This summer, Waynesburg University students lived out the campuses motto, Faith, Learning and Service, by taking part in projects through the Coalition for Church Outreach (CCO). The CCO is an organization that serves students at 122 campuses, and partners with First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg, along with the university itself.

Senior psychology major Lauren Bailey first went on the Ocean City Beach Project, a two-month-long opportunity in Ocean City, New Jersey, the summer after her sophomore year. This past June she returned—this time as an intern. Bailey said that the project significantly impacted her.

“I really think that the way that I grew when I was a student at the [Ocean City] beach project, it would take me years to learn that much about God, about faith and about myself, if I wouldn’t have done it,” Bailey said. “It was such an impactful experience for me. It didn’t change so much what I’m doing, but it changed why I’m doing it or my thoughts behind it.”

Bailey’s involvement with CCO started at the beginning of her sophomore year when she was guided by Russ Schneider, resident director of Willison Hall and a CCO staff member. From there, Bailey attended CCO’s Jubilee conference in the spring semester.

The Ocean City Beach Project ran from June 7 to Aug. 5 this summer. Bailey was not the only Waynesburg student to participate.

Junior Annikki Woods and senior Amanda Troncone were also patriating in the beach project.

Bailey was so greatly impacted by her experience as a student that she was eager to come back; this time in a leadership capacity to help bring others closer to God.

“[The trip] changed my life so much that if I’m able to be a part of that for somebody else, I wanted to be a part of that,” Bailey said.

Some of Bailey’s activities as an intern included leading Bible studies, life groups and triads, in addition to walking with students in their faith journey.

For Bailey, the biggest difference in transitioning from student to intern was helping others grow closer to their faith.

“As a student, it’s very much focused on your own personal relationship with God. It’s a huge community experience,” Bailey said. “As an intern, there were still a ton of places for me to grow, but it was more focused on me pouring into other students and using the gifts and the abilities that I had to help them grow and go back to campus with a more straightforward focus on the Lord.”

Although Bailey was in more of a leadership position during her second time working with the project, she said that she still learned from the students on the trip.

“I think it was figuring out my role there; figuring out how to lead well and figuring out what I had to offer the students and how to really pour into their growth and aid them in their faith,” Bailey said. “There were some students that were older than me who were going to be seniors. I didn’t feel like I was superior to them [being on staff.] I felt like sometimes in conversations that [they] were teaching me so much, so how was I [supposed to be leading them.]”

Becky Juliano, director of discipleship and ministry at First Presbyterian, is beginning her tenth year with CCO through a partnership. For Juliano, one of the greatest benefits of being involved with CCO is that it allows for free thinking when it comes to ministry.

“I think [CCO] is one of the few, if maybe only campus ministries that partners with churches to do ministry,” Juliano said. “So, I feel strongly that students should be connecting with church in multi-generational ministry as opposed to just regular campus fellowships, that a lot of other campus ministry models are doing.”

For Bailey, CCO is an opportunity to help students feel God’s presence in their everyday lives.

“Our relationship with Christ is the most important aspect of our lives,” Bailey said. “So, I would say if we’re called to be like Christ; Christ gave everything for us, and that we should give everything back to Him.”