Religious Life
Lyon welcomes all students, regardless of faith, and seeks to provide opportunities for students to worship, to serve, and for fellowship while urging each student to explore, ask questions, and respectfully encounter those of different faith convictions and backgrounds. We do not dictate or restrict a student’s exploration, but rather seek to provide a safe environment for dialogue, growth, and learning within the walls of the classroom and beyond.
Spiritual Programming
- Weekly chapel services: Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. in the Ellebracht Chapel
- Bible studies and small groups
- Mission trips
- Service projects
- Social events
- Retreats
- Opportunities to learn about other faiths and special topics
- Special opportunities for worship and prayer
Student Religious Organizations
Interested in getting involved on campus? Here are our current religious student organizations at Lyon.
Baptist Collegiate Ministry
The purpose of Baptist Collegiate Ministry is to exalt God through growing in Christ, connecting to His church, and serving His world.
Fellowship of Christian athletes (FCA)
The mission of FCA is to present to coaches, athletes, and all they influence, the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, serving him in their relationships and fellowship of the church. We do so by creating opportunities for fellowship with other students and athletes on campus. For more information, please contact their faculty/staff advisor Margaret Alsup.
Wesley Fellowship
Wesley Fellowship provides opportunities for students to meet together for prayer, study, fellowship, and service to the Lyon community. Wesley Fellowship is particularly interested in serving students with a religious background in the Wesleyan heritage (e.g. United Methodism) but welcomes all faculty, staff, and students who share in the interests and purpose of Wesley Fellowship. For more information, please contact their faculty/staff advisor Dr. Paul Bube.
Catholic Campus Ministry
Catholic Campus Ministry in the Diocese of Little Rock witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by teaching and preaching the Word of God and gathering together the community for worship and service on college campuses. CCM hosts a variety of activities and worship that build community, strengthen faith, and encourage learning. While the purpose is to serve Catholic students, CCM is open for any faculty, staff, or student who shares in the interests of CCM.
Presbyterian Student Association
Presbyterian Student Association strives to nurture relationships with God, others, and ourselves. Through our gifts and talents, we challenge each other to grow, worship, serve, and play in the Batesville community and at Lyon. For more information, contact their faculty/staff advisor Chaplain Maggie Alsup.
Compass Ministry
The purpose of Compass Ministry to provide a Christian environment to support Lyon students through study and fellowship. For more information, please contact their faculty/staff advisor Gary Sevier.
Campus Ministry Team
Through various events and programming, the Campus Ministry Team encourages students, faculty, and staff to explore and engage in questions of faith and life. This group of highly motivated students works closely with Chaplain Maggie to lead weekly chapel services, special worship services, bible studies, and more. For more information, please contact their faculty/staff advisor Chaplain Maggie Alsup.
Lyon College Chaplain
Religious Life at Lyon College is led by chaplain Reverend Maggie Alsup. Her office is available for pastoral counseling, spiritual discernment, and prayer. She works closely with the Campus Ministry Team to provide the Lyon community with a variety of religious and faith-based programming, educational opportunities, and social events.
Standards for Religious Representatives and Guests
Lyon does not dictate or restrict a student's religious exploration; therefore, there are times in which it invites various groups or representatives to its campus on behalf of the Office of the Chaplain with the understanding that the guidelines below are followed:
- Religious groups and representatives shall respect the right of students to maintain privacy; to accept, question, or reject religious faith; and to affiliate with, decline to affiliate with, or disaffiliate themselves from any religous organization on campus.
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While Lyon College recognizes that appropriate expressions of evangelism may be integral to a group's religious convinctions and activities, it holds that behaviors are unacceptable. Those behaviors include, but are not limited to, the following:
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Door-to-door or other organized campaigns within residence halls (where students rightly expect their privacy to be respected)
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Visual displays or organizational announcements in classroom space
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Literature or survey campaigns where individuals cannot easily or comfortably avoid being approached by those distributing literature or surveys
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Persisting personal invitations of any kind to a group's meetings or activities after the invitee has clearly indicated a desire not to participate in that group's life or activities
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Religious groups and representatives shall follow all campus rules and regulations as well as policies from the Chaplain's Office, which specify the purpose for which the purposes for which these groups function on campus.
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Religous representatives are not permitted in Residence Life Facilities.
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Religious groups and representatives shall not engage in actions which have an adverse impact on the academic/vocational pursuits or the emotional/physical well-being of students or in actions, which by force or coercion (phsyical or psychological) cause students to be absent from campus activities which are a regular aspect of a liberal arts education (e.g., study abroad). Further definitions of harrassment may be found in the Student Handbook.
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For more information about local churches and resources, visitors may visit these links: