By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Twenty-five students came to the altar to cry out publicly to the Lord for personal renewal during the recent Louisiana College spring campus revival.
Held inside Guinn Auditorium, March 10-12, the revival featured challenging messages by Blake Newsom, pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, and music led by the worship staff of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, the LC Elevate worship band and the Voices of LC.
Philip Caples, the LC vice president for the integration of faith and learning, said the fruit of the revival will be seen in the months to follow both on campus and in the community.
“I am grateful to see our students praying over each other and for each other, which is a sign of revival happening on our campus,” Caples told the Baptist Message.
In his messages, Newsom challenged students to reach out to Jesus and allow Him to rescue them from the abyss of their sins.
“We need someone outside the depths who can go into the depths and pull us out,” Newsom said. “And that’s what Jesus has done.”
He encouraged the students to admit their need for repentance and seek God’s forgiveness.
“Sin can grip us so tightly we don’t think we can lose these bondages,” Newsom said. “God is just so much powerful that he can set us free.”
Students like Tobey Williams, a junior from Pineville, left the revival more passionate about sharing Christ on campus.
“One point that hit home with me was that the Lord is the only thing truly worth living for,” Williams said. “As I move forward, I have to put into perspective that in comparison to Christ everything else I could chase is worthless.”
The revival was one of several spiritual gatherings the school is hosting this semester.
More than 130 students have participated in discipleship small groups, coordinated by Baptist Collegiate Ministry Campus Director Thomas Worsham. They meet weekly for in-depth discussions based on a study guide on 1 Peter 1, the focal passage for the chapel messages presented this semester.
