SCU Spiritual Life Program

Spiritual Life Program

The Office of Spiritual Life is pleased to introduce our new spiritual life program called Koinonia.  Koinonia is a Greek word that means Christian Fellowship. SCU Professor, Ken Young, described Koinonia as “fellowship in every sense, not only shaking hands and greeting one another but investing into one another.” Spiritual Formation is an investment and that investment is in your relationship with God, other believers, and also in yourself.

This program gives each student the opportunity to set up and develop their spiritual formation. Students are given more options to worship, pray, engage in small groups, and grow spiritually than in the past. Chapel will be one of many options for students as they earn the required spiritual life credits each semester.

 

Spiritual Life Credit Requirements:

  • Full time students are required to obtain 25 spiritual life credits per semester.
  • Part-time students enrolled in 8-11 credit hours are required to obtain 13 spiritual life credits per semester.
  • Part-time students enrolled in less than 8 credit hours are required to obtain 8 spiritual life credits per semester.

 

Chapel

Southwestern Christian University Chapel services are a time for the university to come together intentionally to challenge, to reflect, to engage, and to worship the living God. Chapel is offered twice each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Chapel services start at 10:45 am and end at 11:45 am.

 

*All traditional students must enroll in Chapel during registration and all students must attend.

 

There will be 28 chapel opportunities for students during the semester.

 

Spiritual Life Events

SCU will provide other spiritual life opportunities on campus through chaplains, coaches, and other students. 

  • Bible Studies
  • Worship Services
  • Prayer Events
  • Spiritual Life Forums

 

The goal of the Spiritual Life Program is to offer a minimum of 6 opportunities per week for students to engage in spiritual life formation. These opportunities will be provided by the Office of Student Services and the Spiritual Life Chaplains; however, many more could be added by faculty, staff, or students throughout the academic year.

 

Spiritual Life Options

  • SCU Chapel – 28 opportunities each semester
  • SCU Worship Events
  • SCU SGA Identified Services
  • SCU Spiritual Life Forums
  • SCU Bible Studies
  • Other SCU Approved Spiritual Life Events

 

Requirements for Spiritual Life Options

All Spiritual Life Options must be approved by the Office of Student Services and must meet the criteria for the event to be considered a Spiritual Life Credit. Once approved, the event will be added to the Spiritual Life Calendar.

  • Criteria:
        • A minimum of 4 people must attend
        • A minimum of 30 minutes per meeting
  • Events must be labeled:
        • Prayer, Worship, Discipleship, etc.
      • Public or Private
      • The subject matter of the Bible Study
  • Leader:
      • Group Leader (SCU student, faculty, or staff member)

 

Technology

All students will need to download the Digital ID by Presence app from the App Store.

  • Log in using your swcu.edu email address and password.
  • Students will use the Digital ID app to check in for spiritual life events. Students will use their Digital ID to sign into chapel on Tuesdays and Thursdays and will use their physical ID to sign out of chapel at the end of services on the south-west wall ID scanner.
  • Students can use the Presence website address to check their attendance (swcu.presence.io).

 

Chapel Attendance Guidelines

These procedures apply to Chapel, Spiritual Emphasis Services, and other Spiritual Life events.

 

  • Southwestern Christian University students are encouraged to attend their assigned Chapel service
  • Students who leave before the service ends will not receive credit for that chapel service
  • Students must use their Digital ID to scan in to receive spiritual life credit. They must use their physical ID to scan out at the end of chapel.
  • Chapel attendance will be added to your Presence Profile and will count toward your 24 Spiritual Life Credits
  • Courtesy and respect to fellow students and speakers is expected.
  • Student Handbook Violations (SHV) will be given to students who are disruptive, distracted, or distracting to others during chapel services. This includes engaging in things such as headphone use, excessive phone use, excessive talking, etc.
  • Only 1 Spiritual Life Credit is awarded per chapel service attended.

 

Full-time Student Requirements (12+ hours)

Students enrolled in 12+ hours must earn 25 Spiritual Life Credits in a semester

 

 

Part-time Student Requirements (<12 hours)

Requirements for part-time students depend on the number of hours in which a student is enrolled.

  • Students enrolled in 8-11 hours must earn 13 Spiritual Life Credits
  • Students enrolled in less than 8 hours must earn 8 Spiritual Life Credits per semester.

 

 

Spiritual Life Exemption
The Chapel Exemption form is available using this form.
Exemptions will be available for students who have work related or family related issues.
Exemption forms must be filled out by the student and turned into the Office of Student Services within the first 3 weeks of the each semester.
Exemptions from all Spiritual Life Credits will be rare. The exemption will be a reduction of Spiritual Life Credits from 25 to a more manageable number depending on the student and situation.