At 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings, students will find Charles H. Lewter IV preaching from his iPad during worship service at the Johnson-Phillip All Faiths Chapel.
Part of the reason for this preaching method is to keep students engaged, said Lewter, who is dean of the chapel and assistant director of student engagement at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). He has been at the historically Black university (HBCU) for 25 years.
“This generation doesn’t use pen and paper unless they’re in class. That was a wakeup call for me,” he said, noting that students increasingly use their cell phones to take notes during service. “The story has not changed, but my methodology has changed. … I had to learn that. I evolved just like the students evolve.”
Living through the tenets “faith, education, service,” Lewter’s multidimensional role in the chaplaincy and in student affairs allows him to empower students to focus on strengthening their spiritual journey with their Creator while they receive an education.
“When I speak on moral values and the importance of right and wrong and making those ethical decisions when they go to class … I’m not a judgmental individual,” he said. “I meet them where they are. I don’t point the finger, but I do say, ‘Let’s see, what’s the other options to make you a better person’” or to do the right thing?
Lewter steps back to let the students be active participants instead of spectators in their worship experiences, he added. Students will conduct the altar prayer, read the scripture, and participate in mime ministry, the choir or the praise dance team.
This year, Lewter launched the Second Sunday Fresh Fire Worship Experience for students, an experience led by a student preacher.
