RUF
NC State & Meredith College
RUF @ NC State 25th Anniversary Weekend - October 3-5th!
Welcome Back, NCSU Alumni!
Mark your calendars and make your plans - RUF at NC State is thrilled to invite you back to campus for a special Alumni Weekend celebration on October 3rd-5th, 2025!
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Come reconnect with old friends, meet current students, and reflect on the ways God has worked through RUF over the years. Whether you're local or traveling from afar, we’d love to see you and celebrate all that RUF has meant to you.​
Weekend Schedule
Friday
Dinner with the CMs
5-6:30PM
Ben Inman will be at Neomonde for any alumni who want to connect with him.
Jeff Wilkins will be at Player's Retreat to reconnect with those who were in RUF during his tenure.
Chuck Askew will be outside at the NC State Study Center (201 Brooks Ave) for a family-friendly event featuring BBQ and socializing for all alumni who have been part of RUF during his tenure.
Please RSVP here!
Sandra McCracken
7:00PM
Join us for a worshipful concert featuring Sandra McCracken
Saturday
NCSU vs. Campbell Tailgate!
11:00AM -1:30 PM
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Come by and grab some food before the Campbell football game and mingle with other alumni! We will be cooking out and connecting at a couple of spots just outside the Lenovo Center from 11-1:30 PM!
Alumni Banquet
7:00PM
We are going to eat, worship, and hear testimonies of what God has and is doing at NC State through RUF! This will be a bit like a "senior night" at RUF, and I hope it will be a deep source of encouragement to all of us. And please know we have CHILDCARE! (request it here!)
Sunday
Worship @ CTK
10:45 AM
Sunday Morning, come worship at CTK as former RUFs will lead worship, and we have NC State RUF Alum Andrew Shank preaching! This will be a great way to see how God used RUF to grow his church!
A letter from James Sutton: RUF Alumni
Dear RUF at NC State Alumni,
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I want to personally invite you to join us the weekend of October 3rd for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of RUF at NC State. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend—Sandra McCracken is performing, we’ve secured football tickets, all three campus ministers will be there, and we’ll close it out with a celebratory banquet.
But it won’t be the same without you. Because you have an RUF story, don’t you? And this celebration wouldn’t be complete without it.
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I have a lot of RUF stories. I was there at the beginning. Kevin Thumpston and I helped launch the Bible study that became RUF at NC State. Our first meeting was in my apartment. When RUF became official I was the first intern —alongside Ben Inman. I’ve walked alongside Jeff Wilkins and Chuck Askew. I’ve seen God work through each of those guys in incredible ways. I’ve prayed, given, and shown up, because I KNOW God is at work at NC State.
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I’ve watched the parade of students God has brought here. I’ve gotten to know so many of you. Some have stayed to become leaders and pillars of the church here in Raleigh, others were called out to serve in places I never imagined. From those of you I’ve kept in touch with, I've seen firsthand how the Lord has used RUF to shape lives and spark gospel movements.
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Every time I step back into Large Group and meet a new student who’s just starting to explore the beauty of who Christ is, I think, “The Lord took this little thing we started… and He’s still using it.”And the same is true of you. I’ve watched you come through this place. You left your mark. You served. You helped make RUF what it is today.
God has given me a gift. He put me on the front row of this thing for 25 years. I can testify to the amazing things He’s done. But I definitely don’t know everything. You have stories I’ve yet to hear. Whether you were here in the Rivendell days, or met your best friends at Fall Conference, or only dropped in once for Large Group—we want you back.
I’ve worked all summer to get sponsors to pay for this event. Buy a concert ticket, come to a football game, grab a bite with your campus minster (they’re all coming). All the proceeds will go to RUF, we will have a lot of fun, and all the glory will go to God.
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And yeah, we’ll be asking for money. (Alumni giving is at just 9%, and we’d love to change that) But honestly? That’s secondary. Don’t give if you don’t want to. We can find lots of people to give money to RUF, but you’re the only one that has your story. Will you come share it and allow it to fuel our worship that weekend?
James Sutton
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P.S. If costs are prohibitive or you need a place to stay, we’ll figure it out. You have family here. Call me.