Sharing a meal with family or friends offered a pause from daily routines and a chance to reflect on faith and community. Students at California Baptist University said weekly meals with friends strengthened relationships and influenced their spiritual growth.
Isaac Franklin, freshman applied theology major, regularly met friends at Raising Cane’s.
“Lots of times we’ve gone to Cane’s. I go to Cane’s a lot with the boys from my hall,” Franklin said.
Franklin said he attended many outings with his hall and other friend groups, including classmates from the applied theology program. He said sharing meals helped form deeper bonds and showed how community developed through simple moments.
“I think there’s lots of times where you just hang out between classes or just say hi in the halls, and you just don’t have a lot of time to actually get to know people. And then with the dinner or the meals, you really get to know them,” Franklin said.
Franklin said shared meals helped fulfill a need for fellowship and connection.
Yvonne Thai, professor of sociology, explained why those connections mattered.
“As human beings, we have this innate desire to connect with other people,” Thai said. “Human beings are not created to be isolated.”
Thai said people often sought community through social gatherings that fostered close relationships.
Through regular dinners, Franklin said he built a community where he felt comfortable expressing himself and experiencing a sense of belonging.
Thai said social gatherings helped reduce loneliness and strengthened community ties.
“Gathering together helps to reduce feelings of loneliness and alienation, it reduces feelings of anxiety,” Thai said. “The good thing about it is that it satisfies this desire that we as all human beings have to belong somewhere.”
Students also said group meals encouraged personal and spiritual growth. Franklin said shared dinners created space for deeper conversations.
“You go from joking around, cracking a joke, to really deep questions that people ask rather quickly, and I think that’s really important,” Franklin said. “Especially with the [Bachelors of Applied Theology] dinners, everybody knows so much about the Bible, I’m learning so much from asking them questions.”
Franklin said those conversations helped him see different perspectives and connect them to his faith.
Other students shared similar experiences. Autumn Ware, sophomore pre-nursing major, said meals with friends helped her grow in understanding and faith.
“Talking to other people and seeing what other people say about their journey or whatever going on with their faith,” Ware said.
Ware said shared meals helped her learn more about herself and encouraged others to spend intentional time with friends.
“It’s a lot of fun, you get to know your roommates more, and you can run into your roommates friends, or your friend group’s other friends, and you get to meet a bunch of people,” Ware said.
Ware said building a wider network through shared meals made it easier to stay connected and support one another.
Students said setting aside time for meals with friends fostered personal growth, strengthened faith and deepened relationships.
