April 4-5, 2025

Registration deadline has passed.

Please email Stuart Hornsby at stuart@studycenter.net if you have any questions.

Join us as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Study Center in 1975 and celebrate the opening of our new building for the 2024-25 academic year. See below for the weekend schedule, speaker bios, lodging information, and FAQ’s.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Who’s Attending

Check out this link to see the many special Study Center friends who have RSVP’d and will be a part of the celebration.

If you will be attending, be sure to use this link to RSVP and add your name to the list. (This RSVP list is separate from the registration process.)

Why You Should Join Us

This special weekend will be a wonderful time to…

  • Reunite, fellowship, and share great meals with friends from across the country

  • Hear and share stories from the last 50 years of life and ministry at UVA and the Study Center

  • Tour and explore the new building expansion

  • Be encouraged by and engage with many special individuals who have been a part of our 50-year journey

  • Celebrate what God has done, and imagine together what God might do in the years to coment details below!

Speakers

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PARTNER FOR THEOLOGY AND CULTURE, PRAXIS

Andy is a partner for Theology & Culture at Praxis, a venture-building ecosystem advancing redemptive entrepreneurship. He is the author of The Life We’re Looking For (2022) and Playing God (2013) among others. For more than ten years he was an editor and producer at Christianity Today, including serving as executive editor from 2012 to 2016. His work and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time. Andy studied classics at Cornell University and received an M.Div. from Boston University School of Theology. He and his wife, Catherine, live in Swarthmore, PA and have two children.

Keynote speaker: Andy Crouch

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDY CENTER

Bill has been the Executive Director of the Center for Christian Study since 2009. He came to the Study Center as the Director of Graduate Ministries in 1999, fresh from two years with his family in Ogbomosho, Nigeria, where he taught the Bible at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. The author of several journal articles and one monograph on the Bible (mainly Galatians), Bill loves to teach and discuss Scripture, especially anything pertaining to the resurrection of Jesus (which he'll manage to draw in whatever the topic). He and his wife, Nicolien, have four children, four engrafted children (in-law/love), and ten (almost eleven) grandchildren. They are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville.

Bill Wilder

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AUTHOR & SPEAKER

Jodie Berndt is a speaker, Bible teacher, and the author of more than a dozen books, including the bestselling Praying the Scriptures series that includes volumes to help you pray powerfully for your Children, Teens, and Adult Children, as well as for your Marriage, and your Life. Jodie also hosts “Mom Life with Jodie & Friends,” a program featured on Focus on the Family’s flagship YouTube channel. College sweethearts, Jodie and her husband Robbie have been married for 40 years. They have four married children and five grandchildren and live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Jodie Berndt

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STUDY CENTER CO-FOUNDER; ROBERT C. TAYLOR PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, UVA

Kenneth G. Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. He has received numerous teaching awards, and each fall his introductory economics course attracts over one thousand students, making it the largest class offered at the University of Virginia. An expert in antitrust economics, he has testified in several precedent-setting antitrust cases, including three Supreme Court decisions. The author of more than seventy academic publications, Mr. Elzinga also is known for his mystery novels written under the pen name Marshall Jevons, in which the protagonist employs economic analysis to solve crimes. Mr. Elzinga has served on the Boards of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Hope College, and the Center for Christian Study at UVA, and is active in ministry to college students. Mr. Elzinga has a B.A. and honorary doctorate from Kalamazoo College, a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, and an honorary doctorate from Gordon College.

Ken Elzinga

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR RURAL MINISTRY

Charles E. Cotherman is executive director of the Center for Rural Ministry and assistant professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College. He is pastor of Oil City Vineyard Church, a congregation he and his wife founded in Oil City, Pennsylvania in 2016. He is a contributing editor of Sent to Flourish: A Guide to Planting and Multiplying Churches and author of To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement. He and Aimee have four children.

Charles E. Cotherman

Celebration Schedule

Below is the current schedule. Please note that some of the details may change before the celebration begins.

