Our Mission
To be a community where all who are curious about life and God wrestle with scripture and are challenged to root their identity in Christ.
Guelph Campus Ministry welcomes students – believers and seekers – who are curious and thoughtful about Jesus in their lives. It is a place to belong that welcomes questions, encourages wonder and is willing to struggle together toward identity in Christ.
On the university campus, students prepare for life and emerge into adulthood. GCM acknowledges that Christ is present in all aspects of our lives, including academic life, and seeks to provide an environment where students can root themselves deeply in Christ and find their calling; where their gifts and talents can be identified and encouraged; and where they can find comfort and guidance in the midst of their struggles and disappointments.
GCM encourages Christians – students, staff and faculty – to be rooted in Christ, knowing that good fruit comes from deep roots.
Our Vision
Resilient graduates who know that Christ calls them to live faithfully without fear and with hope, stepping into the challenges of their time.
As followers of Christ, GCM declares with joy and trust that
our world belongs to God. We strive to equip students to go out into our troubled world,
living faithfully into the challenges of today, knowing they are called for times such as
these to bear good fruit, and overcome despair and fear with love and hope – resisting the
anxiety of today’s culture and trusting in God.
We believe with confidence that the Lord is faithful, giving meaning to our days and hope to our years. Our future is secure because our world belongs to God.
Raithby House: GCM’s Home on Campus
Guelph Campus Ministry is one of
several
faith groups sharing the Multi-Faith space, Raithby House, right in the heart of campus. You can
often find us sharing coffee and snacks on the porch, making Community Dinner together in the
kitchen, or cozied up talking about Jesus in the GCM office upstairs. This year, in celebration
of
our 50th anniversary last year, we will be gifting Raithby House a beautiful new bench for our
porch
gatherings.
Staff
Campus Minister Sara DeMoor
Campus Minister Sara DeMoor heads up
Guelph Campus Ministry,
working with Brianne Gayfer, GCM’s wonderful board members and a team of student interns.
Alumni and local churches are also active parts of this ministry. We thank the Lord for what
we can do together! Sara has been with GCM since May 2017 and has a deep appreciation for
the University of Guelph and its diverse, fascinating students. Prior to joining GCM, Sara
was a campus minister at the University of Toronto for 9 years. Sara enjoys conversations
with students, extending hospitality at community dinners, collaborating with colleagues on
the Multi-Faith Resource Team, and wrestling with big questions and cultural moments. She's
always eager to meet for coffee (or tea) and conversation. When not on campus, Sara enjoys
spending time with her husband and two children, exploring local shops and the farmer’s
market, and--while washing the dishes or walking to campus--listening to and learning from a
variety of podcasts.
You can hear Sara talking about campus ministry on the Two Rivers Church podcast here: Episode
9 - The Guelph Campus Ministry
sdemoor@uoguelph.ca
519-732-3517 (text or call).
Administrative Coordinator Brianne Gayfer
Brianne Gayfer serves as
Administrative
Coordinator for GCM, managing the social media and weekly email updates, setting the agenda for
weekly programming meetings with Sara and the student interns, creating a variety of promotional
content and generally doing all manner of behind-the-scenes work. She has been involved with GCM
as
a graduate student since 2018 and as a student intern in the 2021-2022 school year. Brianne
loves
connecting with students, faculty, staff, board members, and supporters through her role. When
she
is not working for GCM she is either making slow but steady progress on her PhD in Child
Clinical
Psychology, reading way too many books, or spending time with her adorable toddler.
gcm@uoguelph.ca
Interns
Garrett Aukema
Hello, I'm Garrett Aukema. I
am a second year in Biochemistry. I think my favourite part of GCM so far has been talking to
everyone at community dinner and "something after supper". I especially liked the series on
"close but not quite Christianity". Something that I am looking forward to about being an intern
this year is welcoming new people into GCM, especially all the new first years!
Kiera-Joy (KJ) Doell
I'm KJ, and I’m in my
second year of a Food Science Major. My highlights from the past year have been the Coffee Shop
Crawl during O-Week and getting to know so many people at the weekly community dinners. GCM has
been such a supportive and encouraging community for me, and I'm excited for all the ways I will
get to continue being a part of this for others. As a GCM intern, I'm excited to continue
building relationships with all of you and to help plan lots of fun events in the coming year!
Zadie Harpster
Hi, I'm Zadie Harpster. I am
entering my second year of Computer Engineering. My favourite thing about GCM is all the great
conversations I have had whether around the community dinner tables or organized discussions
like Flourishing Faith. This year I am excited to work with the other interns to plan events and
have thoughtful discussions.