God At Work in Kappa Delta
By Hannah Lewandowski
When you think of Greek Row on a Saturday at 10 pm, what likely comes to mind is endless underage drinking, copious amounts of drugs, rampant hookup culture, and utter darkness. But, believe it or not, some people envision a mission field filled with people in desperate need of hope, salvation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. What if, instead of discounting the people or avoiding the place, we entered into these spaces of darkness, with our Heavenly Father as our protector and equipper, and brought the good news these people are dying to hear?
What if, instead of discounting the people or avoiding the place, we entered into these spaces of darkness, with our Heavenly Father as our protector and equipper, and brought the good news these people are dying to hear?
Danika Seabrands, an owner of Resonate Church in Pullman, accepted a position as a “House Manager,” also known as a “house mom,” at the sorority she herself was a member of while attending Washington State University in college. She witnessed, and was once actively involved in, the brokenness typically found in the culture of fraternities and sororities, which opened her eyes to the lostness of her peers in college. During these formative years, she fell prey to the party culture evident at WSU, attempting to fill a void of acceptance and significance in her peers' eyes. It was in this very space that God truly became Lord of her life, revealing the emptiness found in sin, causing her to turn back to the faith she had grown up with. It felt so easy to live a double life, justifying her sin in comparison to that of others. Still, ultimately, Danika knew she couldn’t maintain the two lifestyles she was leading. She found freedom from the pressures to party by joining a weekly small group, village, that was put on by students in Greek life to live missionally toward their fellow fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. This newfound abundant life in Christ captivated her, and she knew she couldn’t keep it to herself; she desired the very ones who had led her to sin to know freedom in Jesus as well.
Out of the darkness she once knew, she left with a burden for the women still there, desperately wanting to bring them out into the Light where forgiveness and redemption awaited them. She began to boldly proclaim her faith, hosting a bible study for all those who were brave enough to live differently than those around them. Many people came each week, but while the Lord was growing fruit in the hearts of these women learning about Jesus, it wasn’t without retaliation from those who weren’t “into the whole Jesus thing”. Although this was hurtful and isolating, Danika continued to press on, filled with the strength and endurance of God, pursuing these women until the day she graduated from college in 2023. After graduating, she stuck around in Pullman for another year, asking God to give her more opportunities to reach sorority women. And for that year, despite her desire to be hands-on in these women's lives, her role was to pray over them often; little did she know God was using this time to prepare the hearts of the women she would soon reach, unbeknownst to her.
“Out of the darkness she once knew, she left with a burden for the women still there, desperately wanting to bring them out into the Light where forgiveness and redemption awaited them”
After months and months of hearing her cries to reach these women, the Lord provided an opportunity to live in the sorority house again, but this time as an emotional support to the women and as a director of the facility. God hears our prayers. He knows our desires. He wants us to ask, and actually, He delights in giving His children good gifts.
For the past year, Danika has labored in the harvest field of her sorority house, leading women in discipleship groups, inviting them to village, and being a patient and steadfast listening ear in their time of need or distress. The typical house mom is usually over the age of 60, giving her a unique relatability to the women in her chapter facility. Because of this, many of the girls have come to her room on the first floor of their sorority mansion, overcome with anxiety about the details of their day, to which she often responds with the good news of the gospel, the freedom found in Jesus alone. These women have had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a disciple of Jesus and make disciples in a place where this isn’t the most popular or glamorous thing. They have been able to see sacrifice before their very eyes, and our prayer is that one day, if not soon, they will see the sacrifice of the servant of Christ in their sorority and desire to be that themselves, to root their identities, hopes, and futures in the firm foundation of Jesus.
The wins this past year have been both big and small, but God has moved in a multitude of ways. A girl named Mya, who was in her sorority, often posted scripture references on her social media, leading Nika to invite her to the Bible study in their chapter house, which she frequented weekly until she moved to Spokane for nursing school. Sad to see her go, Nika began to fervently pray that Mya would connect with a gospel-oriented community in her new home and that she would continue to invest in her relationship with Jesus. To Nika’s surprise, as she scrolled through Instagram one day, she came across a post outlining Mya’s decision to publicly declare her faith in her newfound community, get baptized, and deeply pursue her faith. What an answered prayer!
Additionally, after hearing the gospel, two other women came from death to life. Leveraging her influence in these women's lives to plant the seeds of the gospel has proven to be fruitful for Danika, not because of anything she said or did, but by the grace of God to include us in His mission to reconcile His people to Himself. What if we didn’t let our assumptions get in the way of an opportunity to share the eternity-changing Truth with the lost? God is always moving.
What would it look like for you to open your eyes to it in all the small ways so that when something miraculous happens, you are ready to worship the one who performed the miracle?
