PHILADELPHIA (BRN) — Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Drexel University is a campus like no other and is home to roughly 25,000 college students year-round.
“Drexel’s like no other school…basically our motto is ‘Drexel is different,’” states Campus Minister Brian Musser, who started his ministry at Drexel 15 years ago and, for the most part, has been the only evangelical Christian campus minister fully devoted to the university.
“A lot of what I do on campus is help groups establish student leaders,” said Musser. “A great story – a win for my ministry – at Drexel is not when I lead students to Christ, it is when other students and student organizations who are Christians lead students to Christ.”
One student who was encouraged by his peers at Drexel, as well as by Musser, to grow in his relationship with Christ was Jon Rice.
“My college search wasn’t the most robust thing. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do for school. My parents definitely had me push more towards the math and science fields because they’re more lucrative…and I happened to find Drexel in a college guide book,” said Rice.
Prior to coming to Drexel, Rice didn’t have much of a background in the Christian lifestyle. He believed in God, but still had many questions about Christ and faith.
“I didn’t really have a framework for that. My family didn’t go to church the entire time I grew up, even though we prayed before our meals. My understanding of God wasn’t really sound at all. He was God…He made sense…and He existed, but what does that have any bearing for me in my world?”
Rice continued: “I didn’t really understand what having a relationship with God meant, or what Jesus dying on the cross meant. I ultimately came to the point in my senior year of high school that I need to answer this question.”
During his first year at Drexel, Rice wanted to find a church, but with adjusting to the college life, rigorous classes, and a program he was not very fond of, seeking a church was no longer at the top of his to-do list.
That is, until his Resident Assistant – RA for all the college students out there – invited him to church.
“I was struck by how friendly everybody was, how inviting the pastor was – like he greeted everyone at the door – and it was the exact opposite kind of experience I expected from a church,” said Rice about his first time going to church.
He continued: “From films and other media, I got the sense that church is rather judgmental…that there’s an expectation you have to look a certain way and be a certain way, [but] none of those things that I had seen, or had been told, proved to be true…at least with this church.”
However, it wasn’t until Rice’s sophomore year at Drexel that he became heavily involved with a ministry group called Drexel Students for Christ and truly came to understand what it means to have a relationship with Christ.
“They [Drexel Students for Christ] were discussing hard topics in the faith – like ‘Why would a good God allow suffering? Is Jesus the only way? Can we really trust the Bible?’ – things like that. They would provide a home-cooked meal and offer a place of safe discussion where you can share your thoughts freely, and no one is going to judge you for them,” he said.
At one of these discussion nights, the students spoke about what Jesus dying on the cross really means. Through a video, the group explained how Jesus takes the penalty we deserve and suffers through it for our sake.
“I remember in that moment I was struck how that was love. That was the first thought that came to my mind. It wasn’t this romantic Hollywood thing, it wasn’t even necessarily a beautiful thing – it was actually quite violent – but that’s love…to sacrifice.”
Rice continued: “I wouldn’t have said I pieced together that’s exactly when I came to faith, but that’s when I understood that’s what Christ did for me. That’s when things started to become more clear to me of God’s love for us and my relationship with Him.”
Eventually, Rice came to know Musser through a mutual friend. The two would often meet up for “extended breakfasts,” in which they would discuss topics related to Christianity, culture, and biblical principles.
“For a lot of deep questions that I would have, Brian would be available to talk about and answer. It was very helpful that he was just someone who was available for me to talk to. He was a resource and a good friend to be able to do that,” said Rice.
Musser also commented on the conversations he and Rice would have, sharing that, with college students, sometimes it’s not the large events on campus that grab their attention.
“Sometimes it’s not the huge meetings, it’s not the presence that you get on campus…you can’t always point to these great things that you’ve been able to pull off…but it’s people. You point to lives changed.”
Musser continued: “It’s real easy when they start coming back and are willing to be in intentional conversations over a period of years that are leading to transformation…leading to life change. It doesn’t happen quickly, and it doesn’t happen linearly.”
Rice has since graduated from Drexel University, but keeps in contact with Musser and has continued to notice God at work in his life and his family.
“There came a point when he [Rice’s dad] had reached out to me and asked me to read the Bible with him, because he came to a point where he realized, like, ‘I don’t know what the Bible says.’ So, we started to do that.”
Rice continued: “My dad since then has really come to understand what the Bible means and really love when we get together for our Bible studies. That has since grown to include my aunt, my dad’s younger sister, and then my younger brother as well. I’ve seen God do that, and I guess it would be through me that He did that.”
Listen to the podcast interview:
The “50 Stories of Transformation” series, told in honor of the Baptist Resource Network’s 50th anniversary, highlights the many ways God has moved throughout Pennsylvania, South Jersey and beyond. Your generous support of the Cooperative Program makes this ministry possible and fuels evangelism and outreach in our local churches and all over the world! Thank you!
