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NGU Chapel Schedule
Your Guide to Chapel at NGU
At Chapel, students gather to worship Jesus and learn to view all of life in relation to Him. Services take many forms, including congregational worship in song, exegetical teaching of Scripture, lectures, discussion panels, interviews, theatrical productions, and musical ensembles, which are all intended to encourage Christian discipleship, worship, and worldview development. The rhythm of two weekly chapels on Monday and Wednesday, along with the content and format of each service, is designed to foster academic discipleship across the NGU community.
Looking to jump to the Fall 2026 chapel schedule?
A Message from President Fant:
Welcome to the Fall 2026 semester! We are excited to begin the academic year and are prayerful that you will build many memories in the coming days here in Tigerville.
Chapel is NGU’s largest academic class. It is central to the entire learning philosophy we undertake here as we “equip transformational leaders for church and society”; it bears academic credit and is a requirement for graduation. The first official chapel, called “Convocation,” is on August 24, and it will include a special address from me to kick off these important class meetings. My topic will be “Calling,” which is part of the “4 C’s” that are so distinctive to NGU’s approach to traditional undergraduate education (Community, Calling, Courage, Compassion).
Chapels at NGU may include teaching, panel discussions, prayer, academic lectures, music, drama, testimonies, Bible reading, and occasional preaching from pastors, all of which are centered around the cultivation of a biblical worldview that encourages human flourishing. Sometimes it will feel a bit like a traditional lecture classroom, sometimes a bit like an academic conference, sometimes a bit like a large-scale conversation, and sometimes like a regular church service. It is also our largest lab, as it is where our worship leadership groups prepare for local church service. NGU has a committee that assists the Office of Campus Ministries and Student Engagement in the development of our schedule, our themes, and our chapel events themselves.
At NGU you will not find events scheduled for chapel that are unrelated to our academic programs. No political campaign events, no discrete cultural events (we save those for our Performing Arts & Lectures Series), and no extensive denominational discourses. While some of our speakers come from off-campus, NGU’s chapels are by us, for us, and aimed at extending the topics that we hope are circulating in your other academic classes, dorm room discussions, and friend group conversations.
NGU is a ministry partner of the local churches that make up the South Carolina Baptist Convention, but chapel is not church. NGU strongly encourages all students (and expects all faculty and staff) to find a local church to connect to for service and edification. We do not baptize or practice the Lord’s Supper at chapel, we do not offer membership, and we do not ordain pastors, elders, deacons, or other church-related roles. We do not have anyone on staff who carries the title “pastor,” which in our tradition typically is reserved for local church work. We do have ministers—indeed, we expect for all our employees to have a ministry mindset—who serve our community. We offer mission experiences. We declare the power of God’s Word over all elements of our lives. We proclaim the gospel in our classes, including chapel, and emphasize the importance of personal testimonies to encourage one another.
Chapel, however, is not church, which is why we offer the special church fair at the start of the year (August 20), to help students connect with dozens of local churches that have needs that students can fulfill and that can become sources of discipleship and accountability. Christ not only gave up His life for our sins (1 Peter 3:18 and many other verses), the Scriptures also make clear that He gave up His life for the church (Ephesians 5:25-26); the local church is too important to our lives for us to position chapel as a cheap, convenient substitute. Instead, it is a learning lab for how to think Christianly and live faithfully in all of life—including faithful participation in the local church.
As chapel moves forward through the semester, please know that we are praying even now for its contents to encourage you, to chasten you, to enlighten you, and to provide you with experiences that can be transformational to your heart, soul, and mind. We are delighted to have you here and look forward to seeing how God might reveal His glorious name and love to you over the course of the year at 10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays!
Blessings,
Gene C. Fant, Jr., Ph.D.
President & CEO
North Greenville University
NGU Chapel Schedule
Events are listed in scheduled order by date.
Wednesday, August 19th
Syllabus Day
Dallas Vandiver, AVP for Student Ministries, NGU
Monday, August 24th
Convocation
Gene Fant, President, NGU
Wednesday, August 26th
Ignite
Dallas Wilson, Upstate Church, Greenville, SC
Thursday, August 27th, 7pm
Ignite
Jon Ross Fordree, BCM, NGU
Monday, August 31st
Gospel Message
Harold ‘Zion’ Edwards, Bull St. Baptist Church, Savannah, GA
Monday, August 31st, 7pm
Concert
Harold ‘Zion’ Edwards, Bull St. Baptist Church, Savannah, GA
Wednesday, September 2nd
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering – 2 Corinthians 4:17
Trevor Hoffman, Ridgewood Church, Greer, SC
Monday, September 7th
Labor Day
NO CHAPEL
Wednesday, September 9th
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering – Romans 5:1-4
Donald Thomas, Abner Creek Baptist Church, Greer, SC
Monday, September 14th
Global Impact Week
Rebekah Naylor, Retired IMB (International Mission Board), Southwestern Seminary
TUESDAY, September 15th, 7pm
Global Impact Week
Rebekah Naylor, Retired IMB (International Mission Board), Southwestern Seminary
Wednesday, September 16th
Global Impact Week
Rebekah Naylor, Retired IMB (International Mission Board), Southwestern Seminary
Monday, September, 21st
Christian patriotism and our American Heritage
John Wilsey, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wednesday, September 23rd
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering
Paul Worcester, NAMB (North American Mission Board)
Monday, September 28th and 30th
Fall Break
NO CHAPEL
Monday, October 5th
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering – 1 Peter 4:12-19
Arnoldo Silva, Iglesia Refugio, Brushy Creek Baptist Church, Taylors, SC
Wednesday, October 7th
Complex People
Katie McCoy, Impact 360
Monday, October 12th
Student Week
TBD
Wednesday, October 14th
Student Week
TBD
Thursday, October 15th, 7pm
Student Week
TBD
Monday, October 19th
Complex People: The Warfare of Flesh vs. Spirit
Chuck Lawless, Southeastern Seminary, Wake Forest, NC
Wednesday, October 21st
Complex People: A Practical Look at Anxiety
Travis Agnew, Rocky Creek Church, Greenville, SC
Monday, October 26th
Complex People: Embodiment – Rest and Exercise
Lainey Greer, Your Body Matters
Wednesday, October 28th
Complex People
Cory Horton, Brushy Creek Baptist Church, Taylors, SC
Monday, November 2nd
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering
Bert Watts, Mountain Creek Baptist Church, Greenville, SC
Wednesday, November 4th
Professor Panel: Complex Humans
Dr. Nathan Finn, Dr. Jeff Rankin, Dr. Kayla Black, and Dr. Shannon Dobson
Monday, November 9th
God’s Faithfulness in Suffering
Becky Kirby, Counselor, Rocky Creek Church