The Christian Student Fellowship offers free catered lunches to students every Monday at noon, drawing more than 100 people every week.
Josh Boswell, the CSF campus minister, said the group has been giving out free lunches on campus for several semesters and the number of people who eat with them is growing.
“We’ve been here every Monday for three semesters, with about 30 students coming when we first started,” Boswell said. “Now we usually have around 120 students come every week.”
The free lunches, served in front of the Student Involvement Center, are catered by Papa John’s, Chick-Fil-A or Taco Bell, and include chips, drinks and occasionally dessert.
“We get the most people turn up for the Chick-Fil-A, and the least for Taco Bell, probably because they eat it on their own a lot,” Elesha Corbett, psychology sophomore and CSF member, said with a laugh.
In addition to the free lunches, the CSF offers a Bible study on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. in University Center, room 122.
They also meet for a worship service on Thursdays from 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Christian Ministry Center located at 615 Park E. Blvd.
Boswell said the lunches are funded through the collaboration and support of 65 local churches.
The mission of the CSF, Boswell said, is three-fold.
“We’re here to help connect students to Christ, connect them to local churches, and get to know them and show them who we are through low-key, no pressure interactions like our Bible studies, worship services and the lunches,” Boswell said.
Rachael Corbett, Elesha Corbett’s sister, said CSF isn’t just trying to give away food.
“We’re here to get to know the student body and share the word in hope that we can save lives and impact souls in a positive way,” Rachael said.
Elesha said the CSF also hopes to bring IUS Christians together through its lunches and other programs.
“We hope that we can connect Christians already on campus to a body of believers,” Elesha said.
Though the crowd at the CSF’s free lunch is growing, Elesha said few who follow their nose to the food know who’s providing it or why it’s there.
“One thing we’ve noticed is a lot of the students don’t know why we’re doing this for them,” Elesha said.
Both Elesha and Rachael said the majority of the students who eat the lunch know the message behind them, the food itself has definitely garnered attention.
Rachael said she agrees the food gets people’s attention.
Elesha said the free lunches have helped to increase awareness for CSF and a few new students have attended Bible study and the Thursday night worship services.
Elesha said more students have been attending other CSF events in addition to the 15 to 20 students who attend regularly.
The free lunches are not the only events the CFS ministry has in store to serve the students of IU Southeast this semester.
“We have other special events coming up this semester, like our Q-and-A forum on student and religious issues ‘Ask Ellen’, our Coffeehouse Takeover where we take over the coffee shop and buy everyone’s coffee, and we’re also planning something to raise awareness about human trafficking,” Elesha said.
By AMY FAULHABER
Staff Writer
amfaulha@ius.edu
