INVOLVEMENT AT WESLEY

"The UGA Wesley Foundation exists to enable students to encounter God and become disciples of Jesus Christ."
This mission statement drives what we do as a ministry. The main way that we enable students to encounter God is through our weekly worship services. Beyond that, Small Groups and Discipleship are designed to take you deeper in your relationship with Jesus during your college years. We would love for you to consider getting involved at Wesley in one of these ways. 

Sign up for Involvement!

2024.2025 Wesley Involvement Sign Ups are now live!

Read more about Involvement below!

There are three main ways to get involved at Wesley

Discipleship 

Discipleship offers students a relationship with someone who can mentor them in knowing the Lord personally and developing a lifestyle of following Jesus. Discipleship meets one on one every other week.

Leadership

Leadership provides students with an opportunity to lead in an area of Wesley. Discipleship, active participation in the Wesley body, commitment to the leader agreement, and weekly attendance at the Wesley Leader Meeting are requirements to be part of Wesley leadership. To learn more about leadership opportunities at Wesley, read the descriptions below.

Wednesday Night Small Groups

Small groups meet after the message at the service on Wednesday nights. They’re a place for Wesley students who want to connect with other students & take the Wednesday night messages deeper.


For any questions about Involvement, please email getinvolved@ugawesley.org

THE LEADERSHIP AREAS

Diversity Outreach

Diversity Outreach is a ministry area dedicated to helping Wesley reflect the kingdom of God at UGA by creating an environment for students of color to feel at home. Students in this area would be a part of a small team of interns and directors who put on events like Let’s Talk, help plan and celebrate heritage months, host discussion groups centered on racial reconciliation, and facilitate community for students of color in our body. Students in Diversity Outreach will also offer feedback on the student of color’s experience at Wesley. If you are interested in being a part of this ministry area, please email sierrajarrell7@gmail.com.
Expectations and Time Commitment: 3.5 hours/week*

*One monthly Wednesday night leader meeting (30 minutes)
Pre-Service Prayer and Wesley Service, including rotations of Wednesday night jobs (2.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
*Help with events throughout the semester (2 hours/month)

Encounter

Encounter is an opportunity specifically for non-freshmen to take what we learn about God and turn it into a lifestyle. We will emphasize how to know God’s voice for yourself as we are led in expressing His love toward others and serving the community around us. As a group, we will learn together how to take the things of God that could seem lofty and make them practical and tangible. This growth and application will happen through our weekly group gatherings and our Wesley services.
Expectations and Time Commitment: 4 hours/week

Tuesday night large group (1.5 hours)
Pre-service Prayer and Wesley Service (2.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)

Freshley Connect

A Freshley Connect Leader’s main job is to help create a fun and inviting environment on Monday Nights. A Freshley Connect Leader would be responsible to help facilitate all pre-service, mid-service, and post-service guest services offered to students. These responsibilities include greeting, ushering, decorating, working the welcome center, initiating conversations, and setting an environment that lets all students know that they matter. We are looking for students who are willing to be the first ones to show up and the last to leave because they come alive having fun and making other people feel welcome and included. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 5-6 hours/week

Monday Night Service Set Up and Tear Down + Freshley Service: (3 hours)
Attending the Wednesday Night Service (1.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
Follow  up with new students (Occasionally)


Freshley Small Group Leader

Freshley’s purpose is to provide an environment where freshmen students can grow in their faith and form community with one another. This primarily takes place through a Monday night Freshley service. Freshley Small Group Leaders facilitate a same-sex small group discussion after the Freshley service to dive deeper into the message. In addition, Freshley Small Group Leaders are asked to follow up with freshmen outside of Monday nights, attend Freshley events such as the Freshley Kickoff and the Freshley Retreat, and to consider going on our Jamaica spring break mission trip. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 5-6 hours/week

Monday Night Freshley Service (2.5 hours)
Leadership meeting + Pre-service prayer (1 hour)
Wesley Service (1.5 hours) 
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
Meeting with freshman outside of small group time (varies)
Fellowship Opportunities/Retreats: (seasonal)

ISM

Wesley ISM (International Student Ministry) exists to equip and empower Wesley students to minister to people from different religious and cultural backgrounds and to enable international students to encounter God and become disciples of Jesus! Student leaders will participate in weekly leader meetings and outreach opportunities to the UGA campus and international student community. Through those team functions our hope is that student leaders would be confident in forming lasting relationships with people from different backgrounds and inviting them into Jesus’ story and community! 
Expectations and Time Commitments: 4.5-5.5 hours/week*

Wesley Service (1.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
ISM Leader meeting before Wesley service (twice a month) or Pre-Service Prayer (twice a month) (1 hour)
Outreach to International Student Community (twice a month) (2 hours)

The Light

The Light is a youth group that empowers and supports children, elementary through high school, living in the Rock Springs neighborhood homes in Athens. The children need a lot of love, connection, verbal affirmation, patience and guidance towards a relationship with Jesus. On Thursday nights, our student leaders will help in large group time by organizing games and activities as well as co-lead small groups with each other. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 5 hours/week

