Intentionally Involved

At Maranatha Baptist University, students have the opportunity to be involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.

Activities include inter-collegiate sports teams for men and women, society sports, society cabinets, music ministries, music lessons, mission trips, main stage or recital plays, internships, and the list goes on.

There is certainly no reason for any student at MBU to be bored.

These activities serve more of a purpose than to keep students busy, though.

Each one of them has a purpose in accordance with Maranatha’s mission statement: to develop leaders for ministry in the local church and around the world “To the Praise of His Glory.”

Intentionally “Co-curricular”

At MBU, many “extra-curricular” activities have come to be known as “co-curricular” activities. These activities teach students as much or more as sitting in the classroom about their job or about life in general. Co-curricular activities officially include “Participation in any Gospel team, traveling with music groups (including choirs or bands), holding an office in any student organization, and participating in intercollegiate or intramural athletics or drama.”

The idea behind co-curricular activities versus extra-curricular activities is that they are intentional. For example, if a student holds an office in a student organization, he or she will receive focused servant-leadership training and is expected to faithfully fulfill his or her roles within the student organization. A student may be the captain on the basketball team and have responsibilities in that area; another student may be the leader of a traveling music team like the Heritage Singers. Whatever leadership role a student finds himself or herself in, it is certain that they will be trained to be a godly leader.

Intentionally fun

Extra-curricular activities are also just fun. Take, for example, intramural dodge-ball. Intramural dodge-ball takes place Wednesday nights after church in October and November, and each society generally plays two games per night. How could you not have fun playing dodge-ball to escape the mid-semester business?

The same can be true for those in intercollegiate sports, positions of student leadership, music groups, or any other extra-curricular. Taking a break from coursework can be important if students are to maintain their focus and not burnout mid-semester. Many extra-curriculars at MBU provide a clean, fun way to take a break from the pressure of school assignments.

Intentionally supportive  

Many times, extra-curriculars provide students with the opportunity to support a cause that they believe very strongly about.

For example, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Maranatha has a subcommittee called the Cancer Awareness Committee. Each semester or school-year, the Cancer Awareness Committee supports an MBU student or staff/faculty member or a relative of an MBU student or staff/faculty member. Through various activities, the committee raises money for the family.

If a student is passionate about impacting MBU’s student body, he or she may seek to join a society cabinet or even the student body council. Another student may want to use his or her musical talents to impact others; in this case, the student could join band, orchestra, percussion ensemble, or a choir. The student could also try out for the Heritage Singers or Praisemen, MBU’s music groups that travel throughout the summer. There are several avenues for students to support what they believe strongly about.

In the end, extra-curricular activities at Maranatha serve the University’s purpose of developing godly leaders for life beyond college. It may not seem significant to play a small role in a minor dramatic production, but when those in leadership are driven by a godly purpose, there is no such thing as a minor role in any extra-curricular activity. Many times, these activities serve as building blocks for the growth and development of the students at MBU and therefore are vital to molding individuals whose lives are “To the Praise of His Glory.”

 

 

 

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