When the RPCNA Synod met in June at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa., it was an opportunity to demonstrate one of the college’s core values—hospitality.

The Synod meeting required Geneva to provide 125 beds in the Young North and Young East Apartments; 1,900 meals in Alexander Dining Hall, with an additional 600 barbecue meals (provided by Geneva along with Erskine College, Erskine Theological Seminary, and the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary) under two large tents; four six-passenger golf carts running from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. or later each day with 7 drivers; and 15 separate meeting spaces with audio and visual support.

“The logistics are the last thing you want to worry about if you are attending a Synod meeting,” says Geneva’s Cathy Schlachter, who coordinated the college’s planning of the event. “We wanted all the attendees to feel at home so they could focus on the critical work they needed to accomplish for Reformed Presbyterians in their congregations.”

As a Christ-centered academic community, Geneva’s mission is to provide a comprehensive education to equip students for service to God and neighbor. Along with that, Geneva is a Reformed Presbyterian agency, so supporting the RPCNA is intrinsic to the institution’s mission.

Hosting the meetings of the RPCNA Synod concurrently with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Synod became a major, all-hands-on-deck event for hosting several hundred delegates. A team from Geneva met with delegates of both the RPCNA and the ARP in summer 2017 to go through the facilities and get initial feedback on how to make a joint Synod week run smoothly.

Geneva then formed a committee of about 20 employees, led by Jeff Cole, PhD, and Schlachter, who began meeting regularly in January 2019 to ensure everything that could be arranged and settled was done well. That group included Geneva representatives from security, IT, physical plant, events, athletics, residence life, and food services.

Herb McCracken acted as the liaison from the RPCNA. He worked with Geneva to make sure that all the behind-the-scenes details were accounted for so residence halls, the cafeteria, transportation around campus, and meeting locations for many of the smaller breakout sessions went off without hitches.

Because of these preparations, Geneva staff and administration were able to roll out the red carpet to ensure guests were welcomed, comfortable, and well fed as they shepherded the important work of RP church courts on behalf of the Lord.

From the feedback of RP attendees, Geneva helped them do just that.

McCracken says, “The efforts by Geneva were very, very good. Many people were involved and up to speed on what needed to be done. I met with the 8 to 10 leaders of each department and they truly had a great attitude, willingness to help, and desire to meet needs. When we ran into slight issues, the response was quick and addressed with a smile. This all helped get our work done and have some good work and fellowship with the ARP Church. God provided very, very pleasant weather for the week and that was helpful. Facilities worked out well, food was great. Geneva people wanted to serve.”

Like so much of the Christian walk, hospitality starts with an attitude of grace, humility, and service in a theme that permeates the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul encourages believers in Romans 12 to look for ways to show hospitality in a spirit of humble service. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4 not only to be hospitable, but to have a good attitude while we do so, using our gifts to serve others as good stewards of God’s grace. And the writer of Hebrews reminds us in chapter 13 that hospitality should include the stranger, not just our friends and family.

Hospitality might look different from person to person, or group to group. For Geneva College, the goal is to “inspire vibrant hospitality,” which means creating a welcoming atmosphere, thoughtful engagement, and meaningful gestures demonstrating the love of Christ. This approach takes the form of comfortable meeting spaces, helpful staff, good food shared around Christian tables, and even the smiles on the faces of those serving. It means we serve others with zeal and humility, the kind of care for others that inspires those around us to act more like Christ.

So many alumni of Geneva College remark on the feeling of being at home when they were students at Geneva. One alumna who announced she was giving an estate gift to establish an endowed scholarship recently remarked, “Geneva always meant more to me because it was home.” This feeling of home, of a home away from home or a second home, is the result of Geneva’s focus on hospitality. Attendees at the RPCNA Synod felt it this summer, alumni still feel it, and new students and their families begin to feel at home from their first day on campus.

Leaving home for college can challenge students who find themselves living on their own for the first time. Geneva uses vibrant hospitality to help new students feel like they belong once they get to campus. This atmosphere is especially appreciated by those students who cannot make it home regularly, including students from 11 foreign countries who attend Geneva.

Randon Willard, director of Geneva’s Center for Student Engagement, and his team have developed a number of initiatives that use hospitality to achieve two goals: First, leading students to realize they belong at Geneva by helping them find their place among their peers, and second, inspiring new students to adopt a spirit of vibrant hospitality in their own lives by modeling how they are treated, like the feeling of being at home.

Some of the initiatives include:

Welcome Week: A four-day orientation program for new first-year students, and a two-day orientation program for all new transfer students. Welcome Week allows new students to meet new friends, attend their first class, meet with advisers, and begin the transition into the college years both on campus and in the Beaver Falls community. Welcome Week offers a mix of mandatory and optional events to help students make the transition to college. One hundred upperclassmen mentors and student leaders cut short their summer breaks to help new students transition to their new home.

Discover Beaver Falls: During Welcome Week, new students get to engage with leaders of the Beaver Falls community and take a tour of the city. When incoming students begin to learn about the area where they will be living and learning, they often learn to love it as well.

Church with a Friend: This program is new in 2019 and pairs upperclassmen with new students who agree to go to church together. New students have the opportunity to sign up to drive or walk with an upperclassman student to a local church, which is such a vital part of making a place one’s home.

Cokes and Connections: A fall activities fair in September where campus clubs and organizations and local churches and nonprofits man tables on campus to help new and returning students get connected to both the campus networks and the larger community.

For students like senior Tim Weir of Ridgefield Park, N.J., RPC, campus activities gave him the feeling of home at Geneva. His participation with the Geneva Men’s Rugby Club has fostered deep friendships for him with men who are his closest brothers in Christ.

Weir also felt a sense of community and hospitality in the residence halls. Resident assistants (RAs) supported him during his first year on campus, encouraging him to become an RA himself in Pearce Hall, where he now makes an impact on his fellow classmates in a similar way. “My freshman RA showed me the power that hospitality can have, and that’s what led me to want to be an RA myself,” says Weir. “I have had a lot of good times, and hard times, with those in my dorm, and we’ve all learned the power of being present in other people’s lives.”

Junior April Mann, from Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.) RPC, appreciates the many campus activities offered by the college that enable development of strong friendships. Mann says she has easily integrated into the Geneva community by participating in activities right on campus and credits her experience of playing on the women’s soccer team for making her feel at home.

“It also helps so much that there is such a friendly culture here,” says Mann. “It’s not hard to make friends, going from recognizing other students on the way to class to then getting to know them within a week of being on campus. And the professors are very welcoming and kind as well.”

The college’s leaders model the hospitality espoused in its core values statement. Geneva College President Calvin L. Troup, PhD, and his wife, Amy, strive to get to know students and staff by inviting the Geneva community into their home for food and fellowship throughout the year. Most varsity athletes have enjoyed a meal at some point in the Troups’ house, along with many of the student body, while most faculty and staff have enjoyed that same hospitality. That sense of hospitality filters down throughout the college.

With hospitality that is integrated with academics and all aspects of life, Dr. Troup gives a new, custom-engraved Holy Bible to each incoming freshman during their early days at the college. That’s where Christian hospitality begins and is continually refined. That’s also why, with Christ as King and under Scripture, Geneva keeps “Inspire Vibrant Hospitality” as a core value.

Conversations among Genevans at the end of the RPCNA Synod meeting in June quickly turned to an indicative question, “How can we do it even better next time?” The answer will be seen clearly over time. Already clear is that Geneva College will continue to follow God’s calling to be hospitable to students and visitors alike whenever given the opportunity.

Chris Mathews is the sports information director at Geneva College and a 2000 graduate. Dan Dieter is the marketing communication manager at Geneva College.