Fall Semester 2024

Hey there! If you’re reading this you’re headed to La Crosse in two or three weeks for classes this fall at either UW-La Crosse, Viterbo University, or Western Technical College. All the schools have a wide array of student organizations and clubs offering social engagement and professional development opportunities for most interests and majors. There are community organizations that offer even more.

There are Christian quality groups on and off campus, student organizations and church ministries. But if you’re reading this still, then what you want to know is what is JC’s Village like.

JC’s Village was founded by me, Amy Jo, 20+ years ago. It was founded in La Crosse for students attending college/university here. I founded it to be a place where people who want to figure out who they are in Christ could come together and ask their questions, discover and use their gifts, grow their faith and have some fun hanging out with others who want to do the same. We have weekly discussions based on the Bible. We get together for meals on a regular basis too. We also hang out at local parks, attend fun events around town, and connect with other groups in the community to volunteer, work together and more.

We’ve generally been a smallish group made up of men and women, traditional and non-traditional students, and graduate students. In fact - this fall I’m a student again myself - finishing my last year of spiritual direction certificate. I’m also a chaplain and JC’s is trauma informed. JC’s runs at a different pace - modern life tends to have us running at max speed and there are constant pressures to hustle in all kinds of ways - some of that is legit - some of it is just so hard on our souls. My goal is to support everyone connecting as deeply to God as we can - authentically and simply. We talk about how to experience God’s grace and love tangibly - daily even if you like - through simple, ancient, practices beyond just prayer and Bible reading (though those are sure great too!)

My philosophy of evangelism is, “Preach the gospel always. When necessary, use words.” - as St. Francis said. All that means is that I believe words and actions - in fact - our whole life reflects our faith. We’re an accepting and non-judgmental group open to all college students. Whether you go to church here or at home or you’re not sure about that - whether you’re new or old to faith, and whether you have no questions or all the questions - JC’s is a safe place to find encouragement, food, fun and community and I’m looking forward to meeting you.