by Allison Craft, Student Public Relations Writer
Life after college graduation can be daunting for recent graduates. Where to work and live and how to build community are common unknowns.
To help manage these uncertainties, Dr. Jeremy Kimble, director of The Synergy Initiative and professor of theology at Cedarville University, has developed The Synergy Initiative, a program dedicated to helping Cedarville students, of any major, do their part in church planting and ministry while determining their paths after the whirlwind of graduation has faded.
This fall, the Synergy Initiative partnered with Synergy Connect, a student organization at Cedarville University. The organization connects students who have a heart for ministry and are planning relocation to the same city after finishing their degree. These groups allow students to meet, pray, network and learn more about the city they hope to serve.
Synergy Connect also works with Global Outreach(GO), a division of Christian ministries at Cedarville responsible for coordinating short-term missions trips. GO offers international and domestic trips to cities like Boston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. These trips to U.S. cities prioritize students who are considering church planting in the area and are open to those who are still seeking where God would have them go.
Through the Synergy Initiative, students can discover opportunities to serve the church while they begin their career.
“We’ll do Synergy Initiative events throughout the year just to encourage students to evangelize, to disciple, to be equipped in various ways. The Synergy Connect groups come behind that and say, ‘hey if you are interested in applying that skill or that idea in a certain context, we have these groups, come and join us,’” said Kimble.
For students who are interested in going to one of the cities offered, involvement is as easy as joining a group and attending events. But for those who are unsure of where they will end up after graduation, Synergy Connect also offers a group to encourage students and to pray for cities that are not yet represented by a group or trip.
A piece of advice from Dr. Kimble to students who are unsure is to “get the mentality of, wherever I am going to go, I am going to work a job, I am going to, if God wills, raise a family and I am going to be in a church not to be a consumer, but to push to get new churches planted.”
Cedarville University, a Baptist institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio's largest private universities and is recognized by the Wall Street Journal as being among the nation’s top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.