Following the success of the first “Come As You Are” event in the fall, campus organizations and local Nashville congregations came back for a second edition of the event. Volunteers across different campus faith groups showed up, creating a communal experience with food and T–shirt giveaways. The night featured a worship session, as well as multiple student–athlete guest speakers such as Vanderbilt Lacrosse’s Logan Risenhoover, Vandy–Boys Max Jenson and Miller Green, Vanderbilt Football’s Cole Spence and Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball’s Jada Brown.
Gathering on the lawn
For the first thirty minutes of the event, attendees gathered in the event area, where there was a diverse array of Christian organizations tabling. One table offered pocket Bibles, another offered T-shirts, another offered Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and many others had representatives promoting their fellowship groups. Conversations on faith and life seemingly buzzed across the lawn, and there was even a golden retriever spotted among the crowd.
Lifted by the music
An eclectic worship team kicked off the night officially at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The band played some popular Christian rock songs, including one from bands such as The Worship Initiative and Hillsong Worship. At first, there were only a few members of the audience worshipping aloud, but by the third chorus, it appeared practically everyone was singing along. Some had their hands raised, some had their eyes closed and some were taking everything in quietly.
From music to message
After the worship team stepped down, Risenhoover was the first athlete to share her testimony, where her “love of God has given [her] purpose” following an ACL injury. VandyBoys Jenson and Green spoke next. Jenson also talked about his faith strengthening him during injury, while Green talked about how he was able to find a community rooted in faith, visibly in tears while speaking. Spence’s testimony was a bit different, focusing on the hard evidence that made him believe God exists. He focused on his process of rationalizing the creation of the universe using scientific evidence. Lastly, Brown’s testimony focused on how faith was able to guide her through the loss of her father. She said that even though she hasn’t fully processed the loss, she still puts her trust in God, which propels her not to move on, but to move forward.
