Student-Led Dormitory Chapel Creates Community

Students experienced the first-ever Towers Chapel, organized and led exclusively by students in Resident Life, on Oct. 24. 

According to Resident Assistant (RA) Mateo Trejo, although it was initially planned as a one-time event, the positive feedback has Residence Life considering making this a recurring chapel opportunity. 

Trejo also said that Towers Chapel is something that has been planned since 2018. After Huntington Resident Director Victor Akioyame approved of the event, the RAs worked to make Towers Chapel a success. 

“In a staff meeting, the Huntington RAs and I were trying to brainstorm ways to help our residents get involved and grow as a community. We have so many guys and gals who are musically talented, anointed to speak, and gifted,” Trejo said.

Organized by the RAs of Huntington and Laguna Halls—better known as “Towers”— was initially held as an opportunity for the on-campus residents to come together as a community in fellowship; however, every student is welcomed and encouraged to attend, according to Trejo. 

“Towers Chapel is a place where we can come together as a body of Christ to worship God. Not only was this was a way to reach out to the students in our buildings, but we were able to grow and worship with other students as well,” Trejo said.

According to sophomore Evan Engler, there was an added level of trust and comfort to Towers Chapel since students are already familiar with their RAs. 

“Towers chapel was an awesome opportunity for residents to grow in a deeper relationship with their RAs. Residents feel more comfortable with their RAs than other leaders on campus such as SFD, so when it came to asking for prayer, there was less hesitation because they have that trust already built,” Engler said.

This service featured worship, a message spoken by Trejo, spoken word by sophomore Lauryn Longoria, and an altar call. 

According to Longoria, she hopes her spoken word complimented the night and spoke to students.

“I was getting the opportunity to share a spoken word that was more like a personal testimony… I also wanted to paint the picture that I am not alone in writing a spoken word, but it is God who gives me the words to speak,” Longoria said. 

Similarly to Longoria, Trejo put thought into his spiritual preparation for the night.

“I put a lot of prayer and thought behind my message. My goal was to encourage, challenge, and remind everyone of God’s love. The scripture I chose, Romans 8: 31-39, strengthens the idea that nothing in this world can disqualify the love of God. I want to remind my peers that we should never view God’s love as a convenience,” Trejo said.

According to Trejo, RAs are taking this positive feedback into account. 

“After hearing how students were impacted, we definitely hope to hold Towers Chapel once or twice per semester,” Trejo said.