As You Are Team Needs
The mission of As You Are has always been simple, but so important. We want to facilitate Christian community for college girls - Bible Study groups, free worship nights, and opportunities for students to pursue their relationship with Christ. The ministry began in 2020 and was entirely student-run since the beginning. However, in 2022 most of the founders graduated, and we began praying through next steps for the ministry as it grows.
In short, we’ve felt called to continue our ministry by hiring 2 staff members. We have begun writing a curriculum that is specifically geared towards our As You Are girls (4 separate year-long studies for Freshman to Senior year), starting a podcast where we make our curriculum, and additional content, available for students while they're on the go, as well as continuing to expand to new campuses. We currently have As You Are Bible Studies at 4 college campuses, and plan to continue expanding. We will host free worship nights at each of our campuses once a semester.
If you want to learn more, scroll down for a more detailed description of what we’re up to!
What is a barrier to college students spending time with God? Free time to sit down and read. When we asked ourselves what needs we saw for these college women, we realized how beneficial it would be for them to have access to our Bible Study while they are on the go - on a long drive home or on a walk. Our 2 staff members Emily Harrison & Anna Butler host and record the podcast and publish it weekly. You can check it out HERE. We have received so much positive feedback from people listening to the podcast who feel encouraged by the content. Even girls who are not members of an As You Are Bible study have been tuning in!
Writing curriculum has been a long time dream of the As You Are founders. When the Bible study started, each group would go through random books and studies at their own pace. But now with the growth As You Are is experiencing, we see a need to write and facilitate our own study, specifically geared towards our girls. We have plans for a year-by-year study, Freshman through Senior year. We have compiled a curriculum team that is writing the Bible study one semester at a time. The goal is to have all four years completed and launched within the next few years, but all the groups are currently going through Semester One of the study together.
A part of our mission is to build and strengthen authentic community among college aged women. Our As You Are worship nights have been an amazing way for all 4 years of Bible study girls to do just that. The As You Are girls go above and beyond making these nights special - there are fun balloons and decorations, snacks and drinks, followed by worship and a talk. Our 2 staff members Emily & Anna run the events with the help of volunteers from each campus. Emily and her Husband Michael are the worship leaders and production staff, and Anna coordinates volunteer details, as well as preparing and giving the talk. These nights are a really special part of the semester. We began with just one worship night at the University of Georgia, and now we have 4 campuses we travel to each semester, with a growing list of Universities who are hoping to become As You Are campuses in the coming years.
Our Staff
Anna Butler is serving as the Executive Director for As You Are. She currently lives with her husband Everett and puppy Tuck in Richmond, VA, but she originally got connected with As You Are when she and Everett lived in Athens, GA. While she lived in Athens she led two years of senior girls Bible study through As You Are. Anna manages all logistics and finances, communicates with the Board, leads our As You Are campus teams, teaches at the worship nights, is on the curriculum writing team, and helps host the podcast.
Emily Harrison is serving as the Creative Director for As You Are. She lives with her Husband Michael and her 2.5 year old son Jones in Athens, GA. Emily has been involved with As You Are as the worship leader for events in the past years, but this is her first year to be involved full time. Emily is leading the senior girls Bible Study this year. She built the new As You Are website, records and hosts the podcast, is on the curriculum writing team, is editing and designing the visuals for the Bible Study, leads worship and runs production at the worship nights. Emily’s husband Michael also helps with production and music for Worship Nights.
Additional Needs
There are a few other things that As You Are would love to do with and additional resources. So far we have offered all worship nights, podcasts, and curriculum for free, and want to continue doing so. We also would love to be able to offer the girls in the Bible studies other free resources, like Bible study books that we plan to read as a group while the girls are gone for school breaks, and Bibles for anyone who doesn’t already have one.
