On Saturday, October 19, more than 230 students, faculty and staff from Olivet Nazarene University participated in ONU Serve Day 2026. This annual event provides a range of opportunities for students, faculty and staff from Olivet Nazarene 
University to step out into the surrounding community to serve various organizations and ministry groups by using their talents and gifts. This year’s projects were organized and led by the campus Spiritual Life office, in collaboration with the various community partners.
The Serve Day projects and locations included: Rehoboth Blueberry Farm, Pembroke shed repair, Pembroke child development center & daycare, Youth for Christ, Good Shepherd Manor, Olivet’s Swanberg Sanctuary, Bourbonnais Citadel Assisted Living, Bible Witness Camp, McCrary family shed build, Birchwood Apartments, Georgie’s Closet, Life House Gift of God, Hippocrates Medical Clinic, Salvation Army, Phil’s Friends Hope Center, and Living Alternative Pregnancy Resource Center.
Spiritual Life assistant Korey Ziemkowski described the overarching goal of the event. “Our heart in Spiritual Life is to help students re-center their lives around Bible Jesus to be with Him, become like Him and specifically for Serve Day, to do what Jesus did and to go where Jesus leads.”
During this year’s Serve Day, participants collectively served at 16 different community locations and projects. Work ranged from outdoor cleanup to fellowship with senior adults; from constructing a shed to be used for medical purposes to organizing clothing for children in the foster care system; from deep cleaning a transit van for men in residential care to assembling packages for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Young adults typically spend 3-5 years living in the town in which their college campus is located. However, for those who live on a residential campus, like Olivet’s, it takes intentionality to get involved in the local community. Events like Serve Day help facilitate those opportunities.
“I find a great deal of value in getting involved in the community while I am a student here,” said senior Luke Yeager who served with the men’s basketball team at Rehoboth Blueberry Farm. “It is easy to think that because we are only here at school for a few years, it is not important to get involved in the community. However, the habits we can build by getting involved and using our time, talents, and resources to give where we can are very valuable. These habits can also carry over into wherever we end up someday. It’s pretty crazy to think of the impact that can be had in 3-4 years.”
Senior Chloe Ashcraft, who worked in a group that served at Birchwood Apartments during Serve Day, saw firsthand the impact of encouraging local leaders in the work they’re already doing.
“The Birchwood ministry is a beautiful ministry that supports single mothers who are trying to become financially and emotionally stable for their families, and Birchwood walks alongside them to help them get there,” Chloe reflected. “As a college student, I feel like it is important to get involved in a ministry like this because it allows you to strengthen spiritual growth, build a community, and experience empathy and Christ-like compassion. Overall, the highlight of my time there was getting to know [the leader] Cami and hearing her heart for the ministry. She shared about the ministry to us and shared how the Lord had called her to this ministry, and it was beautiful to hear!” 
The service event was a beautiful outpouring of care and concern from representatives of the University to the surrounding towns and cities, but the love was equally returned from local leaders.
“My highlight from Serve Day was that, after serving, a few of the workers at the blueberry patch made us homemade chili, which we all enjoyed together as a group,” Luke reflected. “It felt very fulfilling to know how helpful our work was, not only to the workers but also to the community. I also really enjoyed serving with the basketball team. We are all brothers, so serving together was a very special experience for me. I am very grateful to be part of such a special school that puts together a project like this. It is really cool to see how many students got involved and how many organizations and people Olivet was able to reach.”
For more information about the Office of Spiritual Life, visit Olivet.edu/Life-at-Olivet/Spiritual-Development 
