University of Kentucky
Join us on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in Sanders Hall
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Welcome to RUF at Kentucky! We are a community of students on campus seeking to love God and love our neighbor. Our goal is to help students come to understand, know, and follow Jesus Christ as they walk through their college years, and to help lay a foundation for a lifetime of following Jesus and serving him in all areas of life.
Jesus said that he did not come to save the righteous, but sinners. At RUF, we do not wish to pretend to have it all together. We are people in need of grace. Consequently, all are welcome to be part of our group, regardless of personal or religious background. RUF exists for the "convinced" and the "unconvinced," the lost, the found, the burned, bored, cynical, or spiritual. Whoever you are and whatever your story, RUF exists for you.
Join Us
Freshman Fellowship
RUF Lunch
Super Bowl Party
TCPC's Spring Break Mission Trip
Baseball Game vs. Missouri
Keeneland Tailgate
Donut Crawl
Connect
If you would like to get connected, fill out this form
Listen to one of our messages from Wednesday night large group
Meet Our Team
Nick Bratcher
A native Kentuckian himself, Nick's great joy is serving students at the University of Kentucky! This is his eighth year as a campus minister for RUF, having earned his Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary and getting ordained in 2020. His loves include his family, smoking meats, golf, Friday nights at the Rosine Barn, and Saturdays at Keeneland. He met his wife Maddy at a still-beloved summer camp in 2012. She loves cooking, her college town of Charlottesville, Va., and running her wedding and family photography business. The two welcomed their first child, Rye, in 2023, and their second child, Nellie, in 2025.
Grace Nelson
Grace is from Decatur, Alabama, and graduated from Mississippi State University in 2022. Growing up in the church, RUF was a natural next step once Grace got to college, and it became a big part of her college experience both spiritually and relationally. After graduating college, Grace spent 3 years as the RUF intern at NC State where she grew in her love of bringing the Gospel to college students. Grace is excited to be at the University of Kentucky as Campus Staff to point college women to the hope found in Jesus and the beauty of the Scriptures. In her free time, Grace enjoys a long walk with her dog, Braves baseball, a cup of tea, and a good book!
Madeleine Nelson
Madeleine grew up in the small western Kentucky town of Henderson. She has a bachelor of arts in social work from the University of Kentucky where she met her husband, Colin. On any given day you might find them roaming around their local library or spending time with their friends. Madeleine and Colin both love the state of Kentucky and are excited to share in Christ's vision of redeeming the Bluegrass through Madeleine's work in the RUF Internship. RUF is the instrument God used to call Madeleine to Himself by teaching her that she could never be so bad to be beyond the reach of God's grace and never so good to be beyond the need of God's grace. She is excited to share this good news with college students at the University of Kentucky. Go Big Blue!