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Denisha Fuller
EthnographyPolished Version
UWRT 1101: Writing & Inquiry in Academics Contexts I
Dr. Arnold

What do you think of when you hear of a person being Christian? Do you think that they
are a good person? Or that they are living a satisfying lifestyle with God? Or do you
automatically think of a life filled with restrictions? A life that is completely boring, and
incapable of being fun? Well these thoughts are what comes to a lot of peoples minds when they
hear of a person being a Christian, especially when they dont fully understand what it means to
be a Christian. A lot of people believe that actually living a full Christian lifestyle is something
that has to wait until youre older, and are then really surprised when they hear that college
students voluntarily get together, multiple days in a week, to worship God.
My original beliefs
Growing up, I considered myself to be a Christian. Like a lot of people, my family would
go to church on Sunday, but then that would pretty much be the only Godly thing we would do.
We would only occasionally pray, and I was under the impression that the way a person could
enter into Heaven was by doing good deeds, and being a good person, and that included praying
and regularly attending church. I never really understood how a person could give up worldly
things in exchange for a lifetime with God, and be completely satisfied with that. I always had
this goal in the back of my mind that I would become a better Christian and start living for God,
but that would always be for when I would enter my adult life after college. I never thought that
I would want to serve the Lord during my college years, and that my main focus other than

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school, would be going out and going to parties. Well, that obviously didnt happen. God has
different plans for me that I now realize, and Im interested in learning more about Him and His
word.
College Christian beliefs
For my main research focus for this ethnography, I mostly observed the students apart of
the Campus Outreach organization here on campus at UNC Charlotte. And mainly their belief is
to share the gospel with everyone, and to get more people more interested in learning Gods
word, and to live a life with Him. I would also say that this is a shared belief among the other
Christian organizations on campus including Cru and InterVarsity. One verse that I hear a lot in
the Campus Outreach meetings is Romans 6:23, which states that For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This verse is teaching us that because
we sin by nature, we deserve death, but God is giving us this free gift of eternal life with Him if
we live a life for Him. This concept of the gospel, is actually the very first thing I learned about
when I entered the Campus Outreach community and decided to pursue a more Christian
lifestyle. One of the main things I hear from students who participate in Campus Outreach and
their events, is that this organization has changed their life. One student in particularWhitney
Newtoneven stated that she, learned practical ways to walk with the Lord. And that, CO
(Campus Outreach) has done a good job of teaching me the importance of these practices so that
I may grow in sanctification, but I am not doing these things to earn the Lords favor. Ive
learned to rest in His grace, that I cannot do anything to make Him love me more than He
already does, and theres nothing I can do that will make Him love me any less.

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Special Campus Outreach Events

The event that Whitney took part in that really helped her learn these practiceswhich
included: reading the Bible, prayer, and scripture memorywas the Summer Beach Project
(SBP) that Campus Outreach holds for two months at Myrtle Beach. She describes the Summer
Beach Project as an event where, 150 college students from CO at different schools (UNCG,
UNCC, Liberty, Elon, Davidson, Radford, Virginia Tech, etc) live in Myrtle Beach for eight
weeks as missionaries. They are given full time jobs in order to provide for their financial needs
as they live in a hotel called the Sea Mist. Between working and hanging out with friends, the
students attend various meetings throughout the week (about one every day, on average)
regarding bible study, prayer, evangelism, scripture memory, stewardship and other various
topics regarding walking with Christ as His disciple. Not only was this experience something
that changed Whitneys life, but various other members of Campus Outreach who I have met and
talked to about Summer Beach Project have shared almost the exact same feelings about it as she
has. Another event that a lot of Campus Outreach students say was life changing was the
Campus Outreach New Years Conference, which is held at the end of December into early
January. Campus Outreach member Ebone Rhodes described this event as, a time for college
students to further invest in their Christian faith. She then goes on to say that it is, a really
awesome time to get to know new people and enjoy getting to know other fellow believers, and
that the environment is tailored to that type of thing.
Importance of being a College Christian
When I interviewed Ebone Rhodes I asked her, why is it important for college students to
begin living a Christian lifestyle? She replied by stating, It is important for college students to

