Peyton Elswick served as a Prayer and Life Group Leader (PLGL) during the 2015-16 school year at Liberty University and has only been serving as a Resident Assistant (RA) for roughly three months, but she has had many ups and downs within this short period.
Elswick has had to address many issues, one of which was boys trying to defend the girls on her hall from clowns.
“I went out to take some girls on a late-night and our brother dorm was guarding the floor with letter openers and badminton racquets and brooms and they would not let us go outside,” said Elswick. “I had to explain and calm down girls on the hall about clowns.”
Students on leadership at Liberty University have experienced it all. There are pros and cons to serving on Student Leadership, but ultimately it has proved a rewarding experiencing.
Community Group Leader (CGL), Anna Russell, agrees with Elswick. She loves what she does.
“My favorite part (of being a CGL) is being able to cultivate sincere friendships and intentional discipleship with girls on my hall,” said Russell.
Russell had many positive experiences as a PLGL in the 2015-16 school year and this semester, but remembers that the first year she participated was more work than she expected.
Annie Shelmerdine, 21, served as a PLGL during the 2015-2016 school year. Shelmerdine loved being part of the experience, but admitted the system has its flaws.
Shelmerdine first interviewed to be a PLGL because she wanted to be a part of setting the tone of the hall she would live on.
“I liked the idea of having personal accountability and growth with people (of the) same age … and that I would get poured into a lot by wiser, more experienced students,” said Shelmerdine.
Shelmerdine was prepared well for the initial responsibilities of being a PLGL such as attending Campus Community, the weekly worship service on campus, and weekly meetings with her prayer group and leadership team. What she was not prepared for was the emotional toll the position would take on her.
“Emotionally, it was a bigger commitment than I thought because you never know who’s going to be in your prayer group, where they are in their walk with Christ, and how they’re going to need you in their life,” said Shelmerdine. “I really worked hard to tailor what we talked about to my prayer group specifically … so (I) really had to get to know them and be able to judge what they might need to hear.”
Though there was an emotional toll, Residential Hall Leadership Meetings (RHLMs) helped to ease the struggle. Shelmerdine loved the sense of community and encouragement it brought to her life.
“Being able to hear every week about people’s lives … knowing their personal struggles and tragedies that are happening in their lives and being able to see how God works in their lives each week and just get to know them on a deeper level was one of my favorite memories,” said Shelmerdine.
Although she loved her prayer group and the overall experience she had, at the end of the academic year, Shelmerdine chose not to continue her role on Student Leadership into the next year.
Shelmerdine felt as though her service had become a chore, feeling like she was forcing herself into the lives of the girls in her group and she did not want to come across that way.
“I feel like (Student) Leadership placed me into a position where, while on paper it looks like I’m pursuing someone in Christ … and letting them know that they are loved and prayed for … turned into a position where it was an unnecessary annoyance for people who clearly did not want to be in a prayer group,” said Shelmerdine. “It was a hard position to be in. While you should always love someone in your prayer group, I was required to do something that was just pushing them farther away for the sake of checking off a list every week.”
Shelmerdine says she grew through the experience, but the list of spiritual things she had to do actually took away from her one-on-one time with God, leaving her spiritually dry.
Shelmerdine thinks that she would not have been a good leader in the following year because her heart would not have been in right place. She did not agree with certain aspects of the leadership system and changes that were being made.
Specifically, Shelmerdine did not like that Campus Community was required for student leaders and that leadership had started to be perceived by those outside as a clique.
“I strongly believe that not everybody on campus needs to hear the same message and part of a prayer leader’s job is to spiritually lead to their best discretion, not just spit out whatever sermon they heard a few hours beforehand,” said Shelmerdine. “It takes away from the intentionality.”
Instead of having to teach prayer groups based on what was taught in Campus Community, Shelmerdine thinks that prayer leaders should be able to cater to the students in their groups individually.
Another thing that Shelmerdine would like to see changed is the overall hiring process. She believes that some leaders are hired based on first impressions and the need for positions to be filled instead of based on qualification.
“My eyes have opened to the amount of student leaders … that are not living spiritually sound lives, but were simply hired into that position because there was a position that needed to be filled,” said Shelmerdine. “First impressions aren’t everything and the hiring process should be a little more in-depth for such an important part in people’s lives.”
Although Shelmerdine loved her overall experience, she warns that those who are considering serving on Student Leadership to seriously consider the current state of their spiritual health and relationship with God.
“Just because you’re a prayer leader, doesn’t mean that (your alone time with God and prayer life) is going to get better,” said Shelmerdine. “If anything, it’s going take away from your time with God.”
Shelmerdine advises that people should make sure that they are aware of the sacrifices they must make and not just serve for the social aspect. Her final warning to students is to not take time with one’s prayer group for granted because it can make an enormous impact on one’s life.
Peyton Elswick agrees with Shelmerdine. She expected challenges and rewards and her expectations were exceeded in both regards.
“I expected to be emotionally drained, but I also expected to have a really great platform to pour into girls,” said Elswick. “To an extent, it was everything (I) imagined that it would be. It just becomes real.”If you want to learn more about how you can become a part of Student Leadership at LU, check out the https://www.liberty.edu/studentaffairs/studentleadership/available positions.
