About Us

A community on campus learning how to love.

As a Christian ministry, we believe the best way to grow in love for ourselves and one another is to actually open up the Scriptures and wrestle deeply with the divine love story that is written upon every page. Usually this means a prerequisite for joining a group like ours is that someone must affirm the validity of Christianity before stepping foot into our community—but we actually think the opposite is true: our group is best served, and at its healthiest, when wide swaths of people within our group hold to different convictions about the Bible.

Why is this the case? Because, we believe, that is how you learn how to love. Echo chambers are boring, and only serve to enrage us against those we’ve deemed “other.” The posture of our community is different, and, at times, uncomfortable, because our goal is to challenge every’s presuppositions about the world. No one is safe at RUF to go through the motions in pursuit of what is true, what is good, and what is ultimately beautiful.

Why should you join a group like ours?

Because we are obsessed with experiencing what we believe to be at the center of the Universe: grace.

An experience of grace—that you receive ultimately what you do not deserve—can be scandalous and offensive to our capabilities, but we also think it’s a captivating reality that actually has the power to change every bit of our existence.

Our Students

Hear from some of our students about how God has been working throughout their college experience and during their time in RUF!

Our Staff

Robert Knuth

Campus Minister

Robert grew up along the coast of Virginia Beach, VA where he developed such a love for his native state that he decided to attend Washington and Lee University. He graduated from W&L in May of 2014 with a BA in Religion and German. Most importantly though (thanks to RUF), he carried with him a new-found love for the person and work of Jesus Christ.

From 2014-2016, he served for two years as a RUF intern at the University of Georgia. It was during the internship that he met his wife, Katherine, who also served as a RUF intern. Even though she attended Wake Forest University during her undergraduate years, Katherine originally hails from Leland, MI.

Upon graduation from Reformed Theological Seminary at Charlotte in 2019 with a Masters of Divinity degree, Robert planted RUF at Michigan in the Fall of 2019. He was officially ordained in March 2020 as a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

When he is not on campus, you’ll most likely find him taking his son, Peter (July 2018), his daughter, Abigail (December 2019), and/or his son, Thomas (January 2023), for a walk in the park. He will find any excuse to play the board game "Settlers of Catan" with friends, or especially on nice days, explore downtown Ann Arbor with Katherine. Go Blue!

Sarah Kettel

Campus Staff

Sarah Kettel grew up down the road in Brighton, MI. After graduating high school as a homeschooled student, she attended (the "other school") Michigan State University. While there she earned a degree in Exercise Science and also competed as a cross country and track athlete. It was during college that her faith really became her own and she first started thinking about doing vocational ministry. After graduating in the midst of covid, May 2020, Sarah moved to Macon, GA to take part in The Fellows Program. This is a nine-month program hosted by churches around the country where recent graduates explore how to apply their faith to the workplace. She stayed two more years in Macon as a youth intern in her church. It was at this time she felt called to continue in vocational ministry with RUF. Sarah still loves to run and also enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling in her free time, especially with friends, family and her dog, Boone.

Monse Santiago

Campus Staff

Monse was born and raised in Mexico City in a very religious and syncretic family (between nominal Catholicism and New Age gnosticism). While pursuing her BA in International Relations at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she was introduced to the gospel through RUF Mexico and gave her life to the Lord. She grew quickly in her Christian faith, served RUF as a student leader, and joined a local church. Upon graduation, she became the first RUF Mexico native intern.

After her internship years, she pursued a Master's degree in Political Science with the goal to make a career in the foreign service. It was during her graduate studies that the Lord started to change her heart about campus ministry, and called her back to RUF. From 2015-2020 Monse served as Campus Staff for RUF Mexico joyfully and faithfully, however, she still struggled with her desire to be a diplomat. Her passion for international politics did not wane, but neither did her deep love for the students she served and for the ministry of RUF.

With the encouragement of her pastors and missionary friends who recognized her ministry gifts and her academic-driven mind, she moved to the United States in 2020 (in the midst of the pandemic) to start her Seminary studies at Westminster Seminary California. After three "grinding" years, she graduated in May 2023 with double Master's degrees in Theological and Biblical Studies, and with the deep-seated conviction that the Lord was calling her, all this time, to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of God!

Monse is a "fun nerd": she enjoys reading and learning as much as making friends, traveling, dancing, and laughing!

Caleb Warner

Intern

Caleb was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but shortly thereafter moved to Warsaw, Indiana, where he grew up. He went through elementary, middle, and high school in Warsaw where he found a passion for loving and serving his Lord, Jesus. After high school, he moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, to attend Purdue University to study computer science. At Purdue, he fell in love with RUF and quickly got involved, serving where he could, learning and growing rapidly in his faith. Now that he has graduated from Purdue, Caleb is getting ready to serve as an RUF intern in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the University of Michigan. He is pumped to befriend students, walk alongside them, and share his knowledge of Christ with others as he also learns from those he interacts with. In his free time, Caleb enjoys spending time with friends doing anything from watching movies to going to amusement parks, as well as playing drums, disc golf, and enjoying water sports such as skiing and tubing.