Student Christian Fellowship in Evansville, Indiana

Student Christian Fellowship’s Mission Is Clear

Join our mission to grow as a disciple and make disciples.

SCF exists to:
Make Disciples of Jesus who Multiply and Impact Campus, Communities and Nations

Our Story

In the fall of 1989, a group of students came to the University of Evansville. They loved Jesus, and began gathering and praying together, asking the Lord to send someone to UE who loved Jesus fiercely and would lead and teach them.

Unbeknownst to those students, a group of leaders from three local Evansville churches had begun meeting to pray and plan to invest financially to bring a full-time campus minister to Evansville to lead a ministry that to that point had been very part time. In May of 1990, a campus minister was interviewed and hired for the position at UE. He hit the ground running in August 1990. Within three years the ministry was over 60 students strong.

In the fall of 1994, a second full-time campus minister was hired and another ministry was started at the University of Southern Indiana. Within a few years, the USI ministry was over 100 students strong.

Today, Student Christian Fellowship celebrates:

  • 36 years of ministry at the University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana
  • Over 2400 students impacted at UE and USI
  • Over 600 SCF alumni have been sent out from campus
  • Over 30 nations have been impacted by SCF students and alumni

Our Staff

Kyle Jones

UE Lead Campus Minister

Email Kyle

Sarah Michalec

USI Associate Campus Minister

Email Sarah
Austin Nickens SCF USI

Austin Nickens

USI Lead Campus Minister

Email Austin

Julie Skantz

UE Associate Campus Minister

Email Julie

Kellar Stem

Ministry Director

Email Kellar
Allison Welch UE SCF

Allison Welch

UE ministry intern

Email Allison

SCF Board of Directors

Bill Altman

Board Member
Crossroads Christian Church

Dexter Day

Secretary
Owensboro Christian Church

Andrew DeVries

Treasurer
Crossroads Christian Church

Chris Hartzell

Board Member
UE 2018 Alum

Sherri Hemlick

Board Member
UE 1993 Alum

Cleo Holder

Financial Secretary
First Christian Church of Newburgh

Kyle Jones

UE Lead Campus Minister

Jane Koch

Board Chair
First Christian Church Evansville

Jaeden Lengacher

BoaRD MEMBER
USI 2024 Alum

Austin Nickens SCF USI

Austin Nickens

USI Lead Campus Minister, Board Member
UE 2023 Alum

Josh Orem

Board member
USI 2009 Alum

Kellar Stem

Ministry Director

Partnering Churches

Along with many generous individuals and alumni who financially support Student Christian Fellowship, we also have several local churches who partner with us:

  • Central Christian Church – Huntingburg, IN
  • Crossroads Christian Church – Evansville, IN
  • First Christian Church Brazil – Brazil, IN
  • First Christian Church Carmi – Carmi, IL
  • First Christian Church Evansville – Evansville, IN
  • First Christian Church of Mt. Vernon – Mt. Vernon, IN
  • First Christian Church of Owensville – Owensville, IN
  • First Christian Church of Scottsburg – Scottsburg, IN
  • Griffin First Christian Church – Griffin, IN
  • Living Word Christian Church – Newburgh, IN
  • New Hope Community Church – Newburgh, IN
  • Old Capitol Church – Corydon, IN
  • Olivet Community Church – Evansville, IN
  • Owensboro Christian Church – Owensboro, KY
  • Union Christian Church – Hodgenville, KY

Discipleship DNA

There are seven DNA components we hope to see developed in all disciples:

Whether a “Bible in a Year” program, spending time studying passages with commentaries, spending time devotionally using the practices of Lectio Divina and SOAPS, or practicing Scripture memorization, getting God’s Word deeply in our hearts and minds is essential for disciples of Jesus!

Prayer has always been one of the most significant practices within the Christian faith. It is our primary way to connect and communicate with God. There are many ways to pray, many benefits to prayer, and many ways prayer can change us and the world around us, but no greater reason to pray than establishing a depth and intimacy in our relationship with God.

As Christians we have a firm identity in who we are as image-bearers, as new creations, and as followers of Jesus, but we often fail to realize or live within it. Very few things can shape a person so dramatically as having a firm sense of their identity.

God did not design us to live out our lives by ourselves, but instead designed us for community. God says within the first pages of the Bible in Genesis 2 that “it is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) God himself exists within community as the Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It is incredibly difficult to be a fruitful disciple of Jesus if a person is not physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy. Jesus desires us to be healthy disciples because healthy disciples make other healthy disciples. Neglecting health in the discipleship process is the primary reasons followers of Jesus burn out, fall away, or fail to thrive as the Lord desires.

