Agape: A Place to Belong on Campus

On Tuesday afternoons at UC San Diego’s Price Center West, something sacred continues to take shape. Students hustling between classes, toting backpacks, laptops, half-full coffee cups, and the weight of deadlines and expectations, arrive at Agape San Diego because they heard there was free pizza. A few wander in cautiously, curious about what this gathering might be. And more and more stop because they recognize a familiar, friendly face.

Over a simple slice of pizza, conversations begin–classes, roommates, family, films, or the exhaustion of trying to keep pace in a world that rarely slows down. But often, the conversations deepen into something more. They become moments of trust, connection, and belonging. They turn into reminders that the love of Jesus Christ is often experienced first through presence.

That spirit of presence is the heart of Agape San Diego, a campus ministry that has served San Diego State University for 75 years and recently expanded its outreach to the University of California, San Diego. Thanks to the support of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, the ELCA, and sustaining donors, Agape’s mission field has grown from roughly 40,000 students, faculty, and staff to more than 100,000 people across both campuses. Despite the rapid expansion, the ministry remains grounded in something deeply relational and profoundly simple: slowing down long enough to truly see people.

“We cannot gather until we first connect,” shared campus minister Greg Tuttle, reflecting on the ministry’s approach to pastoral care and relationship-building. Greg shares that week after week, students quietly reveal the burdens they have been carrying alone. Some speak about loneliness. Others wrestle with anxiety, faith, identity, family struggles, or the pressure to succeed. Often, Greg says, students share things they have held inside for months or years before finally feeling safe enough to say them out loud.

That trust has transformed Agape’s role on campus. In only its first year at UC San Diego, university leaders and interfaith partners invited Agape staff to help lead and manage the Center for Ethics and Spirituality, recognizing the ministry’s consistent hospitality, reliability, and care for student wellbeing. It is a remarkable partnership rooted not in institutional power or visibility, but in trust faithfully earned through kindness and collaboration.

In an environment shaped by intense academic pressure, political tension, loneliness, and a constant need to perform, Agape offers something radically different: a place where people are welcomed without needing to prove (or do) anything. Greg shared that one graduate assistant studying mechanical engineering captured that difference in a simple observation: “You’re different from ‘nice.’ You’re kind.”

Today, “niceness” can remain surface-level. Kindness is real presence. Agape takes the time to slow down and truly see students and staff. It creates room for listening instead of fixing. In many ways, that spirit reflects the ministry of Jesus, who so often met people around tables, along roadsides, and in ordinary moments of human encounter.

The Rev. Paul Klitzke, Rector of Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, has witnessed that spirit firsthand since arriving a little over a year ago. Located near the UCSD campus, the congregation has long felt connected to student life, and Paul quickly recognized Agape as a ministry rooted not in performance, but in accompaniment.

Over the past year, he has regularly joined Greg Tuttle and Pastor Darin Johnson on campus, watching the rhythms of the ministry unfold naturally week after week. 

Paul said, “This well-established ministry of presence has been beautiful to witness. Returning students share their joys, relax, and enjoy conversation together. Those new to the space often arrive with curiosity and questions. All are welcomed and encouraged simply to be themselves. The variety of conversations is part of the joy of the ministry. Some weeks, we hear deeply personal stories or sit with someone seeking advice or support. Other times, conversations turn toward spiritual questions, ranging from sharing different faith traditions to exploring scripture together.”

For many students, the message of welcome is what matters.

“Many students are seeking a faith community where they can be fully included and authentically themselves,” Paul reflected. “Our presence on campus is an incredible opportunity to share that message of God’s love and belonging.”

The Rev. Darin Johnson, ELCA, said, “Pastoral care for students and staff is our top priority. I am continually in awe before the eager trust of strangers quickly sharing their innermost struggles, longings, and joys–often things that they tell us they have carried for months or years but not shared with anyone else until we pay attention to them. We have students that we just met joining us for this weekend’s retreat at Camp Stevens–for most, this will be their first ever retreat and first visit to a church camp, first time in wilderness, and many were not even raised in the church.”

College campuses are filled with opportunity, but they can also be isolating places. Students spend years striving for grades, internships, scholarships, research opportunities, and future careers. College life can become transactional, and students’ personal value becomes tied to productivity.

Agape intentionally interrupts that cycle.

At first glance, the ministry can appear remarkably simple. Pizza is served. Sparkling water is shared. But within that simplicity, relationships begin to take root. What starts as a free meal often becomes a community; strangers become familiar faces; familiar faces become friends.

But what happens beyond the ministry of presence? How is the life and ministry of Jesus shared with students?

We know that students’ lives are busy, and while they may have every desire to engage regularly with church, sometimes it just doesn’t fit into the breakneck schedule of campus life. So, Agape offers gatherings shaped by the rhythms of the church year: Epiphany Cake celebrations, Shrove Tuesday pancakes with The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves of St. James in La Jolla, Ashes to Go on Library Walk, and retreats at Camp Stevens–students begin to discover something they did not fully realize they were missing: a connection to church without expectation.

At Agape, Jesus is not shared as an argument or transaction. It is lived through welcome, compassion, listening, and authentic community.

That spirit is not unique to UC San Diego; it is the same at San Diego State University, where Agape continues its longstanding ministry among students and faculty. 

Again and again, students describe Agape gatherings as anchors in their week–places where peace, friendship, and hope feel possible amid the pressure and fragmentation of modern campus life. One student reflected on discovering common ground across religious traditions. Another shared that hearing diverse voices in community strengthened her own faith. Others simply describe the relief of entering a space where they do not need to perform or pretend.

Greg recently recalled a parishioner quietly sharing through joyful tears after church, “I wish I had something like this when I was at UCSD.” The comment lingered because it captured something larger than nostalgia. It revealed a deep hunger for authentic community, for spaces where students can be fully known and gently reminded that they are loved by God. 

And week after week, that is exactly what Agape offers: a place where students encounter the love of God through the simple, transformative power of belonging. 

To find out more about Agape San Diego and its continuing ministry to college students, visit: www.agapesandiego.org

This article is based on reflections provided by:

Rev. Darin Johnson, ELCA pastor serving as the Executive Director of Agape San Diego
The Rev. Paul Klitzke, Rector of Good Samaritan Episcopal in University City
Greg Tuttle, Assisting Campus Minister with Agape San Diego