Small groups have officially launched on the Indiana Wesleyan University campus as of January 28 with the new introduction of discipleship bands.
IWU’s discipleship banding groups have started on campus with the goal of deeper connection and bearing one another’s souls through their weekly meetings. In a band, there are 5
specific questions asked to promote honesty and humility among members.
As Rylie Beatty, the Chapel Secretary, points out, bands are different from small groups in that they are a more intentional sharing of one’s inner being, rather than a book or Bible study. The Spiritual Formation office hopes to have 20% of campus in a band, equaling around ninety to one hundred bands in total.
SFO decided to promote this specific kind of group after hearing about much of the loneliness from students on campus. Their desire is to see students experience the change that comes from a band as they confess their sins and see holiness and sanctification enter their lives.
Bands originally dated back to 1738 when John Wesley was first introduced to these gatherings by the Moravians. Even though this is the first official emphasis of discipleship bands on campus, many students have already attested to the power of these meetings.
Alice Lehr and Brayden Bostelman, both members of bands, answered the question, “What would you say to a student thinking about joining a band?” While they each answered this question in separate meetings, they both gave an identical answer.
“Do it,” Lehr and Bostelman said.
While jumping into a banding group can be quite intimidating at first, Bostelman said that “we need to have people we trust to share everything and not just be surface-level and fake with.”
When this level of honesty is reached, Lehr believes that these meetings bring a unique sense of freedom and community to our shame-stricken lives. The discomfort that students can feel sharing the darkest parts of themselves does not compare to the joy and transformation that is gained along this journey with others.
