Brother Jed and Brother Mikhail were at the Mellin steps outside of the Doudna Performing Arts Center Thursday afternoon to share their beliefs to the Eastern students.

Brother Jed and other members of The Campus Ministry USA travel around to college campuses to spread their beliefs to students.

Brother Jed and his guest comes to Eastern’s campus every semester to speak at the Mellin steps.

Brother Mikhail said the ultimate goal of their travels to college campuses is to get students to become Christian.

“The goal is to get students to start thinking about the issues of God, like heaven and hell,” Brother Mikhail said. “Ultimately, that they will become a Christian and give their life and follow him.”

While Brother Jed was speaking to the students at the steps, Brother Mikhail sat a bit farther back talking to another group of students.

Miranda Rutter, a freshman family and consumer sciences major, asked Brother Mikhail why he does not like tattoos.

“God gave you your body, and you’re doing all these wicked things to your body,” Brother Mikhail said.

Ariana Moore, a senior kinesiology and sport studies major, said that she saw Brother Jed the first time when he visited last spring.

Moore said that she agrees with some of the points Brother Jed and his guest make because of her religion, but she does not agree with the execution of the beliefs.

“The way they go about telling people is very hateful and very judgmental,” Moore said. “To get people to come to Christ is not to tell them they’re going to hell.”

Kristina Beitz, a freshman history major, said she thinks most of the students who watch Brother Jed see it as entertainment.

Beitz said “No one really thinks what he’s saying is true.”

Kyle Cooke, a junior economics major, said he has been seeing Brother Jed speak since his freshman year.

Cooke said he thinks the worst thing students can do is react and get mad at Brother Jed’s messages. Cooke was making signs of his own to speak to students about ignoring Brother Jed.

“I have this sign ‘if you stop listening, they’ll leave’,” Cooke said. “If they’re just preaching to an empty staircase they’ll go away.”

Moore said she feels that people over react to Brother Jed and disrespect him when he comes to campus.

“Last semester (Brother Jed) was spit on, somebody stole his chair, people were blowing smoke in his face, stole his signs, people tried to assault him,”

Moore said. “No matter what his message is, disrespect is always going to be disrespect, and it should not be tolerated.

Mackenzie Freund can be reached at [email protected] or at 581-2812