Students talking

Office of Faith & Action

Who we are. 

The Office of Faith and Action provides resources and opportunities to guide students as they cultivate an ethical worldview, act purposefully, and change the world for good. For more than 150 years, North Central College students from different faith traditions have united as a campus community where mutual respect produces vibrant discussion and collective action. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church and rooted in the Christian tradition, North Central encourages students to ask questions and develop their personal faith during this spiritually pivotal time in their lives.

We offer:

  • Worship services (12:5)
  • Bible studies and small groups
  • Interfaith celebrations and dialogue
  • Mentoring and discipleship opportunities
  • Spiritual retreats 
  • Service trips
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Christian holiday chapel services
  • Lecture series (Lux Veritas Speaker Series)

Worship

College is a place where your faith becomes your own. 

At North Central, you have the opportunity to grow deeper in your faith. In additional to the weekly student-led Christian interdenominational worship service (Focus), our office facilitates Bible studies, small groups, retreats, and prayer groups. Also, many students find a home in one of the many faith communities and churches in the Naperville area, often just blocks from campus.

As a part of a newer offering from our office, we've created 12:5. This bi-weekly worship service is a campus-wide gathering - an encouraging time of Christian worship and community for students, faculty, and staff. The brief, 20-minute service includes lively music, a devotional message from other Cardinals, and some time to be the NCC family with one another. Lunch is provided after each service.

The name of this worship service and its purpose are rooted in Romans 12:5, which reads: “In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.”

For the duration of the 2019-2020 school year, 12:5 will occur on every other Tuesday, beginning on the second Tuesday of the Fall Semester (8/27/19) and Spring Semester (1/14/20). Please click on the main 12:5 page to view the upcoming speaker schedule for the Fall 2019 Semester, as well as audio clips of past speakers and worship set-lists from past services.

Grow

Catholic Cardinals: Fellowship with other Catholic students during gatherings that feature weekly home-cooked meals, Bible study, special speakers, retreats and off-campus Mass.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA): Team up with this national-athletic focused ministry for fellowship, outreach and spiritual growth.

Muslim Student Association (MSA): Explore the people, cultures and beliefs of Islam through religious dialogue through cultural understanding. 

United: Join in faithful discipleship with radical inclusivity, through the teachings of the United Methodist Church. 

Serve

From the Chicago area to the Appalachian Mountains to impoverished areas overseas, students have the opportunity to travel and serve during academic breaks through BREAKAWAY. Recent BREAKAWAY trips include Nicaragua, Michigan, Peru, Virginia, El Salvador, Louisiana, Colorado, and more!

"Service, at the core of it, is about caring. Service is gratitude; appreciating everything you have been blessed with, and exhaling it back into your community. Service is learning to love. Service is sacrifice; giving up your time, your energy, your money, your perfectly clean shirt. Service is kindness, in the rawest form of the word." —Maria Requena, Junior

Partner

Cardinals in Action: Circle K International (CIA:CKI): Be part of the international organization Kiwanis, and join with other students for community service projects in our own backyard.

Feed the Need: Participate in our annual, community-wide Feed My Starving Children Mobilepack hosted at North Central.

Summer Ministry Teams and Internships: Get involved with our student teams leading Vacation Bible Schools, camping ministries, and summer church internships.

Young Life: Minister to and serve middle school, high school, and special needs students in the local community.

Engage

The Lux Veritas Speaker Series—drawing from North Central College's religious and academic heritage—engages our community in conversations with leaders whose faith motivates them to transform the world. Inspired by our college seal, a lamp representing "light" and a book representing "truth," these events connect us with leaders that explore important issues in a spirit of truth while spreading light into the world as a means to live out our purpose.

Connect

Intersection: Be part of a community-wide day of service uniting nonprofit organization and churches to meet the needs of surrounding communities.

Local churches: We encourage students to get involved in one of the many faith communities in the Naperville area. We help students find a place to worship within a short walk or drive from campus.

Other events include:

  • Homecoming Chapel Service
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast
  • Ash Wednesday Service
  • Seder Dinner
  • Good Friday Service
  • Baccalaureate