By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau
The spring semester schedule for Chapel at Grand Canyon University is out, and five of the eight non-GCU speakers are new. But Pastor Tim Griffin, GCU’s dean of students, promises that one thing won’t change at Chapel: the way the message is delivered.
“We’ve really tried to steer clear of creating some kind of ‘sizzle’ experience in this,” he said. “I think this generation is really interested in authenticity. They don’t want to see smoke machines. If they do, they’ll go buy a ticket to a concert.
“They want to see a simple but direct, applicable Bible message with great, relevant music that they can worship to. So we try to keep this simple. We just want it to be a place where students can be together and sing together and worship together and they can pray and hear from God’s word.”
Chapel, open to all employees and students, is at 11:15 a.m. Mondays in GCU Arena. The Gathering, which is for students, is at 8 p.m. Tuesdays in Antelope Gym.
Here are the schedules for both. An asterisk (*) designates first-time Chapel speakers:
CHAPEL
Jan. 4: Brian Mueller, GCU president
Jan. 11: Riccardo Stewart*, Redemption Church
Jan. 18: No Chapel (Martin Luther King Day)
Jan. 25: Dustin Tappan, Christ’s Church of the Valley
Feb. 1 : Ryan Guard*, Mission Community Church
Feb. 8: Jamie Rasmussen, Scottsdale Bible Church
Feb. 15: No Chapel (Presidents Day)
Feb. 22: John Lennox*, Oxford University
Feb. 29: The Traveling Team*
March 7: Nicole Cottrell*, writer and speaker
March 14: Chris Brown, North Coast Church
March 21: No Chapel (spring break)
March 28: Pastor Tim Griffin, GCU dean of students
April 4: Last Chapel of school year
THE GATHERING
Jan. 5: Cory Tubbs, GCU servant scholar manager
Jan. 12: Warren Stewart, Remnant South Phoenix
Jan. 19: Chris Cunningham, GCU local outreach coordinator
Jan. 26: Worship Night
Feb. 2 : Danielle Rinnier, GCU director of spiritual life
Feb. 9 : No The Gathering (men’s basketball game)
Feb. 16: Sean Myers, Redemption Peoria
Feb. 23: Worship Night
March 1: Unity Night
March 8: Blake Small, GCU ministry outreach coordinator
March 15: Jared Ulrich, GCU spiritual life worship manager
March 22: No The Gathering (spring break)
March 29: Worship Night
April 5: Last Gathering of school year
Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or [email protected].