News Release

March 19, 2025
For more information, contact:
Laura Brelsford | hcnews@hawks.huntingdon.edu | 334-833-4563

A Day in the Life: Campus Ministries Leaders

Montgomery, AL – The Huntingdon College Campus Ministries, led by Dean of the Chapel Rev. Rhett Butler ’13, is a home to all students from all backgrounds to grow and deepen their Christian faith. Each week, a team of dedicated students volunteer their time alongside Chaplain Butler to put together Tuesday Night Worship (TNW), Small group Bible studies, and a weekly Chapel service during Thursday lunch.

Three senior student ministry leaders, Dillon Bryars, Eva Ellenburg, and Richie Hicks, shared a little about themselves and their experiences in Campus Ministries and the preparation from their perspective leading up to TNW on Tuesday, March 11.

Dillon Bryars

“My name is Dillon Bryars and I am a senior religion and history double major from Bay Minette, Alabama. I am a brother of Sigma Nu Fraternity, a former IFC President, a member of Gamma Sigma Alpha and Order of Omega honor societies, and I served as a Huntingdon Ambassador. After graduating, my fiancée, Ashleigh Miller ’25, and I are getting married and then moving to Wilmore, Kentucky to start at Asbury Theological Seminary where I will get my Master of Divinity as I prepare for ordination in the Global Methodist Church. 

While there are many reasons Huntingdon drew me in as a freshman, I originally came to pursue God’s calling on my life and that naturally drew me towards Campus Ministries. During my first semester, I was learning about college life and trying to find a group to call my own. That’s when I got connected with our campus chaplain, Rhett Butler, and started going to Tuesday Night Worship. Slowly I came around more and more and eventually, our little big-tent church became that group I’d been searching for in college. As I’ve been in Campus Ministries for all four years, I do have a good bit of responsibility from playing guitar in the worship band and helping Rhett run A/V, to helping with leading worship planning meetings and campus impact events, to even sharing the preaching responsibilities with Rhett and my fellow classmates.

This past week, we prepared for our annual Greek Week TNW. As a part of the Greek Week festivities where the fraternities and sororities on campus come together for some friendly competition, the entire Greek Community is invited to partake in worship together at our weekly worship service. This week was a treat as throughout the service we tried to include members from all the different Greek organizations with praying, reading scripture, others greeting at the door, as well as a certain former Huntingdon Interfraternity Council President getting the preaching duties. In the buildup we performed our typical process of praying through what the service will look like, talking about possible songs to play and talking about the impact we want to have. Rhett set up the service and talked to the different organizations about getting involved while I prepared my sermon. I preached on Matthew 5:14-16 and how God wants to use our Greek community, and really any organization we are a part of, to shape our community into one which reflects the Kingdom of Heaven. Closer to TNW, we chose the final songs to reflect the sense of God’s love and completed the scramble of pulling together a worship service.

As I look back on this past TNW and on my time in Campus Ministries, I see how God has used this community to shape me—not only as a leader but as a servant of Christ. Through my time, I have learned that leadership is ultimately about serving others and pointing them to the God that we serve. These experiences have deepened my calling to ministry and strengthened my passion for building Christ-centered communities. As I prepare for the next chapter of life, I carry with me the lessons, friendships, and faith that have been nurtured at Huntingdon. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I leave knowing that the impact of Campus Ministries will continue to shine through the next generation of leaders.”

Eva Ellenburg

“My name is Eva Ellenburg and I am a senior from Lindale, Georgia. I am a two-sport college athlete playing Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. I came to Huntingdon with plans of graduating and running my own volleyball club. But after time in my core religion classes and time with Campus Ministries, I felt a call to ministry. Through discussions with faculty, staff, and peers, I was able to discern a call to ordained ministry throughout my junior year and began the process of certified candidacy in the United Methodist Church. I will graduate in May with a degree in communication studies and religion. This fall, I plan to begin my Master of Divinity, likely at Duke or Candler, and continue the ordination process as an elder in the United Methodist Church.

My connection to Campus Ministries began my freshman year. Each year, I’ve taken on more responsibility. I’ve been a work study and intern for Chaplain Butler. Over the summer, I worked closely with Rhett to create a broad overview of the entire school year. When school started in my senior year, I took on the role of overseeing tech, general operations, worship tryouts, and I have also guest preached at TNW. For TNW each week, I manage all the scheduling, music selections, confirm tech staff have information needed for the service, and I check all the equipment is charged and ready to go.

On Mondays, I checked in with Rhett to see what he needs for the next couple of days to prepare for the next week. Rhett and I plan the service, and I add our order of service into the website we use called Planning Center. It is a church scheduling software that connects primarily to the band. I then send out requests to the band so that they have the songs and chords to use for the week. After the service is planned, I wait until Tuesday for the next steps.

On Tuesday, I meet Rhett at 12:30 p.m. to set up the sound system for the service in Ligon Chapel. Two years ago, we had a complete renovation of the sound system in the Chapel and each week we move in the equipment to connect to the system (microphones, drums, guitars, keyboards, projectors, etc.). We also set up lights behind the organ and the liturgical elements for worship. We get done around 2:00 in the afternoon and I go home to get ready for the rest of the day. I meet with the band at 5:30 in the evening to listen to them rehearse for TNW. When I’m not playing with the band, I am overseeing the sound check. We have our leaders’ meeting at 7:30, where we talk through the service and pray over our time together, and then we wait for people to arrive!  After TWN everything is taken down and stored for next week.”

Richie Hicks

“Hello, my name is Richie Hicks, and I am from Wetumpka, Alabama. I am a pre-veterinary biology major with a minor in religion, and I plan to attend Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall. I have been involved in Huntingdon’s Campus Ministries programs for four years now, and I am truly thankful for the selfless people and amazing resources God has provided me in my involvement. The program has provided me a platform to worship freely with my teammates and classmates, a chance to love and serve people with the same love God has graciously shown me, and an opportunity to truly have a spiritual impact on campus and in the city of Montgomery. Over my college career, I have served as a welcome greeter, a speaker on stage, a source for prayer, and a plethora of other roles. Our Chaplain Rhett Butler welcomes students of all ages and backgrounds to serve in our Campus Ministries programs, and those who seek to be more involved will surely be granted a great opportunity to serve their fellow students, to serve neighboring churches, and to serve the Kingdom.

Every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m., Campus Ministries host TNW where there is upbeat singing, occasional games and interactive activities, and a brief message from Chaplain Rhett Butler. Set up usually consists of organizing the stage with the proper instruments and visual effects (lights, presentation screen, etc.) that contribute to the service, and it usually takes place early in the afternoon on the day of service. Our worship team will arrive a few hours before the service begins to rehearse the worship songs that are planned to be performed that night. As a part of the Campus Ministries Leadership Team, I show up around an hour before service where I and the rest of the team review the course of action for the night, pray that God blesses our service and the people in it, and to assign nightly responsibilities to certain people on the leadership team. During Greek Week, student Dillon Bryers preached on behalf of those organizations. That night was special because all of our campus fraternities and sororities attended our weekly service as a small break from the craziness and passion that comes with the chaos of Greek Week activities. We delight in the opportunity to worship freely together with students of all kinds of different backgrounds and life experiences; even with those wearing opposing Greek letters!

If you are a Huntingdon student and have the chance, please join our campus ministry program on Tuesday nights at 8:30 in Ligon Chapel and you too can feel and see the presence of God working for and through our faithful and devoted students!”

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