Redemption in Greek Life

| 2016-06-29 00:00:00 -0400

A story of life change as a campus missionary reaches out to young women in sororities on The Ohio State University Campus.

I was in a sorority in college. I remember the days of matching monogram quarter-zips, solo-cup scattered parties, and high-pitched chants featuring questionable language. I experienced the rituals of sorority life before I encountered Jesus, but once I did, He opened my blind eyes to the pain, darkness, and need in Greek Life.

I graduated from The Ohio State University with an ache in my heart and a voice that whispered, “Whitney, I love these women. I love these women who want nothing to do with Me. I love these women who are numbing their pain with shots and boys, money and social status. I love these women. Whitney, I need you to love them too.”

Over 7,000 students participate in fraternities and sororities, yet only a handful are involved in some kind of campus ministry.

It’s been four years since h2o church came alongside me in my heart for sorority women. Over the past four years, we’ve learned more about Greek Life lingo and unspeakable pain than we could’ve dreamed. Somewhere between walking by and praying over each sorority and fraternity house and consuming copious amounts of Starbucks, I met Meghan.

Meghan grew up in the church, enjoying youth group and mission trips, but found herself tangled in the stereotypical sorority party scene soon after coming to Ohio State. When Meghan started her sophomore year as a 4.0 nursing student, the parties got more intense, and her craving for acceptance controlled her life. One night at a fraternity event, Meghan was sexually assaulted. Her friends carried her home, where her battle with self-harm and depression began. This precious girl felt lost, like the God she prayed to just a few years earlier was absent. She blamed herself and believed she was only as valuable as the parties she attended and the boys she dated.

During the summer before her senior year when most students party hardest, Meghan reached out to Emily and Alexa, two of her sorority sisters who were involved in h2o’s Greek team. As the school year began, Meghan found herself in church again, surrounded by students who were genuinely desperate for Jesus. Jesus redeemed Meghan. She cried out to Him and surrendered her broken, tattered life at His merciful feet. Meghan was baptized in October 2015, and Jesus continues to transform her heart into one that seeks Him. Although she’s struggled with leaving her old life behind, there is a DRAMATIC change in this blond-haired, blue-eyed girl. She served with h2o in Haiti and graduated in May 2016. She’s excited to continue investing in h2o church while simultaneously working as a nurse.

I am so proud of Meghan. She is a beautiful picture of how Jesus is present, even on a sticky fraternity house floor. Greek Life is a relatively unreached area of our campus. Over 7,000 students participate in fraternities and sororities, yet only a handful are involved in some kind of campus ministry.

I truly believe that Jesus loves these men and women and desires to rescue them from a life enslaved by parties and social standards. That’s why h2o’s Greek Team exists, to give hope and remind students like Meghan that they are loved and valuable and that Jesus desires to heal their pain, no matter how long they’ve forgotten Him.