Columbia RUF
Love God. Love Others. Love Columbia.
Columbia RUF
Love God. Love Others. Love Columbia.
Who We Are
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.
Conversation
Believing and non-believing students gather together in RUF to ask questions, explore the claims of Christianity, and encounter Jesus.
Community
We were made to enjoy meaningful relationships. RUF fosters an environment on campus where students feel known and welcomed.
Connection
Columbia RUF primarily serves Barnard and Columbia undergrads, but we're connected to students from all over New York City through our affiliation with City Campus Ministry and RUF International.
Ministry Staff
Rev. Eric Lipscomb, Campus Minister
Ministry Staff
Rev. Eric Lipscomb, Campus Minister
Eric originally hails from Richmond, VA, 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 spent another year in Charlottesville while Brittany completed her M.T. in Elementary Education. The Lipscombs then 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 Founding Campus Minister for RUF at Columbia University. They have two sons, Yates (born 4/19) and Hollis (born 10/21), and live near campus in Morningside Heights.
During their time in college, Eric and Brittany were both cared for so well through the ministry of RUF, and are now incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve students at Columbia. If you’re an undergrad student, please feel free to contact us any time - we'd love to meet you, talk about life, faith, doubt, or even just hangout.
Email: eric@columbiaruf.org Cell: 804.363.4333 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eslipscomb
Ministry Staff
Ava Ligh, Campus Staff
Ministry Staff
Ava Ligh, Campus Staff
Ava is passionate about serving 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 discovered that the Christian framework made better sense of the world and of human nature than the secular framework. Ava attended Columbia College (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. She then stayed at home to care for her children Karis, Erenei, and Checed before starting to minister to Columbia students in the fall of 2013. She enjoys talking, teaching the Bible, Netflix comedy specials, knitting, calligraphy, and playing Settlers of Catan with students and family!
Email: ava.ligh@ruf.org