As a graduation requirement, Milligan students must acquire 150 Spiritual Formation Program, or SFP, credits. These can be obtained by attending weekly chapel and convocation events as well as attending campus events where the credits are offered, but this semester credits have been sparse.
So far this semester, there have been only three SFP events for students and two were Linking Individuals to the Needs of the Community, or LINC, off-campus service projects. Concerning the low number of credits this fall, Campus Minister Brad Wallace said that it is not unusual for the fall semester to have a fewer number of SFP events.
“Many evening SFP events are driven by organizations like FCA, Apostolos, and IJM, and for the first several weeks, these groups are gathering leaders and formulating plans for the year,” he said.
Before an event is allowed to offer credit, it must be approved by Wallace. In previous semesters, events have included movies, panels and My2Words. One of the most popular SFP events, My2Words, allows three students to share their testimony by highlighting two words that show their journey to Christ.
As of yet, no My2Words have been announced, but Wallace is planning on continuing them throughout the year, starting in November. “My2Words should land in early November, after Homecoming Week and ResLife Week,” he said.
Wallace said there are other events in the works for this semester, “Additional SFP events in the works include FCA’s Fields of Faith prayer night and a LINC service project with Second Harvest Food Bank.” Dates are yet to be announced.
Megahan Rodgers, a senior graduating in December, says that the lack of SFP events had her struggling. “I found out at the end of last semester that I could graduate in December,” said Rodgers. “So I have been scrambling since then to make sure I fulfill all of my requirements.”
Rodgers said she was nervous that she would not be able to obtain all of her needed SFP credits because of the lack of events. “I definitely didn’t want SFP to become a major anxiety in my life, but it was for a few weeks.”
Along with all of this, she had much to do for her major. “I have to obtain 15 service hours for one of my classes, 113 Practicum hours in a classroom, and I have to keep up with hours for my theatre scholarship,” said Rodgers. “All of this plus I had a lot of SFP left to get made me a worried mess.”
She explained that she had a meeting with Brad Wallace about her remaining SFP and that he granted her a semester’s worth of the credits so she is now down to three remaining. “I am grateful to him for hearing me out and helping me,” she said.
Headline photo: Seeger Chapel at Milligan College. (credit to milligan.edu)