One28 is recognized by many students as a Christian organization at Southern Methodist University, but members of the group feel that it is much more than just a student-led ministry.
According to their website, One28 is a “weekly meeting for worship and teaching for Dallas college students,” but these services do not reveal all the true colors of One28.
In addition to holding weekly meetings for worship, One28 members break into small groups made up of students and staff members to discuss anything from interpreting the Bible to getting to know one another on a more personal level.
Both members and non-members are encouraged to attend One28 events. This year, One28 has already taken a road trip to the Texas Tech football game in Lubbock and have has hosted a Boulevard tent during the home game last weekend.
One28 adopted its name from the [Colossians 1:28] which states, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”
“It is a place I feel welcome, loved, encouraged and appreciated, regardless of how I am feeling or what is going on in my life,” said Haley Gatewood, junior creative advertising major.
“It is also a community of people who will challenge me to grow in my faith and keep me accountable for my actions,” she said.
Other members also expressed their satisfaction with One28. “I absolutely love being a part of One28,” senior accounting major, Collin Aufhammer said. “I get to see God move on the SMU campus.”
Although connecting with one’s faith is a main priority of One28, another is giving back to the community.
Members and non-members gathered on Sept. 11 for a service project in west Dallas. The group partnered with 2ndSaturday, a community-based organization, to tear down drug houses and rebuild new ones.
“Partnering with an organization that has embraced the community and is dedicated to improving it one family at a time allowed the students involved with this project to truly support a community in need,” Aufhammer said.
“I was moved by seeing the visible results of helping with the remodeling of a dilapidated home in a community so often pushed to the wayside by city officials and city inhabitants alike,” he said.
Gatewood found the trip to be particularly moving as well.
“I found it very powerful to be building something up on a day that something fell down,” Gatewood said.
Gatewood also said that everyone present was doing something that would “give hope to others on a day that we all felt so hopeless.”
Philip Hughes, junior psychology major, agreed with Gatewood and Aufhammer.
“It was really moving to see how much the people of that neighborhood cared about their home,” he said. “I was really amazed to see how they never gave up on where they lived.”
The next big event One28 will be hosting is its fall retreat Oct. 1-3 in Tyler, Texas.
“One28 is the part of my week that I look forward to the most,” Gatewood said. “It is a support group that sticks to its guiding principle and namesake.”
If you would like to know more about One28, visit smu128.com or go to one of their weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Theater.
