{"id":612,"date":"2026-07-10T17:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=612"},"modified":"2026-07-10T17:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:57:12","slug":"between-lectures-and-fellowship-how-delsu-students-balance-faith-and-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=612","title":{"rendered":"Between Lectures And Fellowship: How DELSU Students Balance Faith And School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Omoware Ese<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students at Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, faith is rarely confined to weekends. Between lecture halls, laboratories and prayer meetings, many are learning to balance rigorous academic demands with spiritual commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four students from different fellowships shared how they navigate the tightrope of schoolwork and devotion, revealing the sacrifices, conflicts, and support systems that keep them grounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okocha Ogochukwu Rejoice, a 100-level Nursing Science student and member of God\u2019s Kingdom Society, GKS, said sleep is her first casualty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I can forfeit my sleep for my studies I can definitely do that for my Creator,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO: <\/strong>The Impact of Sports Betting on Young Nigerians, By Ifeoluwa Fadipe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her schedule includes night study sessions preceded by prayer, mornings for freshening up, and fellowship on Wednesdays from 5:00pm to 6:00pm and on Sundays at 9:00am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ojeaburu Omogafen, a 200-level Pharmacy student at House of Perfection Gospel Center, said his biggest sacrifice is social time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His fellowship activities are fitted around a demanding Pharmacy curriculum, though practicals sometimes interfere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I have, if I have, it\u2019s because of practicals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent Promise, a 100-level Public Administration student at Church of God Mission, also named sleep as what he gives up most. His commitment has required difficult choices, including a Sunday when he had to travel from Benin to Abraka for school and missed service entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> The High Cost Of 7AM Lectures On Students, By Christabel Diedemise<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his part, Jeremiah Umukoro, a 100-level Mass Communication student at Remnant Christian Network, said he sacrifices rest time because he often feels led to pray or intercede during those hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the others, his devotion is not tied to a physical church building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents didn\u2019t send me to school to be physically present in church all the time,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI pray and listen to worship songs while I clean my apartment and get ready for the purpose I was sent to the university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Student Drives Home Brand-New Car at MTN Pulse Campus Activation
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students acknowledged real conflicts between academics and fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejoice said she has been unable to attend Wednesday services this semester due to a bulky academic load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She admitted skipping fellowship once for a tutorial on a difficult course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really felt like staying back because the course to be taught was giving me a tough time so I had to forfeit fellowship that day,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Food Inflation Tightens Grip on Abraka as Residents, Students Struggle With Rising Prices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut mind you, it was on a Wednesday, not Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent\u2019s conflict was logistical. \u201cIt was on a Sunday morning. I was in Benin and I schooled in Abraka so I had to come to school that day and I didn\u2019t get to fellowship with my church because I wanted to go to school that day,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah said he has never attended his fellowship\u2019s weekly meetings because of timing. \u201cIt\u2019s either I\u2019m still in school under a lecturer\u2019s tutorship or really stressed from the day\u2019s activities,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the challenges, all four students said their faith communities have provided practical support in Abraka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Residents Raise Alarm Over Deteriorating Roads in Abraka
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Rejoice said her fellowship helped her in her first week as a fresher when she struggled with accommodation. \u201cMy fellowship gave me my very first accommodation and feeding as I stayed with the chairman of the branch who is also a professor in DELSU for almost a month until I finally got a hostel space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisdom said his fellowship has helped with \u201call of the above\u201d \u2014 accommodation, food, and advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent noted that he has received valuable advice from his fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Jeremiah, the support has been emotional and relational. \u201cMy fellowship has helped me achieve more Christian values like love\u2026 checking on another, supporting those who need help without making a noise out of it,\u201d he said. He recalled a recent dinner organized by their leader, Reverend Kessienna Esiri, for workers after a major program, and a promise to support members needing help with tuition fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Health Experts Raise Concerns Over Nigeria\u2019s Preparedness as Ebola Resurges in DRC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejoice also shared a memorable moment during a financial low. \u201cA Bible game was played in service that day and I won and the prize given was in cash,\u201d she said. \u201cI was so happy and it encouraged me to keep on doing the Lord\u2019s work no matter how challenging things may be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejoice called on school management to recognize that fellowships have different meeting times based on members\u2019 convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice to new students is to prioritize both faith and academics. \u201cIt is very possible to balance your school work with fellowship as without God there\u2019s nothing one will do and be successful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rejoice, Wisdom, Vincent, Jeremiah and many other DELSU students, faith is not separate from their studies \u2014 it is the foundation that sustains them. Even with lost sleep, reduced social life, travel challenges, clashing practicals, and scheduling conflicts, they continue to show up in their own way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU: Pharmacy Students Embrace Mentorship, Recreational Programmes to Combat Mental Health Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DELSU: Pharmacy Students Embrace Mentorship, Recreational Programmes to Combat Mental Health Challenges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Omoware Ese For students at Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, faith is rarely confined to weekends. Between lecture halls, laboratories and prayer meetings, many are learning to balance rigorous academic demands with spiritual commitment. Four students from different fellowships shared how they navigate the tightrope of schoolwork and devotion, revealing the sacrifices, conflicts, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":20,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[31,25,26,157,138,28],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trendingnews","category-viewspoint","tag-abraka","tag-delsu","tag-education","tag-faith","tag-religion","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}