What is Pres House Campus Ministry?

Here’s the short answer: Pres House is a place you can call home.

On a campus this big, having a place to call “home” — to belong — is one of the surest ways to thrive as a student and as a person. That’s why our mission is to be a spiritual home at the heart of campus. Since 1907, Pres House has been a home for students at UW-Madison — both literally and figuratively.

We’re a proudly LGBTQ+ inclusive church for UW students, led by two BIPOC pastors and full of students you might not expect to see at the same table. At Pres House, you’ll worship on Sundays with folks from all sorts of religious traditions (or none). You’ll share meals with folks of different socio-economic backgrounds, racial and ethnic identities, and political affiliations. You’ll become friends with folks of different gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, and abilities. All together, we are a community of justice-minded, spiritually curious folks who believe faithful people of all kinds can make a difference in the world.

Come, bring ALL of who you are, and find yourself among friends!

“Pres House exposes me to belief systems that are different from my own and how I’ve been taught to believe. I feel more comfortable talking to people of varying identities because of the open space at Pres House.”
anonymous
“It was quite difficult to break away from this mindset of never being good enough, of always needing to do more, and always trying to find clear-cut ‘biblical’ answers to every question. Luckily, the community here at Pres House met me where I was at spiritually and encouraged me – not to abandon Christianity or to suppress doubts, but to embrace the messiness of faith.”
Kamran Mirza
“At Pres House, I was able to learn what Christianity was. I learned parts of the Bible through scripture reading every Sunday. During sermons, I would often hear about Jesus, and though I knew his name, it was at Pres House that I discovered who he was and what he did. At Pres House, I was able to explore what it means to be a Christian and if that was something I wanted to do.”
Jasmine Jones
“Beyond the friendships and the music, what has stayed with me most is how Pres House reshaped my faith. Week after week, sermons here centered on the radical, inclusive teachings of Jesus — not fear, not damnation. … I came to see that Christianity does not have to be a retreat from the world’s problems. It can be a tool for challenging systems of oppression and building a more compassionate, equitable society. It can align with my progressive values while still rooting me deeply in faith.”
Nathan Tan
“The community at Pres House is one of a kind. As a little baby freshman, I was pretty in my shell, but luckily I found Pres House, where I felt welcomed and met an amazing group of people. Pres House became my second home in my first year on campus, where everyone is part of a big family.”
Olivia Avery, a.k.a. Tito
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to trust people enough to be real and honestly share what’s going on with me. I’ve been in relationships where the truth was warped and used against me. But I’ve found the safety to practice honesty here. I’ve been humbled and held as I opened up to friends about doubts of faith, challenges of loss, and questions of identity.”
Evan Digman
“One of the best things about Pres House is that everyone is welcome here. I did not come from a passionate religious background where I can recite all the prophets and Jesus’s miracles. I’m not a “devout” Christian where I read the Bible every day and have a lengthy prayer to the Lord before meals. I have plenty of questions. No matter what people say, I will still argue with the Book. And that’s okay.”
Emily Johnson, a.k.a. EJ
“While I have no problem with Christ, I have nearly lost faith in Christians on multiple occasions. But in Pres House, I found a home among a group of Christians who are willing to decolonize Christianity, dispel religious distortions of sex … and unabashedly accept ALL of who all of we are.”
Spencer Johnson

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100% of the electricity used in the Pres House chapel building comes from renewable energy sources through the MG&E Green Power program.

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