Leadership and Service

Intro

Leadership and service opportunities at Graceland give students the opportunity to meet new people, connect to campus, recognize their leadership potential, and clarify personal, academic, and professional goals. Students participating in leadership and service programs at Graceland University engage in a journey toward personal growth, social responsibility, and building community.
 
 
 

Student Government and House Council Leadership

At Graceland, we offer a unique system that merges student government and the housing system. Each floor of the residence halls is designated as a "house” with its own name, symbol and colors. The integration of student government and the houses allows student leaders to impact the entire campus community and the plan and run programs for the house. This is accomplished by house council leaders becoming the members and decision makers in the student government organizations. This unique system immediately engages students in positive communities. 

InSpire

InSpire is Community of Christ missional ministry and leadership at Graceland University open to students who have achieved at lease sophomore status. It is formational for students to recognize/begin/continue their sense of call or journey as effective, life-long bi-vocational ministers merging their fields of interests and education with theological and ethical understanding and missional ministry and leadership. It is grounded in Community of Christ Doctrine and Covenants 163:4c:

Let the educational and community development endeavors of the church equip people of all ages to carry the ethics of Christ’s peace into all arenas of life. Prepare new generations of disciples to bring fresh vision to bear on the perplexing problems of poverty, disease, war, and environmental deterioration. Their contributions will be multiplied if their hearts are focused on God’s will for creation.

There are two major components to InSpire:

Missional Ministry – First and foremost is missional ministry. New and creative expressions of how we build community, share faith, and create justice and peace at Graceland and beyond. The foundation for this is in Christ’s mission as described in Luke 4:18-19 and fulfilled as we are led by the Holy Spirit. This may be informally as one-on-one with those on our house, or on teams or in clubs and organizations, or more formally through serving on the Campus Ministries team through the Council of House Chaplains and/or serving as a Campus Ministries Associate (student employment).

Missional Ministry and Leadership Practicum – This is a for-credit course which shapes missional ministry and leadership on campus. It may be repeated for up to six semesters. Each semester those students in the practicum will study together topics related to ministry and leadership seeking to make connections between on-campus ministry, curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities. Additionally students are invited to participate in InSpire seminars, workshops, and retreats based on their areas of interests.

For more information about InSpire, contact Mike Hoffman, Campus Minister, 641-784-5466, or email mhoffman@graceland.edu.

Handouts

Bridge Endowment

The Bridge Family funded Bridge Endowment in memory of their parents, Rollin & Joanne Bridge, who were outstanding citizens of Lamoni community for many decades.
 
The Bridge Endowment Incentive was established in an effort to encourage and reward Graceland student organizations to provide community service in Lamoni.
 
Student organizations have been awarded as much as $750 for their completed community service projects!
 
In recent years, start-up funds have been made available to organizations that need some money up-front to initiate a project. 
 
Who is eligible for Bridge Endowment Funds? 
Any offical GU club or organization (house, athletic team, chartered club etc.) that has completed a community service project that benefits the Lamoni community.
 
What critieria does the Bridge Endowment Committee look for when reviewing proposals?
    - Number of students involved in the project,
    - Impact of the service project, and the
    - Long-term benefit to the community.
    - Pictures and/or video clips of the project are appreciated!
   
How does my organization request start-up funds?
Complete the Bridge Endowment Request for Start-Up Funds by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 5, 2018.
 
How do I submit a Bridge Endowment project summary when my activity is completed?

What is the deadline for submitting Bridge Endowment project summaries?
5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 3, 2018.
 
  

Bridge Endowment Recipients

Congratulations to the Graceland Community Development Club - the 2018 Bridge Endowment recipients!

Please click here to learn more about their award winning community service project.

AmeriCorps Youth Launch

The mission of AmeriCorps Youth Launch is to provide opportunities for youth to lead successful, rewarding and productive lives. AmeriCorps members establish developmental relationships, build valuable developmental assets, instill civic engagement, and help young people find the “sparks” that ignite their passions in life. Graceland University AmeriCorps Youth launch members are able to offer the individual attention many youth need to become educationally successful and academically engaged.  Through in and out of school programming, AYL members will provide the following services to increase the chances that these identified youth will become academically engaged and educationally successful:

  • Identify and Establish Developmental Relationships
  • Build Developmental Assets
  • Ignite Sparks
  • Set academic and personal goals
  • Recruit mentors
  • Engage youth in service learning opportunities
  • Provide enrichment opportunities
  • Other Services to the Community

If you are interested in serving as an AmeriCorps member, volunteering, or if you have general questions, please contact Nancy Hoffman (AmeriCorps Program Director) at 784-5476 or at nancyh1@graceland.edu.