As the clock struck 7 p.m., the lights inside Rediger Auditorium dimmed and the first chords of “Glorious Day” echoed through the room. College students in sweats and hoodies, local families with children and longtime Grant County residents rose from their seats and lifted their hands in worship.
For an hour and a half on a snowy school night, 80 people came together to take a break from their other responsibilities.
Nicole Braz Domene, one of the student organizers for the Grant County Worship Night, said the goal of the evening was to unite the campus and local community.
“I think my idea was just to get people to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and just be a community,” she said. “But after going through the whole thing, I think also just the importance of prayer in our lives, and prayer and community.”
The student worship band, led by Autumn Lindahl, Gabi Mitchell and Brason Chaney guided the room through a set list that included “Glorious Day,” “The Heart of Worship,” “Worthy,” “Great Are You Lord,” “Jesus Paid It All,” “Broken Vessels” and “What a Beautiful Name.”
All voices blended as the lyrics projected across the two big screens.
“From a practical musical standpoint, God’s giving us the talents and abilities and skills to be able to help lead and worship, and we’re very humbled that He’d do that,” Lua Bleah, a piano performance major and member of the worship team, said. “But the spiritual emphasis is we want to worship Him with the gifts that we’ve been given ... The way we give it back to Him is just in gratitude and stewarding the gifts God’s given us well.”
After a few songs, the Rev. Greg Dyson, the campus pastor and vice president for Spiritual Life and Intercultural Leadership, approached the pulpit on stage.
Dyson spoke about the shortcomings of humanity, using stories to describe their need for help. One was about a trip to Aldi in which he forgot his wallet.
His cart was full, but his hands were empty.
“And the truth is that my sin and your sin puts us in a position with God that leaves us short,” Dyson said.
Chad Yoder, the head pastor of Pierce Church preached about God’s pursuit of a relationship with humanity despite human rebellion. He highlighted the sacrificial nature of forgiveness, illustrated by the Old Testament’s sacrificial system and the Passover lamb, which culminated in Jesus’ sacrifice.
Yoder emphasized how the love of God is sacrificial, not sentimental.
“It is at the cross that holiness and mercy are not competing attributes,” Yoder said. “They meet. Sin is taken seriously and sinners are loved deeply. This is where it becomes more than just theology and becomes personal, because the cross addresses real guilt, real regret, real shame, the things that we carry quietly, the memories that we wish we could undo, the failures that still echo. Christ does not die some abstract death. He dies for actual people with actual names and actual histories.”
Brad Hensley, the head pastor at Church of the Vine, focused his message on eternal life as a present relationship with God rather than a future destination.
He said eternal life is not a future destination but a present experience of knowing God intimately. It involves being restored to the image of God and living a life of love for God and others.
“You do not step into life by proving yourself worthy,” Hensley said. “You step into eternal life by trusting the one who is faithful. So let go of what you’ve been carrying.”
As the final song, “What a Beautiful Name,” ended, members of the prayer team stood ready in front of the stage, and Abide Bibles were set on a table outside the chapel for free.
Susan Durovey-Antrium, a Taylor University employee, alumni and part-time pastor, ended the gathering by sharing her faith journey and giving a benediction.
“He told His disciples, ‘You are the light of the world,’” she said. “So as we leave this place, go with Jesus’ words ringing in your own ears and resonating in your own heart that you too are the light of the world because of the light of the Holy Spirit shining in and through you. Be open to His work in you and let His light shine wherever He takes you in this life until He takes you to the next one.”
