Who Are We?
Chi Alpha = People
You’ll notice that we say “who” we are and not “what” we are. That’s because Chi Alpha = people. At heart we’re not an organization, a system, or an event. We’re a community. We don’t go to Chi Alpha - we are Chi Alpha!
We are Diverse
Spend any time with us and you’ll quickly see we’re all different. We’re business majors, psychology majors, film majors, and undecided. We’re freshmen and seniors. We grew up as Christians, atheists, Buddhists, and everything in between. But we do have a few things in common!
We recognize that college is a unique time of our lives and we want to make the most of it. And Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. As we choose to follow Him we are experiencing that to be true.
We are a community
Jesus also said no one should follow Him by themselves, so as a community, we are involved in each other’s lives. We gather every week in staff and student-led small groups called “Life Groups” where we share life, pray, and read the Bible together. All of us in Life Group have the opportunity to meet regularly with a leader to help us grow in following Jesus well. And on Wednesday nights at 7pm, everybody in XA comes together to worship God, listen to teaching from the Scripture, and share with each other what God is doing in the world. Whenever we gather in these various ways, we anticipate interacting with God himself as the Holy Spirit fills our lives with his presence.
We are messengers
But Chi Alpha isn’t just about Chi Alpha. In a hurting, broken, needy world, Jesus claims to bring healing, life, and hope – and He sends us as His messengers! We care deeply for the University of Oregon campus, for the Eugene community, and for the world, so you’ll find us sharing the good news about Jesus wherever we go – out on campus, in our residence halls, and across the world.
Join us!
We would love to have you join us! Bring your enthusiasm and your questions, your faith and your doubts, your gifts and your weaknesses, your dreams and your fears. We’d love to be part of your life at the University of Oregon. Our community always has room, wherever you find yourself!
You’ll notice that we say “who” we are and not “what” we are. That’s because Chi Alpha = people. At heart we’re not an organization, a system, or an event. We’re a community. We don’t go to Chi Alpha - we are Chi Alpha!
We are Diverse
Spend any time with us and you’ll quickly see we’re all different. We’re business majors, psychology majors, film majors, and undecided. We’re freshmen and seniors. We grew up as Christians, atheists, Buddhists, and everything in between. But we do have a few things in common!
We recognize that college is a unique time of our lives and we want to make the most of it. And Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. As we choose to follow Him we are experiencing that to be true.
We are a community
Jesus also said no one should follow Him by themselves, so as a community, we are involved in each other’s lives. We gather every week in staff and student-led small groups called “Life Groups” where we share life, pray, and read the Bible together. All of us in Life Group have the opportunity to meet regularly with a leader to help us grow in following Jesus well. And on Wednesday nights at 7pm, everybody in XA comes together to worship God, listen to teaching from the Scripture, and share with each other what God is doing in the world. Whenever we gather in these various ways, we anticipate interacting with God himself as the Holy Spirit fills our lives with his presence.
We are messengers
But Chi Alpha isn’t just about Chi Alpha. In a hurting, broken, needy world, Jesus claims to bring healing, life, and hope – and He sends us as His messengers! We care deeply for the University of Oregon campus, for the Eugene community, and for the world, so you’ll find us sharing the good news about Jesus wherever we go – out on campus, in our residence halls, and across the world.
Join us!
We would love to have you join us! Bring your enthusiasm and your questions, your faith and your doubts, your gifts and your weaknesses, your dreams and your fears. We’d love to be part of your life at the University of Oregon. Our community always has room, wherever you find yourself!
Meet the Staff
Joey Kelly
Joey (the UO Chi Alpha Director) was a lonely college student with a fragile faith - that is, until his life was empowered by Jesus through Chi Alpha. After graduating with a degree in Business Management from Western Washington University in 2012, Joey decided to give a year to Chi Alpha as an intern. That year has turned into 8+ years with many more to come. Joey met his wife, Davielle, in college and they have two super fun kids - Cloa (3) and Marcus (1). Joey enjoys sports, especially baseball (Go A’s!), theology podcasts, video games, and hanging out with the fam.
Karen Hillyer
Karen is the director of our international ministry called XAi. Karen grew up in Oregon as a child, but ventured out to Louisiana and Washington DC with Chi Alpha--until 2015 when she married Terry and transitioned to the U of O. Karen has earned an M.A. in Educational Counseling. Her amazing husband, Terry, assists Karen with XAi (but works at a wound care center during the week).
If you’re around Karen, you’ll discover she enjoys taking lots of photos! She also likes exploring nature with Terry, playing with her cute dog, Tucker, and learning from international friends.
Cassie Engvall
Cassie is excited to be joining the staff team at the University of Oregon! (She’s also excited about pretty much everything.) She grew up near Monroe, Washington before studying Theatre and English education at Western Washington University. There, she had a personal encounter with Jesus that radically shifted her priorities and led her to jump headfirst into Chi Alpha, where she caught the vision to see thriving faith communities on every university campus! In addition to the Trinity, she loves reading, RPGs, and contemporary musicals (especially Hamilton).
Jon Rabourn
Jon is also super excited to be joining the staff team at the University of Oregon! Jon grew up in Arlington, Washington where he was youngest of seven siblings! Growing up he developed a passion for sports of all kinds but especially football and track. After high school Jon studied Business Management at Western Washington University but really had no idea what to do with his life. While at Western Jon got involved with Chi Alpha and began to feel a strong pull towards ministry. He loves playing any sport, hiking, outdoors but most of all really wants to be a professional scuba diver.
Jake Dahlberg
Although Jake is moving up to Washington, he’ll be returning to Chi Alpha to help out this fall quarter! Jake is married to his college sweetheart Rachel, and they have two kids Caleb and Emily. In addition to getting really excited about average things, Jake loves music, the great outdoors, biking, dad jokes, and helping others to follow Jesus more closely.