Columbia University
Join us Thursdays from 8:00-9:15pm for Worship & Teaching in Earl Hall
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Regardless of your beliefs or background, Columbia RUF is a diverse community where you can explore Christianity and the hope that is found in knowing Jesus Christ. Columbia can be a challenging place to live and study, so we gather together weekly to hangout, process life, engage with the Bible, and remind ourselves of God's love for us in Jesus.
RUF is a place where Christians will grow in their faith, and where those who are skeptical or curious are always invited to bring their questions as we serve our neighbors and experience God's grace together at Columbia.
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Meet Our Team
Eric Lipscomb
Eric originally hails from Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009 with a B.A. in Religious Studies. Having dated his high school sweetheart their entire time at UVA, Eric and Brittany got married shortly after graduation and eventually moved to St. Louis in 2010, where Eric pursued a Masters of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary and Brittany brought home the bread as a second grade teacher. In 2014, Eric graduated with his M.Div and was called to New York City to serve as the RUF Campus Minister at Columbia University. They have two sons, Yates (born Apr. 2019) and Hollis (born Oct. 2021), live near campus in Morningside Heights, and love hanging out with and serving Columbia students!
Ava Ligh
Ava Ligh is joining RUF as Campus Staff because she wants to help students from different backgrounds who feel “in the dark” with respect to God. As a sophomore at Columbia, she joined a Bible study originally to prove to a friend that she could dismiss Christianity’s claims. Instead, she ended up with more questions, and it was through a campus ministry that she surrendered to Christ and gained a passion for helping students confront the claims of the Gospel. Ava attended Columbia (CC'99) and her husband Peter attended Columbia Law School ('01). She worked as a consultant before obtaining a Masters in Education and teaching for two years. For ten years she stayed home to care for her children Karis (16), Erenei (13), and Checed (11) before starting to explore her calling to campus ministry. As a member and elder’s wife in Emmanuel Presbyterian Church a few blocks away from Columbia's campus, she’s been serving in a campus ministry at Columbia for six years and is eager to transition to its RUF ministry because of its sound theology and accountability structure. She enjoys making fun of her kids, Netflix comedy specials, knitting, calligraphy, and playing Settlers of Catan with the family!
Ben Pate
Ben grew up just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Davidson College, where he studied Neuroscience. Ben would not have called himself a Christian his freshman year, but enjoyed coming to RUF at Davidson and hanging out with his intern. Because of seeds planted by RUF, Ben became a Christian around New Years Day 2020, and found the most loving, caring, Christ-centered community there. He could not be more excited to bring the gospel to college students at Columbia (even if NYC is a bit bigger than Birmingham). Ben loves reading, attempting to write, and all things music related, and looks forward to getting into the city.