In the bustling halls of Lawrence High, a journey of faith, friendship, and unity unfolds in a science room. The Fellowship of Christian Students club has risen again after years of inactivity.
Lydia Reimers, a science teacher at Lawrence High, had always wanted to provide a space for students with an interest in spirituality. She saw the opportunity to do so in the summer of 2022, when activities secretary David Ruis sent out an email asking if anyone was interested in sponsoring the FCS.
“I had a burden on my heart for several years for Christian students or students who were seeking in that area of spiritual questions, and so I just immediately emailed back,” Reimers said.
After getting approval, Reimers set up a booth at the club fair and had two people sign up.
“I emailed them when it was close to the first meeting and nobody showed up,” Reimers said.
She put information about the club in some school announcements for weeks, but again, nobody showed up. Finally, in September, a student stopped by to see what the club was all about.
Later, in October, another student stopped by, and this time the meeting seemed promising. Senior Sophia Lang, the now president of the club, was ready to get things rolling.
“Sophia and a friend of hers started coming, and then the other person that had stopped by in September, we got back a hold of her,” Reimers said.
Once they were in full swing, Lang and the others began to claim “offices” in the club.
“On Mondays, we do a little Bible study. On Fridays, we pray. So one of us will have minutes, one of us will lead the Bible discussion, one of us will lead the prayer and one of us will bring snacks and we rotate that out each week,” Lang said. “So what makes me president is just that I’m dealing with the higher-up people.”
Over the past two years, additional members joined the club, making a total of eight to twelve people depending on the week. Solveigh Lang, a sophomore on the club’s executive council, is excited to see this newfound growth.
“So far our club has doubled in size compared to last year, although we have had many days where there are more students than that, just not consistently,” Lang said. “I think the main reason it has grown is simply because we have invited people and have tried to spread the word about our club. We meet in the morning so no one has to worry about the club interfering with other plans, like sports.”
As a whole, The Fellowship of Christian Students’ purpose is to have students build caring friendships and strengthen their faith. With the club growing strong, the members hope to see more growth next year.
“As Christians, we want to reach out and welcome everyone with love and build those relationships, help people discover who they are,” Reimers said. “Find meaning in their life, a connection with God, to serve others, and to pray for each other and for our school.”
