KANSAS CITY, Mo—Students, faculty, and community members gathered on Midwestern Seminary’s campus on April 25 to celebrate the conclusion of another successful academic year at Spring Picnic.
This year, the annual event was held in concert with the Spurgeon College Cohort Olympics, adding a new highlight to a campus tradition.
“The annual Spring Picnic is a great way to commemorate another year of the Lord’s kindness on Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College,” said President Jason Allen. “We have much to be thankful for, and seeing everyone gather together for food, fellowship, and games is always a highlight at the end of the semester.”
Held in the last few weeks of the spring semester each year, Spring Picnic offers the campus community a special evening of fun and fellowship before summer break.
Together with their families, participants in Friday’s event enjoyed fellowship over free dinner, desserts, yard games, and inflatables. They also witnessed several rounds of friendly competition among students, faculty, and staff in the second annual Spurgeon College Cohort Olympics.
Tim Adams, director of Student Life and Events at Midwestern Seminary, shared his excitement for guests to experience the Cohort Olympics at Spring Picnic. “Incorporating this event allows us to wrap up the academic year with a lot of fun and crown the winning team of our Spurgeon College Cohort Cup at the Spring Picnic.”
The Cohort Olympics serve as the capstone to the year-long Cohort Cup competition at Spurgeon College.
Assistant Dean of Spurgeon College Taylor DiRoberto described the competition, saying, “After eight long months of earning points through campus engagement, academics, community service, and other competitions, the cohorts battle it out for one last time to win the cup.”
At the Cohort Olympics on Friday, the four Spurgeon College cohorts competed in a home run derby, golf battle, tricycle race, and relay race. Following the competitions, the Fusion cohort was named the 2024–25 Cohort Cup champions.
Noting the value of these activities for students’ on-campus experience, DiRoberto said, “The Cohort Olympics and Cohort Cup competition create a year-long undercurrent of fellowship and friendly competition that brings joy to campus life.”
Spurgeon College Cohorts provide all residential students at Spurgeon College with an intentional community of fellow students in their area of study. Led by a staff mentor, each cohort strengthens students’ experience of discipleship and study through focus on spiritual disciplines, community investment, and academic achievement.
Reflecting on the academic year, DiRoberto shared his encouragement at seeing students’ embrace of growth in spiritual disciplines. “This year saw the launch of the Christian Life & Worldview program, where the cohorts focus on one spiritual discipline each semester, meeting once a month to receive encouragement and equipping in that spiritual discipline,” he said. “It has been encouraging to see how that undercurrent of consistent community gatherings built around the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading and stewardship have affected the way students are thinking about their everyday lives.”
During Spring Picnic, the Spurgeon College cohorts were joined in the Cohort Olympics by one team of graduate students and one team of faculty and staff members. Adams shared, “Our hope is that the competitions that make up our Cohort Olympics will allow all aspects of our community to come together and have a little fun competing against one another.”
Adams reflected on the value of campus life for seminary students preparing to serve the local church. He shared, “In my own testimony, the relationships I built during my studies are the people I consistently turn to when life and ministry become challenging. They are time-tested, kindred-hearted friends, and our shared convictions have carried me through many moments in my own ministry and life as a follower of Christ.”
He went on to say, “The relationships that students on our campus build with one another living residentially are relationships that carry them through the tests of time and ministry.”
To view photos of Spring Picnic, click here.
