Season of Abundance for Chi Alpha in Utah

Although she had already decided to follow Jesus, Scout D. Fisher was spiritually searching when she visited a Chi Alpha event at Utah Valley University in September of 2023.

One of Fisher’s most rewarding experiences after leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) was the one-on-one discipleship she received from U.S. missionary with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries Noreen T. Lemon, 48.

“Noreen discipled me for an entire year,” says Fisher, 19, one of four Utah Valley student leaders for 2024-25. “We went to lunch every week and talked about God. I could go and ask questions and she would pray with me. I would not be the Christian I am today without that mentorship.”

This story is only one of a long list Noreen and husband Daran R. Lemon, 50, are hearing after a dozen years in Utah, where nearly 70% of the population belongs to an LDS church.

While their progress has been slow and sometimes discouraging, today the couple is filled with anticipation.

There are now 35 students in small groups (known as Core Groups) and 50 attending Chi Alpha campus meetings at Utah Valley in Orem. That is about triple the number who attended meetings in 2020. Another 15 meet at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, 40 miles north of Orem.

“I feel like we’re on the cusp of revival,” says Noreen, who in August received the ministry’s largest-ever single donation ($20,000). “This year we’re seeing more people getting saved and a lot of Mormons are studying the Bible with us. I literally tell people I don’t understand the season of abundance we’re in. Students coming to us are hungry for the Lord.”

From 2021-23 they saw six baptisms, but are anticipating a lot more this year, says Daran, a pastor for 13 years before going into missions. He expects additional excitement to stir because of Chi Alpha’s mid-October fall retreat.

The key is when Mormon students see the conflict between what Jesus and the Bible say and what they were taught growing up, Daran says.

“They don’t believe in the Trinity but have some of the same elements,” Daran says of Mormon beliefs. “They believe in salvation, but you have to earn that salvation. There are a lot of similarities with the language used, but the definitions are different.

“This is part of God’s heart,” he adds. “He wants to reach the lost but many Mormons don’t know they’re lost. They send out kids as missionaries at 18, but a lot come back with questions. They say they studied the Bible with Christians on their mission and they want to keep that up.”

The couple has hopes of eventually launching six Chi Alpha’s across the state of Utah. The Lemons are U.S. missionaries with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries and affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Ministry Network.

One fascinating aspect of the Lemons’ experience is how 2020 lockdowns brought a spiritual breakthrough. Without Mormons’ customary community and family gatherings available, many studied the New Testament at home, Noreen says.

“We got to sit and read the New Testament with one of our Mormon neighbors during 2020,” she says. “That’s when Christianity became a legitimate option for a lot of people.”

Other doors were opening too. That year, many students and others sensed God calling them to Utah. Chi Alpha groups from across the nation came on spring break trips right before lockdowns. One couple returned in 2021 to become part of the ministry team—now at an all-time high of 11—and another plans to join in 2025.

One of the most interesting stories involves Clinton and Jayln Ballew. Although an associate pastor in North Carolina, in 2020 Clinton sensed God calling them to plant a church in Utah. Two years later, the couple met with the Lemons.

“We have people all the time who say they feel called to Utah, but I have not seen one church plant succeed here,” Noreen says. “They decided to come out here like they were going on vacation. They hated it. They ended up in a small hotel in Provo and all they felt was deep heaviness.”

Yet, afterward Clinton felt God tugging on his heart. Later, on a hunting trip to New Mexico, a friend mentioned his parents lived in Utah; several other people brought up the state in conversation.

One day as Clinton walked through the woods, he asked God why He had sent them to Utah, adding, “Why didn’t you tell us where we should go?”

Clinton sensed the Holy Spirit reaffirming his call to Utah, impressing on Clinton’s heart that he was exactly where he had been called to go, even though it doesn’t feel good right now.

Despite having three children and only three months to raise their budget, last June the Bellews joined Chi Alpha’s staff at Utah Valley. They plan to soon launch an AG church in Provo named Free River.

Ironically, that’s the church Scout Fisher plans to attend, since she expects a number of Chi Alpha associates to be there.

“To get plugged into a Christian community was so good,” says Fisher, who has self-published a book of poetry (Not All Sheep Who Wander Have Lost Him) about leaving the LDS church.

“It taught me that I can have friends and relationships and do fun stuff outside of Mormonism. And I can still have a community of people who are pushing me closer to God. That was a really big thing for me.”