When college life gets you down, to whom can you turn for help?

At Fresno Pacific University, a group of 17 students is providing spiritual support to fellow students, faculty and staff members.

Called the Spirit Care Team, the students give presentations in classrooms about their role, distribute information on how to connect with them and pray on the spot for anyone. They also greet people at the door for College Hour worship events, and, at the end of the service, pray for those asking.

“They’re mini chaplains,” says the Rev. Angulus Wilson, university pastor and director of the Office of Spiritual Formation.

Fresno Pacific is a private Christian university, where the Office of Spiritual Formation works to help students integrate faith in Christ into all areas of life. The office provides worship events, Bible studies, prayer, pastoral counseling, social action ministries and short-term missions to about 3,800 students at the main Fresno campus and regional centers in north Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield and Merced.

The Spirit Care Team was founded through the Office of Spiritual Formation out of need last year, Wilson says.

“I’m one person — and trying to run up and down the Valley, holding chapels, soul caring with students and counseling was overwhelming,” says Wilson, who also is pastor of New Beginnings Community Baptist Church in southeast Fresno.

Wilson says life is challenging to graduate students, who may be questioning themselves whether they can handle the classroom workload, and to undergraduate students, many of whom are away from home for the first time, making difficult decisions on their own and putting faith on hold.

“The stress of life is upon them,” Wilson says. “Sometimes, it takes someone caring about them.”

David White, a graduate student working on his teaching credential at Fresno Pacific, was named student chaplain of the Spirit Care Team.

Wearing white shirts and blouses, the Spirit Care Team’s presence at College Hour events, which are held Wednesdays and Friday throughout the school year, had an impact on attendance doubling to about 400 students last year. That caused officials to move the events from Butler Church to the larger Special Events Center. Now, the Office of Spiritual Formation has set a goal of 600 students this semester, which began Monday.

Spirit Care Team members were busy greeting students and faculty at the semester’s first College Hour on Wednesday. The students took a short break to pray in a circle, led by White.

White says students have diverse religious beliefs and backgrounds — and are usually open to a Spirit Care Team member’s offer for prayer.

“Most of the time, they’ll take prayers, especially faculty,” White says. “Lending an encouraging hand is always appreciated.”

Samantha Peters, a freshman studying psychology and criminal justice, says she tries to show understanding to students without any faith beliefs.

“When they’re in a place like this, it opens their heart,” she says. “We’re here to guide them.”

Amber Iqbal, a junior who is studying pre-medicine and biblical studies, says she just wants to encourage people.

“God has given me a love for people,” she says. “I have a lot of energy — and it’s definitely God-given. The Spirit Care Team is where I can show it. I can tell people, ‘You’re special!’ “

Chris Veldhuizen, a sophomore studying chemistry, says he has observed Spirit Care Team members encouraging others and believes they are sincere.

He says, “I’ve seen how they live their lives. How they act here is how they act other places.”