MVNU celebrates community during 2025 Homecoming & Family Weekend

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — Mount Vernon Nazarene University wrapped up its 2025 Homecoming & Family Weekend on Saturday, celebrating 11 reunion classes spanning from 1970 to 2020. The weekend featured more than 40 activities and events.

From the opening President’s Prayer Breakfast Friday morning, Nov. 14, to Cougar basketball and everything in between, guests, family and friends were welcomed across campus and downtown Mount Vernon.

PRESIDENT’S PRAYER BREAKFAST

Rev. Kent Estep, senior pastor at South Charleston (WV) First Church of the Nazarene and member of the Class of 1987, reminded attendees at Friday morning’s President’s Prayer Breakfast about the importance of community. Hosted by MVNU President Dr. Carson Castleman, the breakfast drew a large crowd eager to hear Estep’s message.

“The description that Luke gives of the church in Acts chapter 2, verse 42, defines the church this way: ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers,’” Estep said. “This morning, I want to emphasize — they were devoted to doing life together.

“We’ve done life together as South Charleston First Church of the Nazarene for 58 of my 60 years. Pivotal for me in this understanding of what it means to do life with others was my time at MVNC. I don’t know that there’s a better representation of Luke’s description than what I experienced — and what can still be experienced — in a college environment at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.”

Estep went on to highlight his experiences with two of his professors — Dr. Wayne Yerxa and Dr. Terrell Sanders — as well as staff members and classmates, all of whom exemplified the Acts 2 description of community.

“This is living as a community of love, all while being reminded that God is our example,” Estep said.

Dr. Castleman reflected on Estep’s message: “I’ve been reminded through Rev. Estep that attending MVNU is more than just earning a degree. It is allowing Christ to shape who you are, who you became and who you will become. The four years that a student spends here will impact the next 40 years of their life, because this is where faith deepens, friendships are formed, calling is clarified and character is strengthened.”

HOMECOMING CHAPEL

On a meaningful Friday morning during Homecoming Chapel, the MVNU community gathered to rededicate the R.R. Hodges Chapel/Auditorium after its restoration through the Transformation Begins in Each Seat Campaign. Worship with the Class of 2015 kicked off service, which was highlighted with the rededication ceremony and the presentation of the 2025 Alumni Award Honorees.

Through a responsive reading led by Dr. Castleman, the congregation honored 35 years of faithful service — three and a half decades during which the chapel had been a sacred space where countless students discovered their callings, lifted their voices in worship, and were formed for lives of purpose.

“Today, we gather in gratitude and awe, standing in a space that has shaped the hearts, the minds, and the callings of generations,” Dr. Castleman proclaimed as he opened the ceremony. The reading acknowledged all who had dreamed, planned, built, and led within those walls, recognizing that their faithfulness had become the foundation for current and future generations.

Standing in the newly restored space — renewed in beauty and strengthened in purpose — the community reaffirmed Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s mission to educate, disciple, equip, and send. Dr. Castleman expressed the community’s hope: “May this place be a sanctuary of worship, a classroom of wisdom, a gathering place of community, and a launching ground for lives of Christ-like service.”

Several Alumni Awards were presented during the chapel service. Class of ’77 alum and retired professor Dr. Ronald Bolender received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, while Richie ’20 and Bethany ’20 (Richardson) Johns were honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Kevin Jack ’06 was recognized with the Outstanding Clergy Alumni Award, and Estep ’87 was presented with the new Phineas F. Bresee Pastoral Service Award. MVNU also awarded its new Matthew 25 Servant Leadership Award to Ked ’99 and Michelle ’97 (Ayala) Frank.

For more on these honorees, visit mvnu.edu/flame-alumni-awards.

Rev. Brad Thompson ’05, lead pastor of Be Hope Church in Beavercreek, Ohio, delivered a short message to round out the service. He challenged the community to learn from his experiences at MVNU and the faithfulness of God.

“I was doubting God and had so many questions,” said Rev. Thompson of his time at MVNU. “What I remember in that season the most is that there were chaplains, there were professors, there were leaders at this school who made space for me. They asked me questions about my experience. … They were patient with me in this educational journey. What I learned at MVNU was that I experienced people who were present, attentive and faithful. You see it was God who began this calling of ministry in my life. He began it, but he used a foundational experience at MVNU of people, of leaders — professors and teachers who showed me what it is to be faithful.”

HOMECOMING COURT

The MVNU student body crowned the 2025 King and Queen Friday night during Homecoming festivities before the men’s basketball game. Nominees for the Homecoming Court are selected by the student body for being Godly leaders in the school, having integrity and caring for others, showing a sense of responsibility and reliability, and high academic standing.

Seniors Bryer Shipley, a secondary education major from Norwich, Ohio, and Lauren Warder, a graphic design major from Hartville, Ohio, were chosen for the respective honors. Also nominated for King were seniors Josiah Holloway (Nursing/Galena, Ohio) and Will Meyers (Christian Ministry/Hilliard, Ohio), and for Queen, Erica Beachy (Marketing/Plain City, Ohio) and Nina Davis (Worship Arts/Mason, Ohio). Making up the remaining court were freshmen Josiah Casler (Lancaster, PA) and Molly Green (Orrville, Ohio); Sophomores Logan Foudy (Convoy, Ohio) and Alana Beaty (Dillsburg, PA); and juniors Will Harter (Lima, Ohio) and Christiana Schuler (Bethel, Ohio).

COUGAR WALL OF FAME

The Mount Vernon Nazarene University athletic department inducted former Cougar athletes Rachel (Fiely) Kerns and Kemar Jackson into the MVNU Cougar Wall of Fame.

Kerns (Women’s Basketball, 2005-2009) rewrote the program’s record books during her exceptional four-year career. She ranks sixth in career points (1,551) while becoming the all-time leader in both assists (654) and steals (335). She also ranks fifth in three-pointers made (193), 10th in field goals made (470), and fourth in free throws made (418). Her single-season assist record of 249 and single-game record of 14 assists (tied) showcase her playmaking ability. Her durability was unmatched — she played in a program-record 123 consecutive games and started 122 of them.

Jackson (Men’s Soccer, 2007-2010) dominated as a defender. Over 91 games, he recorded an impressive 19 goals and seven assists for 45 total points — remarkable numbers for a defender — while anchoring the backfield with 120 career saves.

For a full recap on the Wall of Fame ceremonies, visit mvnucougars.com.

For a recap of Homecoming & Family Weekend in photos, visit flickr.com/mvnumarketing/albums.