During her first semester on campus, a Hopkinsville sophomore was having a rough time when a friend told her about a campus ministry.  

“I didn’t have the chance to go that semester,” said 19-year-old Heather Farthing “but after the break I figured I would give it a try.”

When she did attend the following semester, things began changing for her.

“I was at a breaking point,” Farthing said.  

Farthing said the encouragement she got at Reformed University Fellowship helped her figure things out.

She said she was able to look at her life and get it all together.

“It’s helped me with my relationships and in friendships,” she said. “It helped strengthen me as a person.”

    Farthing, a pre-nursing student, said RUF is a way to get to know others and make friends.

    “I’ve met my three best friends (there),” she said.

    RUF isn’t just about friendships, though. Farthing said the ministry has also changed her view of Christianity.

    “It’s guidance through, not told, what Christianity is, but see what the Bible says it is,” Farthing said.

    Fritz Games, 41, is the campus minister for RUF and said it’s a safe place for anyone to process the message of Jesus instead of being pressured.

    Games, of Bowling Green, said RUF has been around since the 70s but has only been at WKU for the last six years.

    “It’s an international organization,” he said. “RUF is on 160 campuses and he said. “RUF is on 160 campuses and in Greece and Mexico City.”

    Games said RUF takes a book of the Bible and starts studying from there, avoiding skipping around.  

    “We deal with real issues,” he said. “We bring up greed, over feeding, gluttony, and see through the grid of Jesus.”

    The minister said during Bible studies, they take a look at tough subjects and discuss them as adults.  

    “We want Christians to be comfortable to bring non-Christians and know that they will be treated with respect,” Games said.

    Nashville junior Nolan Crooks said RUF is a great place to fellowship with other believers.

    “You don’t have to be afraid to be yourself,” Crooks said.  “You’re not going to be judged that whether or not you believe in Christ, you can go to RUF and be accepted.”

    Crooks, 21, found RUF his freshman year.

     “I wasn’t sure about it. And then the next week, Fritz yelled my name as I was leaving a night class at Cherry,” he said. “It really impressed me that he remembered my name a week later.”

WKU’s RUF meets Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. at the Faculty House and occasionally at Chandler Memorial Chapel. The group has a retreat once a semester and smaller “get-togethers” throughout the semester.

Crooks said RUF is similar to other campus ministries because they preach the gospel, but it’s smaller size sets it apart.

“We are all brothers and sisters in a Greek type of way,” he said.