite songs and hearing a message that is directed specifically and college students. I believe that even though Chi Alpha functions as a church, it should not replace the role of the local church in a students life.

I agree with your ideology on students being involved in a local church. I do however think we should be careful not to limit the church as a set group of people. We, as the entire body of believers, are the church. Although we hardly ever recognize that, I think it's important to change our perception of what a church truly is. Can we have more than one church? I don't believe so. We are one church with one common goal, but we live as if we are celebrating different gods often times.