Fidelity Groups Bring Concordia Women Together
Concordia women gather in a dorm room for their weekly Fidelity meeting. Photo by Kim Sleeper.
by Taylor Roby
Each week young women across Concordia’s campus gather in small, intimate groups to spend time pursuing the Lord with one another. Fidelity groups have become a spiritual framework for the women of Concordia by giving them the opportunity to take time out of their week to intentionally grow in their faith together.
Groups of around eight women meet each week to delve into the Bible, search for their identity, build strong relationships and pray for one another’s needs.
“Coming in as a freshman, there are so many changes going on in your life,” sophomore Leah Mussell said. “When I joined Fidelity, it became something in my college life that was constant, since we met together with the same girls each week. This repetition helped me grow my friendships and faith tremendously.”
Fidelity acknowledges that men and women were created differently, thus giving women the opportunity to study God’s word from the perspective of Biblical femininity.
Throughout the semester, the groups strive to build lasting relationships with each other and with God, and the bonds formed within the group are continued in the following semesters.
Fidelity groups are led by a student leader who has been through at least a year of Fidelity. From there, the groups can choose what topics they want to cover over the course of the year. All the groups participate in “Soul-to-Souls,” which provides a chance for the girls to talk about their lives, both the good and the bad.
“Often times, girls in college are struggling with not feeling good enough or not knowing what direction they want to take with their lives,” sophomore and group leader Kaylee Brown said. “Fidelity allows girls to connect on a deeper level which helps to build up one’s faith in a nonjudgmental environment.”
Fidelity members come from various grades and backgrounds. This gives the groups diversity and a unique set of perspectives.
“My group has seven girls: three freshman, two sophomores and two juniors,” Brown said. “Fidelity has given me the opportunity to make friends and build relationships with people that I wouldn’t have originally had the chance to be friends with.”