Nerd Stuff

Paolo spent a lot of time in the game room at the University of North Florida.

He was looking for food in the Student Union and found it at Food for Thought. He would play games with his friends, come to Food for Thought, and then go back to the game room, often with leftovers for friends who hadn’t joined. 

He also found radical hospitality, humility, and vulnerability– some of the key components of our Tuesday night gatherings. “I wasn’t afraid to ask questions there because everyone made it cool, and it was obvious there were no stupid questions.” Paolo found the space there to be vulnerable in a way he had not experienced in other spaces before. “I’m a big nerd,” he said. “Many people in my generation will not have an excuse to have a vulnerable conversation like that every day because normally my conversations are about video games, anime, movies, and all that nerd stuff.

Paolo still joins us at Food for Thought occasionally, even though he graduated a few years ago. “I’m glad you still have Food for Thought. New students should come because I bet they won’t have those kinds of conversations in high school. And if they are just doing school and hanging out with a small group of friends, they are not going to have the opportunity to discuss their feelings about such serious topics.” 

From the outside, a gathering like Food for Thought sometimes looks like a group of random students talking to a pastor about fairly random subjects, but Paolo understands that it is much more than that. “Sometimes people won’t have the environment to talk about stuff like that until they get to college, and it’s really important that they do."

Your generosity allows Jacksonville Campus Ministry to provide a caring pastor who helps create a place for students to ask important questions in a safe, inviting environment. Thank you for your generosity.