Just before Jesus ascends to heaven in the book of Acts, He tells His disciples to be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) As witnesses we have stories to tell – stories of how Jesus changed our lives, stories of God working throughout Scripture, stories of what God is doing in the world today, etc.

God’s Kingdom grows most beautifully and abundantly when we intentionally orient our lives toward building it. God gave humans an original mandate in Genesis 1, to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Our call is still to be fruitful, multiply disciples, and fill the earth with the glory of the Lord!

Our Core Beliefs 

The short version is:

God put on flesh in Jesus to rescue us from our pride and trying to save ourselves, so that we can be restored into a dynamic relationship with Him. The power of shame/fear/guilt/death are broken and no longer need control over our lives.

We surrender ourselves to become a follower/disciple of Jesus who joyfully lives out His identity and leadership for our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As we delight in God, we have the privilege/responsibility to help others near and far be restored with Him, so they, too, can be set free to joyfully live with Jesus being their Leader.

The longer version of the nitty-gritty theological plumbing of SCF is:

GOD is one being eternally coexisting in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the source of all creation (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1-2), which He sustains (Col. 1:17) and is in the process of redeeming (Rom. 8:19-22). God the Father loves us and desires that we have fellowship with Him as His children (I John 1:3).

JESUS of Nazareth is the incarnation of God the Son. He is the Word become flesh (John 1:14), and He now holds all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). He is both Savior and Lord. He made human salvation possible through His sinless life, His innocent and brutal death on the cross, and His literal, physical resurrection. He ascended into heaven where He is now our high priest and advocate. He and He alone is the head of the Church.

THE HOLY SPIRIT is a “person” and not a “thing,” “power,” or “force.” Although co-equal with God as Father and Son, Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit works interpersonally and actively in the world, seeking to glorify Jesus and the Father. The Holy Spirit actively works to convict people of their own sin, of God’s righteousness, and judgment to come (John 16:5-11). The Holy Spirit indwells (lives inside) believers individually, and corporately in the Church—the body and bride of Christ. The Holy Spirit produces fruit within the life of each Christian and also works to produce in each believer a pure heart which results in Christ-like character expressed in private and public conduct and action. The Holy Spirit also endows each believer with gifts for service or ministry in the kingdom.

THE BIBLE is not just “A” book—it actually exists as a collection of 66 separate and distinct literary works known as the Old and New Testament Scriptures. It is the uniquely inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21). We firmly hold that the Bible stands as the only rule or standard of faith and practice for Christians. We affirm that Scripture is the only authoritative revelation from God by which we know God’s will and Christ’s authority. We seek to assert what the Scriptures clearly assert and allow freedom in other cases. We believe that to grasp the meaning of Scripture it is our solemn responsibility to seek to understand divine intent, through authorial intent, and we seek to apply its teaching to the individual Christian’s life, as well as to the contemporary church and to any culture in which Christians live.

THE CHURCH is the body of Christ on earth, the undivided, unified, and organic community of believers throughout the world. Upon surrender to Christ, a person is added to the Church. In addition, the priesthood of all believers means each Christian is called to be a serving minister, faithfully utilizing the gift or gifts given to him or her by Jesus and through the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 2:9-10). The Church’s mission (and therefore every individual disciple’s mission) is to live out the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

HUMAN BEINGS were created by God to walk in fellowship with Him. We were created to glorify God. However, all (except Jesus) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Because of this, we must rely solely on God’s generous offer of mercy, compassion, grace and forgiveness. Each human, from the moment life begins, is made in the image of God (imago dei), and as such, is a person valued and loved by God. As the human objects of His love we are to be nurtured, protected, and developed. The primary purpose of every human’s existence is to glorify God.

SALVATION is by God alone through Jesus Christ alone. Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). This salvation through the work – the death and resurrection of Jesus, is partnered with a conversion process that includes hearing the truth, embracing genuine faith (trust in Christ), repenting, confessing (both personal sin and Jesus as Lord and Savior), and being baptized (Acts 2:38, 8:12, 10:47-48, Rom.10:9, etc.).

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE does not end at conversion—it begins. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit brings new life and new joy. Every person who comes to the Father through Jesus (as just described) becomes a dynamic disciple– personally dedicated to spiritual growth, Christian community, and Kingdom priorities. Once saved by grace, by grace we live.