Beginning this weekend, some SMU students will start a 14-week journey covering the Bible from beginning to end.

Started by a group of students from the Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity, students will journey through a series of stories in hopes of encouraging students to start their own Bible study classes and become more active in joining religious organizations offered on campus.

“The goal of the study is to inspire people to read Scripture more closely on their own, then go out and spread the Word in the SMU community,” said Chris Dell, the founder of the organization Foundations of Faith. “We want to infect culture in a positive way, and an understanding of our faith is the first step toward accomplishing this goal. Students, no doubt, will learn so much from these teachers and will grow in their faith because of it.”

Foundations of Faith will meet each Sunday in Hughes-Trigg Atriums A and B at 3 p.m. Patrick Blocker from One28 ministry will lead the first meeting on Sept. 13, addressing the story of creation through Abraham.

“I love that this program is completely student-initiated and the effort behind it is to truly understand the story of the Bible,” Blocker said. “I hope students will come to understand that they do not have to deny their mind, their intelligence or their questions when they study the Bible.”

Foundations of Faith has a line-up that Dell believes includes “some of the most dynamic and influential church and youth leaders in Dallas.”

Other guest speakers include Andy Roberts from SMU’s Wesley Foundation, Rev. Ron W. Scates from Highland Park Presbyterian Church and Mike Reading from The Hill at SMU.

Throughout the fall semester there will be six other meetings, ranging in topics from Moses leading the Exodus to Jesus’ early ministry. The Foundations of Faith program will resume in the spring of 2010 at the same location.

Dell, a junior from Enid, Okla., also created a Web site to go with the program that encourages students to post responses from previous discussions that will lead to deeper reflection and obtain a true understanding of one’s faith and of the Scripture.

“The Bible has been burned, attacked, banned and predicted to be irrelevant in future generations, yet still it remains on bookshelves, in students’ backpacks, in libraries, in dorms, in classrooms,” Blocker said. “To understand its story is relevant to all.”

For more information, students can visit smufoundation.blogspot.com.