Year 18: Making a Home, A House

Visible was already a home for creative Christians and a beautiful community before we built the Student Studios housing building on campus in 2015. But when we got those rooms open and fully occupied like we did in 2018, running at capacity for the college, we really found an amazing house for ourselves and our guests. The Sarah Haizlip Plaza Stage and The Chase Family production and counseling room off of the Visible Cafe have been amazing assets for community. The snuggly tiny studio apartments have housed hundreds of students, summer guests, AirBnB, long term nurse friends, families, guest speakers, alumni, and so many who have been warmly invited into our house and home by Isaac Harper and his team.

When you cook daily for students, you have a home.

One of the neatest innovations we’ve enjoyed for many years at Visible became a reality with the “house” of Student Studios. We’ve tried to focus a little bit of attention on physical health and good food at Visible since 2000, limiting snack foods and drinks in our events, no space for vending in campus, home cooking by staff, and just some reasonable student-assisted meals as a part of the campus housing options. It has received little fanfare over the years, but at approximately half the cost of big education’s version of student housing, we have had nice apartments and included, donated, healthy, real meals provided and learning by students through home style serving. It has been a good measure of love for the home of Visible.

Uncle Isaac might run the kitchen, but when Ms. Toni or Ms. Sunethra get to making spicy food from Cajun or Indian recipes, the students come running. We’ve enjoyed years of international cuisine at Visible and today’s rendition of Toni and Sunethra and Isaac has played out for years with churches, families, immigrants, and students cooking food for everyone and sharing a beautiful and fragrant home away from home here at Visible. An attempt to keep Visile a healthy community has been met with regular resistance, but the truth is the house is certainly a home and students are well fed spiritually and physically.

2018 saw an incredibly creative group join us and take the family even closer with their intimate music, worship, and food.

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