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Church seeks community pastor

The Bridge, one of Oxford's newest churches, has focused on reaching out to the Miami community through evening events and church services.
The Bridge, one of Oxford's newest churches, has focused on reaching out to the Miami community through evening events and church services.

Sarah Foster

The Bridge, one of Oxford's newest churches, has focused on reaching out to the Miami community through evening events and church services.

The Bridge, Oxford's newest interdenominational church, has had a productive few months since its kickoff of services and events in late August, according to Chad Moore, The Bridge's main pastor.

Moore said he is excited about the turnout at the events and has seen a lot of growth so far.

"We have seen a great turnout at our events and are so pleased with how the semester has been going," Moore said.

Located on 210 Tallawanda Rd., Moore said that he has seen a mix of Miami University first-year students and upperclassmen at services and events, with the amount of the two groups being close to 50 percent at many services.

The Bridge's focus this semester has been mainly collegiate-based, with events including a coffeehouse evening and a late night pancake gathering. Starting next semester, there is more community outreach in the Oxford area planned.

To prepare for this, The Bridge is seeking a community pastor for next semester to head up focus on the community. The pastor will help with teaching and strategizing to reach the community the best way, according to Moore. Moore and Andrew Lynn are currently the two main pastors at The Bridge.

Community events for next semester will also include service projects around Oxford, and The Bridge is planning on partnering with Christian Student Fellowship, also known as Radius, to do a joint outreach on Western Campus.

Moore said he has seen a lot of students take leadership roles, such as being involved in the worship bands or leading a community group.

Community groups are weekly fellowship times for students that are held for both first-year and upperclassmen. There is a community group exclusively for first-years, and another for upperclassmen.

First-year Mark Wheeler is a leader of one of the first-year community groups. He said he got involved with The Bridge after one of the musical directors told him about the church.

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"The members are so welcoming here," Wheeler said. "It's so easy to get to know each other and open up."

First-year Nick Schoener agreed.

"I can always stop by (The Bridge house) whenever I want during the day and relax," Schoener said. "This has made it easier for me to get settled into Miami."

Wheeler said the community feel is more personal at The Bridge.

"It's a solid group, and it is nice to have a place to hang out so close to campus," he said.

Katie Culver, a full-time intern with Campus Crusade for Christ at Miami, said she has heard about The Bridge through some of the first-year females she has been discipling at Miami.

She said she thinks it is effective that The Bridge is centering its message toward the college population.

"I think the college-aged group is a prime group of people to angle their ministries and attention towards," Culver said. "College students are our future leaders in the world and they are also the ones who are seeking answers."

The Bridge has started planning their Christmas musical event, called "Christmas with The Bridge." The service, which will be completely student-led, will be held at 7 p.m., Dec. 2 at the Shriver Center. The music will come from the worship band as well as members from student musical groups including the Miami Glee Club and the Miami University Gospel Singers (MUGS).

This will be The Bridge's first major event to reach out to the community.

Of the past events held at The Bridge, successful turnouts were seen at both the coffeehouse night and the pancake night.

The pancake event ended in late September but coffee house nights are still running.

Moore said that at times he has seen anywhere from 100 to 800 students come through the house at the pancake event.

The coffee house event has been the more consistent outreach event of the two, according to Moore. This is held at 8 p.m. every Wednesday.

"It's something that someone can come to with no obligations or expectations," Moore said. "It's simply a time to hang out and enjoy fellowship with each other."

Church services are held at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays at Sesquicentennial Chapel and Shriver Center, respectively. Since the church has expanded, Moore said the 11 a.m. service was added shortly after the beginning of the semester so that it could better accommodate to students in the Greek community who often have chapter meetings Sunday evenings.

Moore said he is excited about the upcoming semester and the church becoming more involved with the community.

"The thing I love most about what I do is hands-down, being around people," he said. "I enjoy being able to see them daily and walking with them."