On Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Pulse Groups have been meeting in place of the chapels that were previously held on Thursdays in Pioneer Memorial Church (PMC). Both in-person Pulse Groups and those that meet over Zoom offer ways for students to grow spiritually. At these sessions, the leader will often start out with a couple icebreakers and then move on to the lesson. Many of the questions thought through during the lesson include important ideas and applications to everyday life.
An in-person, freshman pulse group leader, Sandrine Adap (freshman, computer science, math) says, “I enjoy the fact that I am given the curriculum. I study the material and, then, act as a facilitator for the group. It helps me think about personal applications for the questions.” However, she expressed some difficulty in getting involvement from all the students attending. This has caused Sandrine and other Pulse group leaders to get creative. Adap says, “I tried splitting up the group into smaller groups of about four people. This seemed to make more people talk and share answers to questions.” Another in-person Pulse Group leader, Nehemiah Sitler (sophomore, communication) said, “It’s a lot of fun; I really enjoy doing it. I have heard other students say they appreciate that we are doing something other than the traditional program in PMC where we listen to someone preach. This is more relational. It is a great way to meet other people and grow.”
Pulse Groups are also a great way to meet other students. Gabriella Srikureja (freshman, architecture) attends a virtual group on Zoom. She says, “They are very enjoyable and a great way to meet students in the same class as you without having the pressure of needing to constantly be speaking.”
Additionally, Pulse Groups create more opportunities for graduate students to meet undergraduate students. Sitler says, “Many of the Pulse Group leaders are seminary students, which helps to bring people together.” So students have the opportunity, through Pulse Groups, to experience spiritual growth with other students as well as receive chapel co-curricular credit.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.