Every Wednesday, a small, white church building in the borough of Eastvale, Pa., overflows with kids. Some are from Beaver Falls, some are from local Reformed Presbyterian congregations, and all are learning about Jesus and having a great time. This is Frontier Club, and since its inception Geneva College students have helped to make it a reality.

Isaac Pockras is a junior business aviation major who coordinates games for the kindergarten to third graders, the youngest age group at Club. He has been on staff since his sophomore year, and, from his very first day at Club, he has been struck by the prominence of the gospel in every aspect of the program. “It’s the number one, biggest thing,” he says.

He’s right about that. As stated by Club founders Christi Townsend and Brenda Schaefer, “Frontier Club aims to introduce kids to their need for a Savior, the provision of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, the promise of life everlasting, and the joy and purpose of serving God now.” This mission takes shape through Bible lessons, games, relationship-building, crafts, Scripture memory, singing, and most of all love.

Both Geneva alumni and members of the College Hill RPC, Christi and Brenda started the ministry in the fall of 2001 as part of the nationwide Pioneer Club program. The group later merged with a similar initiative at Eastvale RPC called Treasure Diggers and became a unique collaboration between the two congregations.

“Providentially, our strengths and weaknesses complemented each other perfectly,” Christi says. College Hill had a strong curriculum and plenty of staff, and Eastvale had space and a strong history of community outreach. Eastvale Pastor Micah Ramsey and his wife, Leslie, are committed to growing the program and developing ongoing relationships with kids and their families.

Frontier Club meets at the Eastvale church building on Wednesday afternoons for a high-powered hour and a half. College students and other helpers play board games with the kids as they trickle in, and Club time officially starts with prayer and opening exercises at 4:15 p.m. Attendance varies, but an average of 50 children—both churched and unchurched—participate each week.

Divided into four groups—kindergarten through third grade, fourth to sixth grade boys and girls separately, and a new group for girls ages 12 and up—the kids have a Bible lesson, memorize Scripture, and practice a psalm with corresponding hand motions. Each group also enjoys games, crafts and a snack provided by church members. In addition, the children are matched with “prayer pals,” adult volunteers who commit to pray for them daily, and whom the kids get to meet at special events each semester.

College students help with anything and everything that’s needed at Club. They run snack, recreation, memory and craft stations. They handle all the setup and cleanup every week. A college helper accompanies Christi in the “big white van” as she picks up kids in downtown Beaver Falls who need transportation. Those who want to help but can’t commit every week can volunteer as prayer pals. No matter which tasks they’re assigned to, the college helpers’ primary charge is to show kids Christ. This is no small task, and Club leadership makes sure the students know it. “When they’re at Club, their focus is the kids,” Christi says. “They may not be chatting with fellow students; it’s as if no other adults are there.” Through his experiences at Frontier Club, and previously as a Cub Scouts mentor at home in Ohio, Isaac has come to realize how much the kids look up to him. “These kids are watching what I’m doing all the time. I’m a model for them, whether I want to be or not. So if I’m leading them on a path that doesn’t lead to Christ, they’re still going to follow.”

Isaac currently helps out with recreation for the K-3 group, and he’s amazed by how many opportunities there are to communicate God’s truth, even during a simple game. The college students are not expected to do any preparation outside of Club, but they are given the key points from the lesson ahead of time and try to tie some of the same themes into the game. “We try to give them a simple takeaway, too, and hopefully it sticks with them,” he says.

In addition to teaching, ministering and just having fun with the kids, college students are expected to enforce firm and loving discipline. Rules aren’t just rules at Club: they are meant to show children their need for a Savior. A little boy who lied to Isaac during recreation one day had to sit out the rest of the game, but he also talked to one of the Club coordinators one-on-one and prayed with her afterwards. “Everything ties back to the central importance of the gospel,” Isaac says. Ever since Frontier Club started, Geneva College students have played a core role in carrying out this gospel-focused mission. As Christi goes through her files and reads name after name of students who have been on staff, she smiles over the memories they bring to mind.

To build relationships and bring more neighborhood children to the program, Tony Mastris, class of ’09 history major, met kids as they got off the bus and played games with them until Club time.

Biology student Laura Streit faithfully volunteered at Club during her time at Geneva, and, even though her pursuit of a nursing career has now taken her to Pittsburgh, she still drives to Eastvale every week. Heather Moore, ’10, started working at Adoption Connection Pa. after graduating with a human services and missions degree, but she continued to help at Frontier Club, as well. “Theresa (Gazo, ’10) Bloom did the memory verse station, and the kids loved it,” Christi says. “She was so animated and enthusiastic. It was her baby.” Now, Theresa and her husband, Nick, an engineering grad, are members of the Eastvale church, and they pick up some of those same kids for church every week. “We could not do Frontier Club without Geneva students,” Christi says. But Frontier Club is a blessing to the college students, too. “Since I’m in college, I can’t be fully plugged in to one particular church all year long,” Isaac says. “Frontier Club gives me an opportunity to really connect with some of the people at Eastvale and get involved in ministry there.”

As college students like Isaac work with these kids on a weekly basis and become invested in their lives, they catch a bigger vision for God’s kingdom. And with the skills they develop at Club—from organization to outreach—they can support ministries in their own churches in the future. “We have students all over the world now who have worked at Frontier Club,” Christi says.

Isaac plans to enter the Marine Corps after graduation. After that, he’s not sure. But wherever he ends up, he hopes to serve his future church and community by getting involved with, or even helping to start, a program similar to Frontier Club. “It’s really an inlet to change entire families,” he says. “It’s great if we can have kids come to Christ, but even better if their whole families embrace Him and become part of the life of His church.”

Jenny (Bower) Pichura graduated from Geneva College in 2005. She and her husband, Mike, are members of the College Hill (Beaver Falls, Pa.) RPC. A Geneva feature appears semiannually in the Witness.