A warm, hospitable place & a greenhouse for growth.

Carmen House Christian Study Center seeks to provide a hospitable place for the OSU community to explore deep questions about the Christian faith in relation to learning, vocation, and human flourishing. We seek to be a greenhouse for Christian spiritual formation, demonstrating the vitality and wisdom of the Christian faith for the life of the university.

We are a partner of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers

We envision…

  • Christian and non-Christian students having a judgment-free place to be honest about their questions and doubts.

  • Christian students holistically growing in their faith, including their academic pursuits.

  • Christian faculty at OSU that are actively integrating their faith with their academic work in the university, while being given opportunities outside of the classroom setting to share their lives and perspectives with others in the campus community.

  • Non-Christian students and faculty encountering the people and programs of Carmen House, and being welcomed and surprised by the wisdom and beauty of the way of Jesus Christ. 

Board of Directors

  • Aaron Badenhop, DMin

  • Amanda Hullinger, LPCC

  • Brian Raison, PhD

  • Josh Doyle

  • Keith Little, JD

  • Seuli Brill, MD

 FAQs

  • We are inspired by the Christian Study Center movement, and find the work of Upper House at the University of Wisconsin a beautiful model of a comparable space we hope to someday inhabit.

  • Early in the 20th Century, an Ohio State freshman named Fred Cornell decided to write the lyrics to what would later become The Ohio State University's alma mater: Carmen Ohio.

    In Spanish, "Carmen" can be translated as "hymn" or "poem." It is likely that the word "Carmen" was chosen because Cornell borrowed a tune from a Christian hymnal, the Spanish Hymn, for his adapted lyrics. In Cornell's own words:

    "The ease of singing the Spanish Hymn accounts for much of its use... Other music was considered and discharged, both original and adapted; all of us know the hymn... There is a real and lasting quality about such simple harmonies that lends dignity to the phrases."

    Today, just about every Buckeye is still familiar with the tune of Carmen Ohio, yet few us would remember its origin.

    As a Christian Hymn in many hymnals, a common set of lyrics to the Spanish Hymn would have been Psalm 25. This Psalm, including the first line of the song, prove to be filled with meaning for a Christian Study Center on the doorstep of Ohio State:

    "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul." (Ps. 25:1 ESV)

    Our use of the name "Carmen" points to the vision that all of life, including life at the university, could be aimed at lifting up our soul to the presence of God.

    • Carmen House Christian Study Center has applied and been officially approved as a non-profit organization in the state of Ohio!

    • We have been building a board of directors, and we held our first board meeting in December of 2024.

    • Aaron Badenhop has been ordained through the EPC to provide leadership for Carmen House (an independent non-profit) while serving as Spiritual Theologian in Residence at Hope Church.

    • Carmen House will be seeking tax-exempt status at the federal level, and we hope to have that in place in 2025.

    • Come February we will be co-sponsoring events for undergrad students, grad students, and faculty featuring guest speaker and Christian psychiatrist (and Buckeye fan!) Curt Thompson, MD.

    • Come spring, we will be focusing on a capital campaign in order that Carmen House Christian Study Center might secure a location and have the necessary funds to pursue this mission and vision.

    • Carmen House has been accepted as a partner of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers.

  • Carmen House will not come to fruition without the financial support of ministry partners. To get behind this important new initiative, donate through our sponsoring organization as we launch Carmen House. Give Here

    Know anyone that should hear about Carmen House Christian Study Center? Please share this page with them.

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