Contributed
Contributed
Hope Griffin, a member of Denton, N.C., Church, and a junior education major at Southern Adventist University, has always enjoyed being connected to her church community.
As a young teenager, Griffin participated in the Carolina Conference’s weekly prayer call, where members across the Conference shared prayer requests and prayed together. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Griffin was 15, she was invited to lead a version of the call for teenagers called “YouthPray.”
Launched during the General Conference’s 100 Days of Prayer initiative, YouthPray began as a 15-minute phone call for youth but soon grew into a half-hour Zoom gathering every Tuesday.
Unsure whether she wanted to attend college, Griffin took a gap year to attend CORE Evangelism School, a Pennsylvania Conference program designed to equip students for ministry and outreach.
“At CORE, the biggest thing I learned is that God’s heart toward His kids is only one of love,” said Griffin. “It radiates from every Adventist belief and every doctrine. I also realized God was calling me to become an elementary school teacher, so that I could share His love with children who might not receive it at home.”
Griffin chose Southern Adventist University because of its Christ-centered spiritual environment. She soon immersed herself in campus life, leading a LifeGroup centered on junk journaling, a form of scrapbooking using magazines and other found materials.
Griffin wanted the small group to provide a safe place where students could rest and connect with God and one another through creativity. She opened each session with a devotional thought to inspire the group’s work.
During her sophomore year, Griffin co-led a Bible-based LifeGroup focused on the different facets of God’s character. Her favorite session centered on Daniel 2 and Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue made of different materials.
“I loved how God was so intentional to show Nebuchadnezzar that He cared about him by giving him this revelation,” said Griffin. “He could have given the vision directly to Daniel, but He shared the message with Nebuchadnezzar because He wanted to save him.”
This coming school year, Griffin is looking forward to serving as a LifeGroup coach, guiding new leaders of Bible study groups. She hopes to share knowledge and strategies she learned at CORE while encouraging leaders to care for their own spiritual lives and make time to personally connect with God.
“I am so grateful for the many kind people and caring communities in my life, the Carolina Conference, Denton Church, and Southern,” said Griffin. “It feels like we are a family.”
For Griffin, each of those communities has helped strengthen her relationship with God, and prepared her to create the same sense of belonging for others — both as a LifeGroup leader and, one day, as an elementary school teacher.
Carolina | October 2026
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