Thursday Night Youth Group (3 hours)
Pre-Service Prayer and Wesley Service (1.5 hours) 
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
*Retreats and Other Special Events (Time varies)

Media

Wesley Media serves every ministry area of Wesley through creativity. It is a leadership area for students with a passion for videography, video editing, photography, and graphic design. Media students work together on individual assignments and on group projects that will further their personal skills as well as supplement the Wesley media content each week! Monthly large group gatherings consist of hands-on training, spiritual formation, fun and fellowship. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 4-6 hours/week

Large Group Gathering 2x per month (1-2 hours per meeting)
Weekly Media Projects (1-2 hours)
Pre-Service Prayer and Wesley Service (2.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)

**Positions on the Media Team are limited. To interview for a position on the Media Team, you must submit a summary of your experience (and portfolio of your work if relevant) to mackenziessimpson@gmail.com by March 29, 2024.**

Prayer

Prayer exists to help students develop a personal prayer life while learning about intercession and identity. Prayer is a ministry of people interceding on behalf of Wesley, Freshley, the campus and Athens. Throughout the year, we will gather to learn about the practicals of prayer while also learning more about who we are and what that means as persevering people of prayer. Our weekly large group will consist of teachings, intercession and small groups led by upperclassmen students and Prayer interns. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 4 hours/week

Teaching/Small Groups on Wednesday nights before Pre-Service Prayer  (1 hour)
Pre-Service Prayer and Wesley Service (2.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)

Student Discipleship

Discipleship is at the core of our mission at Wesley and one of the primary things we are committed to as a ministry. At Wesley, we want to give students who are already on the journey of discipleship the opportunity to lead others by making disciples as well. You will have the opportunity to walk through life with another student and invest in what The Lord is doing in their lives. The hope is to guide them in growing into Christ-likeness and their knowledge of God through reading The Word, praying together and going through the Spiritual Practices together. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 4-6 hours/week

Discipling 2-4 students (2-4 hours)
Weekly Coaching Meeting 1 hour before the Wednesday Night Service (1 hour)
Attending the Wednesday Night Service (1.5 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)

Wesley Connect Leader

A Wesley Connect Leader’s main job is to help create a fun and inviting environment on Wednesday Nights. A Wesley Connect Leader would be responsible to help facilitate all pre-service, mid-service, and post-service guest services offered to students. These responsibilities include greeting, ushering, decorating, working the welcome center, initiating conversations, and setting an environment that lets all students know that they matter. Wesley Connect Leaders will also be expected to follow up with new students outside of Wednesday night. We are looking for students who are willing to be the first ones to show up and the last to leave because they come alive having fun and making other people feel welcome and included. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 5-6 hours/week

Wednesday Night Service Set Up and Tear Down: (1.5 hours)
Wednesday Night Service (2 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
Follow Up With new students (Occasionally)

Wesley Small Group Leader

The Wednesday night service is the main gathering and key formational experience for the Wesley body. Wednesday Night Small Group Leaders will facilitate a same-sex small group after the Wesley message so that students have the opportunity to connect with one another and also discuss that night’s message further. All Small Group Leaders will be trained before every service in how to lead a discussion based on that night’s message through a leadership small group. Additionally, Small Group Leaders are asked to follow up with students outside of Wednesday nights as needed and occasionally attend events designed for them and the members of their small groups.
Expectations and Time Commitment: 4-5 hours/week

Weekly Leadership Small Group before the Wednesday Night Service (1 hour)
Wesley Service and following Small Group (2 hours) 
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
Occasionally meet with students in your group (Varies)
Fellowship Opportunities/Retreats: (Seasonal)

Worship

Wesley Worship serves the Wesley body as a whole.  We seek to worship God in spirit and in truth, and lead others to do the same.  Investing into our team’s relationship with Christ, students will grow in their character as well as their musicality.  Unity and community are also vital to a worship team so worship students will commit to team time before the Wednesday night services each week at 7. We will also have additional community opportunities like retreats and dinners.

Note: You must complete a tryout prior to submitting the form for worship. Click here to learn more about tryouts and sign-up for a time slot!
Expectations & Time Commitment: 6-8 hours/week

On weeks playing, a two-night-a-week commitment:
Worship Service (either Monday or Wednesday) [1.5 hours]
Practice (either Monday or Tuesday) [1.5 hours]

Other commitments:

Regular Wednesday attendance and Team Time (2 hours)
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)

Youth

Wesley partners with local churches around the Athens area to assist their youth pastors as they pour into their youth by helping them run their Sunday Night Youth Services. The youth leader primarily functions as a Sunday night small group leader to middle or high school students. In this role, they will be building relationships with and leading the middle and high schoolers in their faith and getting great hands-on ministry experience with youth in the Athens area. 
Expectations and Time Commitment: 5-6 hours/week*

Sunday Youth Activities (2-4 hours)
Pre-Service Prayer and Wesley Service (2.5 hours) 
Bi-weekly one-on-one Discipleship (1 hour)
*Retreats and Other Special Events  (Time varies)