Friday, April 4

7:00 - 10:00 p.m.— Welcome Reception | Study Center

Heavy appetizers provided

Saturday, April 5

8:00 - 8:45 a.m. — Morning Worship and Devotional | Study Center Great Room

Andy Crouch, Musical Worship Leader
Jodie Berndt (Col ’84), Author and Speaker: "The Secret to a Satisfying Prayer Life"

8:45 - 9:45 a.m. — Continental Breakfast | Study Center

10:00 - 10:50 a.m. — Opening Plenary Session | St. Paul’s Memorial Church Sanctuary

Andy Crouch and Bill Wilder

10:50 - 11:15 a.m. — Break

11:15 - 12:00 p.m. — Panel Discussions | Study Center

  • How It All Began... — Dr. Charles Cotherman (PhD ’18)

  • Faith on Grounds Today — Panel with Grounds Ministers, Students, and Faculty

    • John Owen - Moderator, Josiah Carey, Wendy Smith, Rob Batton and Katie Mead

  • Study Center Retrospective — Panel Discussion

    • Lane Cowin (Col ’03) - Moderator, Beat Steiner, Jan Gruetzmacher, Corey Widmer

12:15 - 1:00 p.m. — Lunch | Study Center

1:15 - 2:00 p.m. — Panel Discussions | Study Center

  • Same as above

2:00 - 5:00 p.m. — Free Time (the Study Center will remain available throughout this time)

2:15-3:15 p.m - “Do You Remember When?” Storytelling and Tea | Study Center Library (Optional)
Moderated by Rick Campanelli, Col ’74, Law ’83

5:00 - 6:15 p.m. — Reception | Alumni Hall

6:15 - 7:45 p.m. — Dinner & Remarks | Alumni Hall

Marta McKinnon, Study Center Board Chair
Bill Wilder, Study Center
Ken Elzinga, UVA Professor and Study Center co-founder

7:45 - 8:30 p.m. — Keynote | Alumni Hall

Andy Crouch, Author and Speaker

Lodging

We have secured special weekend rates at the hotels listed below. Click the hotel name for a custom booking link.

West Main Street:

Courtyard Charlottesville | Rate: $279 (cut off date: 2/28)

Hampton Inn & Suites | $199 (cut off date: 3/14)

The Draftsman (Marriott) | $259 (cut off date: 3/4)

Near Stonefield (3 miles from the Study Center):

Hampton Inn | $209 (cut off date: 3/1)

Homewood Suites | $182 (cut off date: 3/5)

Hyatt Place | $185 (cut off date: 3/14)

Parking

Please use this parking pass to see parking options. Place this pass on your dashboard.

FAQs

If you have any other questions, please reach out to Stuart Hornsby at stuart@studycenter.net.

  • We will be kicking-off the celebration Friday evening, April 4th at the Study Center. We hope you will be able to join us for a fun evening together. Light refreshments will be served.

  • Yes. However, if you will not be attending Saturday’s dinner and keynote at Alumni Hall please let us know.

  • Parking at the Study Center: Please use this parking pass for parking options. Place this pass on your dashboard.

    Parking at Alumni Hall: Ample parking will be available at Alumni Hall (221 Emmet St S) for the Saturday evening reception and dinner.

  • No, portions of the weekend will take place offsite at St. Paul’s and Alumni Hall. See details below.

    St. Paul’s Memorial Church is located at 1701 University Ave, across the street from the Study Center (2 minute walk). 

    Our Saturday evening reception and dinner will be at Alumni Hall (211 Emmet Street South) which is less than a mile from the Study Center (11-minute walk, 4-minute drive.)

  • Yes. An elevator was included with our new building addition. Please let us know if you would like to discuss special accommodations for parking or seating.

  • The dress is nice casual on Friday night and during the day on Saturday; business casual (church attire) on Saturday evening.

  • Yes. We have secured special rates at six area hotels. See this link for more details.

  • Refunds will be available before March 21. If a refund is needed, please reach out to Stuart Hornsby.

  • Yes. We will be gathering any of these special needs through a pre-celebration email approximately one week prior to the weekend.

  • No, but of course, we would encourage you to network with other friends who are attending to enjoy time together as possible on Sunday. For reference, see this link for a list of some area churches.

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A group of people socializing in a cozy, wood-paneled room filled with bookshelves, some sitting on couches and chairs, others standing and talking, with a table covered in papers and books.
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A woman and a man sitting at a cluttered office desk, smiling at the camera. The woman is wearing a red sweater with yellow and beige stripes, resting her head on her hand. The man is holding a phone and has dark hair, wearing a gray and white stripe
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A building with a sign celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Center for Christian Study, with people standing and sitting in front.
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Four young adults, two women and two men, are standing indoors, smiling and posing for a photo. The women are on the left, with one holding a yellow book, and the men are on the right, one with crossed arms and the other wearing glasses and a cap. Th
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Registration deadline has passed.

Please email Stuart Hornsby at stuart@studycenter.net if you have any questions.