During Emily (Barto ‘13) Marcum’s freshman year at Lancaster Bible College, the college announced the arrival of the communication major. Choosing to major in communication opened the door to something she never expected: starting a fine arts magazine.

“At the time, there was no organized outlet for the visual arts on campus,” Marcum said. “Dr. Michael Freeman was the influence behind Charge Magazine – his vision for a fine arts publication was inspiring. Charge was formed to celebrate students’ God-given creativity, while also creating a connection to the creative culture found in downtown Lancaster City.”

Charge became Marcum’s lead project. “Charge was very much a personal leap of faith. I’d never started a publication before, and I was to find out that creating something new is much different than editing something existing.” God led other people to walk alongside her, and the LBC community responded with overwhelming positivity.

Following graduation, Marcum worked for a non-profit mission agency in their communications department. “I discovered much of the non-profit world is about saying, “Yes, we can create this!” and then figuring it out as you go,” she said. “Some of those same experiences of taking Charge from an idea to reality came into play.” Now, Marcum is a writer and editor at a Chicago-area marketing agency. “Daily, I’m learning how all the pieces of marketing are connected.”

Charge Magazine is still around today, inspiring our student body and local community to create – just like Marcum envisioned. Each semester, the Charge staff thoughtfully curates student and staff submissions of photographs, poems, short narratives and sermonettes, paintings and much more. “A fine arts culture not only builds community on campus but also enables LBC to have an avenue for connection in the world,” Marcum adds. “Art is good for the soul. When we reflect creativity back to our Creator, we grow closer to Him.”