The Bob Jones University community raised $137,420.24 for Family Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the 2022 Bible Conference offering.
Jason Ormiston, the pastor of Family Baptist Church, said the funds will be put toward repairing the church’s roof and the heating and cooling system. “Taking care of these issues will help the church apply resources and time towards ministering to people who are hurting,” he said.
Students organized and participated in a wide variety of fundraisers throughout the past two weeks.
With 80 lbs. of paint, the Epsilon Zeta Chi Tornadoes led a 5k color run around campus on Feb. 12. Before the event, Jared Jenkins, president of the Epsilon Zeta Chi Tornadoes, said, “We’re hoping it’s a fun experience that can raise some money to help support Jason Ormiston and their church.”
At 9 a.m. that morning, 84 runners tossed paint in the air and took off, running 3.2 miles on campus covered in paint. The Tornados raised $1,200.
Running also featured prominently in another fundraiser—a giant game of tag. The Basilean Eagles led the campus-wide game, in which students were assigned a target to tag, while having someone who was trying to tag them at the same time.
In the spirit of what students call “drop-add week,” the Nu Delta Chi Vikings and Tau Delta Chi Kangas put on “Midnight in Paris,” a speed dating event.
The societies planned to create a fun atmosphere without the usual pressure of dating. “We want to provide an experience, including food, live music and meaningful conversation,” said Ed Arredondo, sergeant at arms for the Vikings. Around 300 students participated, bringing in around $1,400.
Teams made up of BJU faculty and staff faced each other on the court during the faculty basketball fundraiser on Feb. 17. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which hosted the event, raised over $4,000.
Many societies and residence halls put on fundraisers selling food as usual, including the well-known Johnson burgers, bacon-covered Beta hot dogs and Rams barbecue.
The Phi Kappa Pi Rams served 390 pounds of barbecue, according to Reagan Riddel, the Rams’ community service council representative.
“Barbecue has been a passion of mine for a couple of years now, and it seemed like a great fit for Bible Conference,” he said.
The Rams raised around $450 selling the barbecue outside the faculty basketball game and Feb. 18’s society all-star game.
Ormiston said he was encouraged by students’ fundraising efforts. “It’s been amazing to watch the student body respond so positively to this,” he said. “We are just overwhelmed and humbled by it.”
