Forget Crunk Juice. Another way to get “crunked” is not in acting crazy and drunk in any club, but within the confines of spirituality. Crunk for Christ, a bible study group that meets at Sacramento State, offers its own version of crunk – borrowing the term from Southern culture to mean a state of excitement, passion and energy for Jesus Christ.

The group will hold its second meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. in Yosemite Hall, Room 133.

Crunk for Christ formed in 2004 with Michelle Mills, Shamika Smith and Brandon Henry, all students of Sac State and members of the same church of Spirit and Truth Ministries, a non-denominational sect of Christianity. Advised by their pastor, they formed under the mission to “equip and empower college students to obtain a tighter walk with Christ.”

Mills, 20, the group’s president, explained that their main goal is to make young adults feel comfortable and confident with whatever Christian faith they are.

“We’re just trying to get more college students to realize that you can still thank God and believe in God and you can still have fun while you are doing it,” said Mills, an accounting information systems major. “You can still be the typical college student, just without the negative things.”

What those negative things are may vary for each person, but in this group revolved around sex, drinking and general debauchery — a pretense that is nonetheless conjured when people think of college life. These issues are often dealt with during the group’s meetings via roundtable discussions and personal testimonies, which have allowed members to identify with each other and know that they are not alone in their hardships.

“We’re not trying to be holier than thou, and all of us are still trying to struggle with issues and we don’t hide that from anybody,” Mills said.

In past meetings, members and other attendees were encouraged to write down what issues were most important to them for discussion and the No. 1 topic was sex.

“We thought it would be a good idea to have some of the people who are newlyweds or [people] a little bit around our age who are dating, come to our meetings and minister to us. We do bible study that way and we go through the word and what it says about waiting ’til you’re married and how to be a good wife or be a good husband,” said Smith. “That’s where we’re at now because a lot of us are getting to that age where we’re about to graduate and we’re thinking about getting married and starting families.”

Crunk for Christ treasurer Henry, believes that combining modern issues with scripture is what sets the group apart from other religious groups on campus.

“I attended a couple other college ministry meetings before, and nothing against them, but it wasn’t grabbing me. We wanted to have something that right off the top, grabs people,” Henry, a 20-year-old biological sciences major, said.

The name of the group alone may be enough to grab anyone’s attention. But while the phrase “Crunk for Christ” may evoke a strong association with hip-hop, do not expect any beatboxing to the Book of Genesis.

“Our bible studies are pretty ordinary. There’s never anything like rapping in the middle,” Mills said.

Still, the group’s church incorporates hip-hop alongside its gospel songs. Mills also cited that her pastor freestyles during services.

“Hip-hop is so influential in our society, and it reaches more people,” said Mills. “I feel that if hip-hop is what people want, then we’ll give it to them- but we’re gonna give them Christian hip-hop.”

This was evident at Crunk for Christ’s biggest event so far – last year’s Gospel Extravaganza. The concert, featuring Christian hip-hop and gospel acts, drew more than 700 people in the University Union Ballroom. The concert was a big success for Crunk for Christ.

“That was one of the biggest things that we wanted to do – anoint the campus,” Henry said.

The group is planning its Second Annual Gospel Extravaganza on Feb. 28 during Black History Month.

The group is also planning to continue its involvement with youth. Crunk for Christ encourages its members to participate with the youth ministry at the Spirit and Truth church.

“We just try to minister to them and let them know they’re not alone,” Smith said.

The bible study group tries to remain accessible to college students. Its meetings only occur during the school year and happen only on campus.

“Some people are scared to go to church, so we do it at school – so people won’t feel like they’re at a church setting,” Mills explained.

A common misconception about the group is that anyone who attends the meetings must eventually join the Spirit and Truth church. While most members attend the church, the founding members said that anyone of any faith is welcome – no obligations, no animosity.

“Yes, we’re Christians, but we’re also people. We’re young adults and we’re trying to live life. We’re trying to live life right. It’s not about judging. I just want people to get that sense that this is a place where you can belong and come and fellowship with us,” Smith said.

Meetings are scheduled every second and fourth Tuesday of each month this semester in Yosemite Hall. For more information, contact the group at [email protected].

Karen Balmes can be reached at [email protected]