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invest (believers) or think about becoming a Christian (nonbelievers) or investing in a Christian

lifestyle because this is a time where the resources to do so are readily available and right on the
campus. More importantly, it is important because Jesus is worth living for at any moment in
your life. If one is approached with the opportunity to become a Christian or invest in their
Christian faith, one should take the opportunity because Jesus is worth it. Also, the college
campus is full of other students, which gives us the opportunity to share our faith with others.
In addition to Ebones statement, I also asked Whitney Newton a similar question. I asked her if
someone had come to her and asked her why they should increase their faith through Campus
Outreach, what would she tell them and why? In response she said, First, I would clarify to
anyone looking for a Christian ministry that as long as the ministry is living out the Gospel, it
doesnt matter where you go. I would encourage someone to find a ministry where they can
personally grow and participate in the Great Commission, whether that be CO, CRU or M28. All
ministries have their faults, so we cannot aim to find a perfect one, but we can aim to find a place
where people will pour into us and where we can pour out to others. CO, CRU, and M28 are all
different, but we are still part of a larger body, called the church. And together, we are reaching
the lost people on this campus, although we have different strategies and ways for doing that.
Either way, the Great Commission is being fulfilled. However, regarding Campus Outreach
specifically, I would share with someone how I have personally grown in my personal walk with
the Lord. Community is so essential for growth because you can be vulnerable about your sin
and you can find strength, encouragement and accountability from those that are around you. I
have personally felt that the people of Campus Outreach love the Lord and want others to love
the Lord and grow in a walk with Him. So, anyone wanting and desiring to grow in faith in the
Lord will definitely benefit from the community that Campus Outreach has. Jesus didnt call us

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to do this life alone, after all, He was in a community Himself with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, and Campus Outreach has enabled me to walk alongside others as we stumble after the
Lord together.
My Newly Found Beliefs
After interacting with the Campus Outreach members, and participating in different
events that theyve held, I have really found myself finding a group that I feel like I really belong
to. Like I stated earlier, before I came to college, I had this idea that I would be going to parties
and clubbing like every weekend, but it seems I have yet to go to a club and actually I really
dont have a desire to do that anymore. Ive found myself going to the Campus Outreach
meetings every Tuesday night at 8 oclock p.m. Ive found myself participating in and being a
member of this small Bible study group with four other members of Campus Outreach. Ive
found myself going to church with them on early Sunday mornings, and socializing with them at
the Campus Outreach sponsored events such asbonfires, going on a trip to a corn maze, having
fajita nights at a friends house and even Halloween and Thanksgiving parties. And now in a few
weeks I see myself going with them to Washington D.C. for a week to participate in the Campus
Outreach New Years Conference, or CONYC for short. Overall, I feel like I have found my
group that I can make a huge part of my life, in which I really see myself doing big things with
this group for the next few years to come.
Conclusion
At every Campus Outreach meeting, they do a Student Spotlight. Basically what that
is, is they have a student who has been really involved with Campus OutreachI would say at
least two or more yearswho is an upperclassman and they basically do a little interview of the

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student and by doing that, the audience gets to hear the students testimony and learn of how
Campus Outreach has made a difference in that persons life. The reason they do this is to let
people know that anyone can come to Christ. There are students whove done the spotlight who
have been raised in the church but never really lived a Christian lifestyle, and theres been
students who have never even known Christ come to it. I say all of this just to say that, the
people in Campus Outreach offer a very specific value to the college campus. They are students
who are trying to stay positive and live a healthy and driven and loving lifestyle in Christ. They
want others to know the happiness that God has blessed upon them, so that others can also be
blessed. They believe that the world will be a lot better place if people lived a more Christian
lifestyle and put all of their trust in God, and believe that He has a plan for everyone and a
purpose for everything that He does. Although it may be hard, they believe that people would be
a lot happier if they trusted in Gods word and trusted in His glory that He will deliver on His
promise on a lifetime with Him and His son Jesus Christ in Heaven. All in all, the value that the
Campus Outreach organization has to offer, speaks volumes. Theyre just one group out of the
different Christian organizations on campus, but from what I can tell you from my experience is
they are just a really welcoming group of people and love to spread and teach the word of God to
others.