The new Christian Student Center at Troy University will celebrate the opening of the facility with open house from 3 until 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Christian Student Center is located at 703 University Avenue.

Rick Cochran, campus minister for the sponsoring Collegedale Church of Christ, said the church membership is excited to announce the opening of the new Christian Student Center and invites the public to the “celebration of this blessing” on Sunday.

Open house will be a come-and-go event from 3 until 4:30 p.m. with a special time of prayer and dedication at 3:30 pm.

“As we minister to the college students at the Christian Student Center, the main focus is for the students to grow in their faith and, as they grow, to spread the Word to their friends and classmates,” Cochran said. “Then, as they move into their careers, our desire is for them to take what they have learned here and spread it to the world.”

The Christian Student Center is an outreach of Collegedale Church of Christ but is open to all denominations.

“We see the Christian Student Center as a mission with the world coming to us,” Cochran said.

The Christian Student Center is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until midnight, with small student-led Bible groups meeting regularly.

“Each Wednesday night during the semester, we have what we call The Gathering and it’s a large group meeting,” Cochran said. “But the Center is open daily and nightly for students to come in and study or just hang out and watch TV. During the daytime hours, the Christian Student Center will be treated much like a coffee shop.”

The center will also serve as a residence for several college men.

“That is for the security of it and for creating leadership in the young men, as well,” Cochran said.

The center will also be available to the community as a meeting place for small groups. “We were not able to offer that service to the community in the old house but are excited to be able to offer it now,” Cochran said. “Of course, the property will be used for tailgating at university events. We’ll soon have the sand volleyball court ready again and the students really enjoy it during warm weather.”

The Christian Student Center will be a place of preparation for future mission trips. The next trip is planned to Africa in May. The old Christian Student Center was taken down Jan. 4, 2011, and meetings have been held at various locations on campus for the last two semesters.

Cochran said it will be good to have a place of their own again.

“We will use the new Christian Student Center for God’s Glory, not for ours,” he said. “We want to spread God’s love by reaching out to the community and to those in need.”