Spiritual Development

At Johnson, education is not reduced to academic competence alone. The kingdom of God will not be extended by the degrees framed and hanging on our graduates’ walls, but by the lives they live, being transformed with ever-increasing glory into the likeness of Christ, which is the work of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). Our students’ spiritual formation, therefore, is vital to our mission and is a significant focus for our trustees, administration, faculty, and staff. To this end, the chapel program is integral to a Johnson University education, and regular attendance is required for graduation.

During the school year, the Johnson community gathers every Tuesday and Thursday morning for chapel services. Chapel is an opportunity to regularly set all other distractions aside, to focus our collective hearts and minds on Christ, and, by his Spirit, to worship and commune with God as one campus body.

Chapel services include prayer, singing, and a variety of speakers ranging from visiting missionaries, ministers, community leaders, and other special guests to JU’s own faculty, staff, and students.

Each year both campuses share a theme that guides the texts and topics of chapel. On Wednesday mornings, students participate in chapel groups that challenge students to grow in relationship with Jesus and with others.

Those outside our campus community are welcome to worship and learn with us. Services are livestreamed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

During the school year, the Johnson community gathers every Tuesday and Thursday morning for chapel services. Chapel is an opportunity to regularly set all other distractions aside, to focus our collective hearts and minds on Christ, and, by his Spirit, to worship and commune with God as one campus body.

Chapel services include prayer, singing, and a variety of speakers ranging from visiting missionaries, ministers, community leaders, and other special guests to JU’s own faculty, staff, and students. In addition, this year we’ll be exploring “Listening Practice.” Dallas Willard says that we learn to hear and discern God’s voice from experience. So on Thursdays we will practice listening to God together.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Chapel Groups meet every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. in place of our large chapel gatherings. Students have a choice between attending one of seven small groups based on a topic, or being placed in a mentor group that consists of six peers and a mentor group leader.

The PW Auditorium Prayer Room is open before, during, or after chapel for students to pray with a faculty/staff member about anything they’d like. No sign up necessary. If you are a faculty/staff member who would like to volunteer to pray with students, please sign up here.

Have an announcement that you would like to be shared with the student body? Please fill out this form to get started!

For the purpose of tracking chapel attendance, Johnson University Tennessee uses the iAttended app. Students will either scan a QR code with the iAttended app on their phones, or scan their student ID at the door, before and after each chapel service to be marked present in attendance.

Johnson University recognizes that some students are physically unable to attend chapel on campus. Therefore, JU offers three different opportunities for students to earn chapel credit online. To apply to earn credit online, complete this form, obtain the necessary signature, and and submit it to the Chapel Office within the first three weeks of the semester or within two weeks of the chapel service(s) missed.

During the Fall 2023 semester, students in need of chapel credits can earn them by watching the following mediums in the prioritized order they are listed:

JU Chapel Livestream (1 credit per service)
All Tuesday chapel services will be livestreamed this semester. If you have missed a Tuesday chapel service, please watch the service recorded on the Livestream before proceeding to the other online chapel credit options.

Bible Project Podcast (1 credit per episode)
Sermon on the Mount
The Paradigm
Gospel of the Kingdom

Life With God Podcast (1 credit per episode)
Jon Bauer – Worship with Your Life (Ep:29)
Juanita Rasmus – An Expansive Heart (Ep: 98)
Chris Webb – The Courage to Face Our Brokenness (Ep: 101)
Lacy Borgo – Meeting Jesus in the Marginalized (Ep: 170)
Marlena Graves – The Way Up Is Down (Ep: 197)
Dallas Willard – Living the Divine Conspiracy (Ep: 209)
Charles Moore – Living the Sermon on the Mount Together (Ep: 217)
James Bryan Smith – Transforming Toxic Self Narratives (Ep. 237)
Monica & Jeremy Chambers – Getting Personal with the Lord’s Prayer (Ep: 251)
Sho Baraka – George Washington Carver (Ep: 265)
Joe Davis & Nick Page – Disagreeing and Staying Friends (Ep: 271)
Margaret Campbell – The Long Game (Ep: 272)

JU Sermon Archives (1 credit per service)
Rafael Rodriguez (November 12, 2015)
Kevin Dubose (February 7, 2017)
Julianna Zoch (February 14, 2017)
Aaron Wright (January 17, 2019)
Bill Wolf (September 3, 2020)
Dominique Lee (September 10, 2020)
Matthew Best (November 12, 2020)
Chrystal Brown (February 4, 2021)
Rachel Grindle (March 17, 2022)
Lydia Emerson (August 29, 2023)
Brandon Perry (September 5, 2023)
Susana Lopez (October 10, 2023)
Steve Cuss (October 26, 2023)
Jody Owens (March 5, 2024)
Daniel Overdorf (January 30, 2024)

Upon the approval of your application, please complete the following steps to receive credit:

• Watch/listen to the video, podcast, or service you have chosen.
• In a Word document or in the body of an email, summarize each video, podcast, or service you have watched in 150 words or more by answering the following questions:
  • What was the service order?
  • What was the primary theme of the message or service?
  • What were the stories told, Scriptures cited, or things done in the service that supported or developed that theme?
  • How might the theme relate to you and your life situation?
• Submit your summary to the chapel teaching assistant within two weeks of the service missed.