Bethel Campus Ministries

“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” In Ephesians 6:10–17, Paul reminds us that the challenges we face in college—temptation, anxiety, comparison, doubt, and discouragement—are part of a deeper spiritual battle. This message walks through the armor of God, calling students to stand firm by fastening the belt of truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, taking up the shield of...

In a culture full of mixed messages about love, power, and relationships, what does it actually look like to follow Jesus with our relationships? Ephesians 5:21–32 challenges students to rethink dating, marriage, and community through the lens of mutual submission and self-giving love. This message explores how Christ’s sacrificial love reshapes the way we treat one another and why the Gospel call...

Nick and Jo answer questions you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

What if your life was put on the scale next to the gospel—would it measure up? This message begins with the disappointment of meeting a Christian hero whose life didn’t match his words, then turns to Paul’s challenge in Ephesians 4 to “live a life worthy of your calling.” Using the image of an ancient scale, students are invited to honestly examine where their faith and their everyday lives don’t...

Nick and Sara answer questions you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

When life feels overwhelming and faith feels thin, where do you find real strength? In Ephesians 3:14–21, Paul prays that we would be strengthened from the inside out—not by better circumstances, but by the power of God’s Spirit. This message invites students to root their identity in Christ’s deep, unshakable love and to trust that God is able to do far more in our lives, on our campus, and throu...

Nick and Jo answer questions that you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

With a simple but striking illustration, this sermon invites us into the vision of Ephesians: a church no longer sounding like scattered, individual voices, but united in one beautiful voice because it knows the key. Drawing from Ephesians 1:1-14, Paul’s sweeping doxology, we’re reminded that the church’s mission is not built on agendas, power, or comfort—but on the faithful, unfolding story of th...

Nick and Jo answer questions that you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

What if you’re standing on something priceless—and treating it like a garage-sale item? This week's message walks through Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 and delivers a sobering question: Do we actually know what we have in Christ? Paul prays that believers would wake up to three realities—our hope, our blessing, and our power—but today the focus lands squarely on the last one. Through Scripture, sto...

The final message of this series challenges the Bethel community to consider what it truly means to be “all in” with Jesus by reflecting on Christ’s final words on the cross. Framed by President Ross Allen’s call to “double down on Jesus”—or rather, to “go all in”—this message centers on how Jesus’ life and death were marked by complete surrender to the Father. By exploring the deep biblical conne...

In this bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo examine John 19:30, “I am thirsty” and “It is finished”, exploring how Jesus fulfills our deepest needs. They also discuss His divine knowledge, growth in wisdom, and questions about women among His disciples.

This message invites our community to linger on the profound truth that Jesus is both fully human and fully God, seen vividly in his words from the cross: “I am thirsty” and “It is finished”. In a deeply human moment, Jesus reveals that he truly entered our physical and emotional reality. His humanity assures us that God understands our suffering, that it is not sinful to admit our need, and that...

What does it mean that Jesus is fully human and fully God? This podcast episode will start with some fun explorations of this question such as “Did Jesus make his bed?” but will turn to some more higher stakes questions such as “Does Jesus really understand my anxiety?”  Ultimately this discussion will point our community to the gift of Jesus’ humanity and the gift of His divinity and perhaps pain...

In the Week 6 Bonus Episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo explore Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” They discuss Jesus as fully God and fully man, whether the Father abandoned Him, and how to respond when we feel forsaken—or when those feelings return later.

This week we re-join our Lent series by focusing on the fourth word from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, giving voice to the deep anguish and spiritual disorientation that many experience in seasons of suffering. Rather than minimizing doubt or pain, the message affirms that feeling abandoned by God is a profoundly human experience—one that even Jesus entered into fully. Th...

This week on Chapel Live! Jo and Steph discuss the moments in their lives when God felt distant or even gone. After sharing some real and honest stories the dynamic duo will invite students to engage with what to do when God feels far? How do we wrestle with a lack of faith and how long do we have to wait for God to show up? Ultimately what can we learn from the fact that Jesus lament’s from the c...

A Christmas message in March! Guest Pastor Dan Johnson, Bethel graduate and The Connection Pastor at Plymouth Covenant Church, will bring an inspiring message about how interruptions in life can lead to missional living. Using the Luke 1-2 narrative where God interrupts the life of Mary and Joseph with the arrival of Jesus, Dan will share how Jesus is willing to interrupt your life as well, to dra...

As we celebrate this year’s Karlson Scholar, Karen Swallow Prior will draw on insights from her latest book You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful to remind us that our work and daily lives are not separate from God’s purpose for us, but integral to it. Rather than equating calling with passion or prestige, she encourages us to see vocation theologically—as a ca...

In this week's bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo kick things off with how Jo celebrated her birthday before turning to a remarkable moment at the cross — the honor Jesus bestows on Mary and John. What does it look like to hear your calling clearly, and what can we learn from two people who loved Jesus becoming family in an instant? Plus, how do we imitate Christ's care for others even in o...

Message three reflects on the third word from the cross, where Jesus, even in the depths of His suffering, pauses to care for His mother by entrusting her to the beloved disciple. In a moment marked by unimaginable pain, Jesus models a love that looks beyond self and toward the needs of others, reminding us that compassion is not cancelled by hardship. The message invites the community to see this...

“Love until it hurts and then love some more.” (Mother Theresa) Do you believe that? Is it biblical? As followers of Jesus how much pain are we called to endure while we serve? Is there ever a time where too much is too much? When doesn’t serving others become abusive to our own health and well-being? How do we balance serving others with a worldview that promotes healthy self-care? If any of thes...

In this week's bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo sit down with Professor Dr. John Dunne to explore one of theology's most profound questions: paradise. What does the Bible actually say about Heaven and Hell? What's yet to come on Judgement Day? And should our motivation as Christians be driven by excitement for Heaven, or fear of Hell?

Message two turns from Jesus words and explores the radical faith of the criminal on the cross and challenges us to ask: Do we have the faith of a criminal? Often misunderstood as a last-minute, deathbed decision, his faith was deeply relational, born from proximity to Jesus, watching His grace, humility, and peace even amid suffering and mockery. The criminal understood his own sin, acknowledged...

Our world has strong and often conflicting narratives about heaven and hell, and as followers of Jesus, we are called to understand and clearly communicate what we believe—especially because these questions matter deeply to those around us. Heaven and hell are not only future, eternal realities, but present ones that shape how we live, love, and witness today. In this Chapel Live, Jo and Nick will...