By Valentina Toro
Features Editor
La Fe Bible Study is more than a weekly Scripture reading; it is a space where Latino students at the university can unpack faith, culture and generational expectations without having to explain themselves.
La Fe operates under InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and was founded in Fall 2023. What began as a small Bible study has grown into a student-led ministry focused on identity and fellowship among Latino students on campus.
“I feel like when I first started coming to Southern, we kind of lacked a Christian community,” nursing major Maryanna De Almeida, a junior and leader of La Fe, said. “With InterVarsity, Bible studies have been here for a long time. But more targeted toward Latinos, we’ve never really had that.”
De Almeida began leading La Fe during her first semester alongside InterVarsity and La Fe campus staff minister Danielle D’Oliveira.
After the campus staff minister departed, De Almeida continued guiding the weekly Bible studies with a fellow InterVarsity member, who is also a student leader for La Fe.
Their leadership has expanded each semester as more students have stepped into organizing roles. The group’s mission centers on what members call “identity in Christ,” while also acknowledging the cultural experiences unique to Latino students.
Meetings typically include Scripture readings, open discussion and time for students to share personal reflections. De Almeida said La Fe intentionally addresses topics that are often left unspoken within Latino communities.
“One of the main things that we talk about in La Fe is our identity in Christ,” De Almeida said. “In the Latino community, there’s a lot of stigma and a lot of cultural things that can cause what we call church hurt. We want to provide a space where we can talk and not feel like we need to over explain ourselves.”
She explained that cultural expectations, family dynamics and generational differences can make conversations about faith complicated for some students.
La Fe seeks to create an environment where those experiences are understood without judgement.
“A lot of times in Latino culture, we push things under the rug, or we don’t want to talk about things,” De Almeida said. “We wanted to provide a space where the new generation can talk about those things, dissect them and feel appreciated and loved in that.”
For De Almeida, the space is about more than weekly meetings. It is about representation and reassurance, a reminder that students do not have to separate their fate from their cultural identity.
La Fe meets weekly in Adanti Student Center Room 303 and welcomes students of all backgrounds, whether they are new to Christianity or have been practicing their faith for years.
While rooted in Latino fellowship, the group encourages allies and curious students to attend their weekly Latino Bible study on Thursdays and also their large group meetings on Wednesdays in Adanti Student Center Room 309.
At its core, De Almeida said, their goal is simple.
“We just want to create a Christian community where we feel welcomed and like it’s our own,” De Almeida said. “A place where Latino students can grow in faith, talk about what we go through and know that they’re not alone.”
