Giving Tuesday—New Bibles for The Vos Chapel

On Tuesday, February 8, a special service was held in the Vos Chapel at Kuyper College. The Kuyper community came together to observe the dedication of new Bibles recently acquired for the chapel through this year’s Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign. This gathering was a unique opportunity for the Kuyper community to honor its generous supporters and the contributions they make to the life of the college. Most importantly, however, it was an occasion to revisit the story of Scripture and think about Kuyper’s place within God’s work in His good world.

For those unfamiliar with Giving Tuesday, it is a worldwide movement that focuses on unleashing radical generosity’s power to impact the world positively. The central concept is that everyone has something valuable to give; every act of generosity counts, no matter how small it is. Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a simple idea: set aside a day to encourage people to do good. Since then, it has grown into an independent non-profit organization as well as a year-round, global mobilization that inspires hundreds of millions to give money, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. The central organization exists to inspire and equip others, but any institution can engineer its own Giving Tuesday campaign. 

Giving Tuesday’s goal to create a more just and generous world inspired Kuyper College to join the movement. “We wanted Scripture to be as accessible as possible for students,” said Lisa Rusticus, Kuyper’s Annual Fund and Alumni Relations Manager. So the decision was made to focus on raising funds for Bibles in an updated version to help chapel services go more smoothly. For example, all text and page numbers would match by having the identical copy of the Bible in the pews as at the pulpit. This way, a speaker would only need to call out a page number for attendees to find the text. 

Each person was given a new Bible during the dedication service as they entered the chapel to place in a pew. Then, all in attendance commemorated the occasion by praying, singing, and reading Scripture together. Each part of the service reinforced the idea that followers of the living God are part of His grand story, able to partner with Him as He works out redemption in His world.

“Initially, we intended to raise enough funds to purchase two-hundred Bibles for the pews and a pulpit Bible,” said Rusticus. “Fortunately, through the generosity of donors, that objective was exceeded. The extra funds will be used to make several updates to the Vos Chapel so that the Kuyper community be blessed by a better worship experience.”