Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the Earth.”
It’s more than just a verse to Michigan State University students. Behind this verse is a community offering fellowship through worship.
The Salt Company is a college aimed ministry group based out of The Commons Church in Okemos. The Christian organization’s main goal is to form relationships with Jesus amongst young adults.
The mission statement provided by their website expresses the reason East Lansing is an ideal location is because of the 70,000 college students in and around the city. Some values the organization prioritizes is: The gospel, dependency, neighboring and urgency.
“Having this community is incredibly special to me,” said MSU sophomore Haley Manno. “I never had a faith community like this growing up, so coming to MSU and joining the Salt Company was so amazing.”
Salt aims to create community not just within the walls of the church, but also throughout the growing population of students who attend their services. Student led connection groups are offered weekly. Some MSU students find this beneficial when life and school gets stressful.
“School and life can obviously get very hectic when you’re in college, it kind of comes with the territory,” said junior Sierra Wiles. “Having a space to let go of school and focus on something that truly matters is really wonderful.”
“Praying to God in general really helps me relieve my stress because I’m able to fall into faith when things in life get tough,” said junior Karis Pacini. “So having a community like this helps my stress seem minuscule for the time being.”
The ministry is known to encourage spiritual and personal growth. Students who attend Salt emphasize the relationships they have created through attending the services.
“Having this community means the absolute world to me,” Wiles said. “It was a game changer; I have made some of my most cherished friendships here.”
Manno agrees with Wiles that Salt has helped them create life-long friendships.
“It is really such a blessing and such a beautiful thing to be surrounded by so many other young believers that are on the same/similar faith journeys as you,” Manno said. “Having a community that not only lifts you up but also holds you accountable for things in life is something like no other.”
For those looking to join the Salt community, the church offers a “worship and Bible teaching” service on Sunday 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. and Thursday 8 a.m. The Commons Church can be located at 4683 Marsh Road, Okemos.
Haley Manno
Second-year Michigan State University
(734) 757-3036
Sierra Wiles
Third-year Michigan State University
(734) 277-0980
Karis Pacini
Third-year Michigan State University
(847)345-8918