Weekly Campus Community takes on different format as campus pastor, wife sit down at home for online session to encourage students

Liberty University’s Office of Spiritual Development plays a vital role in the everyday life of students and, now that most students have left campus to complete classes online, that role is continuing through a series of online sessions that students can view from their homes across the country.

On Wednesday morning, bestselling author and pastor Francis Chan was streamed via video chat from Hong Kong for Convocation, and later that night, David Nasser, senior vice president for spiritual development, was joined by his wife, Jennifer, in the first of an online Campus Community series that will continue through the end of the semester. From their own kitchen at home, the Nassers answered questions from the student body regarding how students have been affected by COVID-19. (View the full session on the Office of Spiritual Development Facebook page.)

They reminded students at home to use the time wisely to create some attainable goals.

“Have some benchmarks of things you want to accomplish while you are in this time, because it’s such a timeout for everyone,” Jennifer Nasser said. “You can’t go anywhere, and there’s not a whole lot to do, so you do have a lot more time on your hands.”

The couple discussed how being willing to remain flexible during these difficult times in life can be more beneficial than trying to maintain a rigid schedule.

“Schedules in general are just hard to keep,” Jennifer Nasser said. “If you’re trying to keep a rigid schedule, I think that you set yourself up for failure as well as frustration for your family.”

They talked through the difficulty for students who are struggling with having to be home in the middle of the semester.

“When you have a heavenly perspective and are walking into something that you didn’t anticipate, it allows you to make the most of that situation,” she said. “And I think it’s OK to feel frustrated, but the Lord is not silent in those times. He’s got things He wants to tell you and He’s got things He wants to do through you, so you have to learn to seize that moment.”

The couple reminded viewers that going home can provide opportunities to spread the love of Christ with families, friends, and communities.

“I think when you were a senior in high school at home, that was a little different than 22 and having to go back for a long season even though that was never in the plan,” David Nasser said. “I think being 22 and being 18 needs to look different when you’re at home.”

Jennifer Nasser added that if a student is home with family members who do not know the Lord, this may be an opportunity the Lord has placed in their lap to minister to them and display the love of Christ in an unplanned circumstance.

“Look at that as a gift that you might not ever have again,” she said.

David Nasser said that guest speakers will potentially be joining some of the upcoming online Campus Community sessions to finish the Spring 2020 semester.

The online Convocations will continue on Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. EST and can be watched on Liberty’s main Facebook page. Some of the world’s most influential Christian speakers will be addressing students on topics that are applicable to the issues that our culture is currently encountering.

Campus Community can be watched live on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. EST on the Liberty University Office of Spiritual Development Facebook page.