A Reflection on my First Year with RUF at Furman

Hello! My name is Kathleen Davis, and Iam in my second year with RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) here at Furman University. I am from Western NC, and I studied psychology and entrepreneurship at Western Carolina University!

The RUF internship is a 2-year job/apprenticeship where one is placed at a college campus, and called to walk alongside students as they walk with Jesus, under the guidance of a campus minister. As an intern, I meet with students during the week, go on lake walks, on coffee dates, and eat lots of lunches in the DH (also known as the dining hall)! I also am present for our weekly large group worship meetings, Freshmen Fellowship, small groups, big events and retreats! My main priority is caring for freshmen and “fringe,” so students either curious about Christianity, or on the outskirts of RUF. This has proven to be such a gift to me.

I was pursued, intentionally loved on, and taught who Christ is when I was in college by my RUF staff, and was deeply blessed by this that I felt the Lord calling me to this role. I love people, and knowing their story is important to me.

Much of my job is to be a “professional friend” and an encouragement to our students, but to my surprise, our students have encouraged me in such great ways! Furman students are driven, they are purposeful, resourceful, quite insightful, and they know how to get a job done. I have loved learning their stories this past year and seeing the ways in which God has gifted each of them so uniquely to love and serve His people. I am honored to be a recipient of this! An example of this can be seen through a weekly lunch that I had with a freshman girl last year. She is part of Furman’s musical theater program. We talked about how when she is on stage singing and acting, she brings enjoyment to others and glory to God by using her talents and gifts.

I have the privilege of getting paid to open the Bible with students—the greatest love story in history. I get to pray intentionally with them. I get to celebrate their high grades on exams and remind them that they will be okay after receiving a bad grade, eat a meal with a hurried student, grieve the loss of friendship with them, be silly with them, and ultimately point them to the Giver of salvation and ultimate hope.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer to this question states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” With this philosophy of life, I get to rejoice with students about the ways in which God is using them to bring Him glory and further His Kingdom. What a joy that my purpose here on earth is to glorify God and enjoy Him.

In this past year of ministry, the Lord has been so kind to teach me more about Himself. I have been a Christian for close to ten years now, and I was raised in a Christian home—attending church multiple times a week. And yet, there is still so much depth to who God is and how He loves us, that I will continue to learn for the rest of my years!

What I have learned about the Lord in this year of ministry comes from Psalm 136—a Psalm I got to explore with a freshman girl last fall who is new to Christianity! This Psalm is a hymn of praise, and it is 26 verses with the same refrain in each verse, “for his steadfast love endures forever.” The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. How quick am I to doubt this truth daily? The gift of this job is that I get to constantly sound this reminder in the ears of Furman students, further affirming its truth in my life.