Chapel credits are a requirement for attending Southern Nazarene University. This may be a new adjustment for some; I know for myself in the last year I had to learn quickly that completing your 25 chapel credits before each semester is up can be quite challenging. During my first semester here, I should have been able to complete my chapel credits easily, especially considering I went to a Christian college before attending SNU that had a similar chapel system. However, I did not manage my time well and ended up missing the required chapel attendance by one credit and had to suffer the consequence of paying a fine. So, if you don’t want to end up like me in my first semester here, let me give you a few tips on how I was able to come back from stressing about my credits to figuring out how to complete them, so that I finished a month before the semester even ended.
I asked a couple of my friends and my roommate how they were able to complete 25 credits before the semester was up. My roommate completed her credits within the first month and a half of the semester, and I knew I wanted to do the same during my second semester here. I asked her what the secret was, and she responded, “I went to every single chapel! Tuesday, Thursday, and Thursday nights from the first week of school to the week right before fall break!” I then asked how she was able to do it being a student-athlete who is also a working resident assistant. She replied, “It is not easy, especially since I would like to sleep in sometimes, but I had to discipline myself to complete it so that I could relax towards the end of the semester.”
I then asked my friend Tristian Lewis how she managed to complete her credits weeks before the semester was up and she answered, “Girl, it was a struggle, but I sucked it up and went to mostly every chapel.” I asked if she went to the extra opportunities to help and she said, “I went to few, but not all of them. Mainly Tuesday and Thursday chapel, but I was able to skip a few and still complete my credits!” This made me feel at ease knowing that missing a few chapels would not exactly penalize me, and that I could sleep in a few times without running the risk of not completing my credits.
I wish I could say there is a secret hack to getting your chapel credits without having to put the work in, but the truth is, I was able to complete my chapel credits by not missing any throughout the week. I attended every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings, but I also attended an additional chapel every Thursday night at 9 p.m., called Kerygma or Kingdom Come. Alongside this, I took advantage of the other opportunities that were given to receive a chapel credit, such as service opportunities, and by then it all added up to 25. I especially advise that if you have only one class like me and your Thursdays and Tuesdays are mostly unoccupied, get up for chapel even if you would rather sleep in. Go to every chapel session in the week and any other opportunity given so that when it comes to the end of the semester you can sit back and relax without having to worry about paying a fee or scrambling to finish your chapel credits as finals approach.
Photo by Finau Fakahua