About Beyond Us Ministries:

Who?

Board of Directors (volunteer group to oversee the Directors and guide the ministry)

Jason & JoLee Reichert (Ministry Directors to disciple students)                  

Why?

To help Christian college students remain faithful to Christ. (2 Cor. 5:15)

70% of those who stop attending church are between 18-22 years of age. (Lifeway 2007) 

How?
Help college students connect with:

      • Christ
      • Christians
      • Churches
      • Campus & Community

Where?
Mattoon, IL – Working with students from:

      • Lake Land College (40% of in-district graduates attend LLC)
      • Eastern Illinois University
      • College-age individuals who go straight into the workforce

When?   Weekly:

Thursday Bible Study Group & meal with students

Student-led Small Groups (various days and times each semester)

Small group studies with Directors (various days/time/topics each semester)

Christian Student Housing is available on-site with BUM facility and director’s housing

Our Mission

Helping Collegiates Connect:

  • Connect to Christ (personal relationship)
  • Connect to Christians (discipleship and accountability)
  • Connect to the local Church (service and mentoring)
  • Connect to Campus and Community (outreach, evangelism, and service)

We hold weekly Bible studies, host events, offer affordable-Christian housing, and much more. Find out more by exploring the website or check out Instagram or our Facebook page for the latest news. 

Our Beliefs

  • The Bible is without error and our final authority
  • The Trinity (one God – Father, Holy Spirit) 
  • Jesus is fully man and fully God
  • The human race is spiritually lost
  • Jesus died as our substitutionary atonement was buried and rose on the third day
  • Salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone
  • Jesus will physically return

For a more detailed understanding of these core beliefs, please contact our Director.

Read more.

Staff

Jason and JoLee Reichert

Jason and JoLee Reichert serve as full-time, on-site ministry directors for Beyond Us Ministries in Mattoon, Illinois.

Jason, originally from Farina, Illinois, graduated from Lake Land College and Eastern Illinois University after studying business and finance. He married JoLee in 1996, and they moved to her hometown of Martinsville, Illinois, and started their family. Jason spent ten years employed at a bank in Terre Haute, Indiana, while his wife chose to raise and homeschool their two children, Janel and Jacob.

Jason felt called into full-time ministry and resigned from his job at the bank to serve on staff at Martinsville Bible Church while getting his Master of Arts in Theological Studies. During this time frame, Jason and JoLee explored many areas of ministry but kept going back to a need for ministry to college-age students.

They explored many established college ministries but didn’t feel they were the best fit for their family. They knew many area youths going to Lake Land College, yet none of the college ministry organizations were present.

Seeing a need for their local community, Jason and JoLee shared their vision for a college ministry that would focus on Christian students from area churches who had a desire to continue growing in their personal walk with Christ through discipleship, accountability, and a close-knit community of believers.

God continued to guide, and doors began to open, making the vision become reality. In 2011, a Board of Directors was put into place to help guide this ministry into existence and oversee its direction. In 2014, Jason and JoLee began meeting weekly on Thursdays with local college students, sharing a meal and studying the Bible together, then enjoying a time of fun and games afterward. That tradition continues on Thursdays, with a growing number of students each semester.

In the fall of 2017, the ministry purchased property just a few miles away from Lake Land College. The Reicherts sold their home in Martinsville and relocated to the BUM property in Mattoon to be on-site to live life together with college students.

Location

Beyond Us Ministries is located at 3099 N County Rd 650 E, Mattoon, IL 61938.  The ministry headquarters and Christian housing facility are conveniently located within minutes from Lake Land College and a short drive from Eastern Illinois University.