Ministering that bongs down house

JenniferKlingler

They sing, theyshout, they dance and lift their hands. The Fellowship Gospel Choir isundoubtedly themostenergetic, spiritedmusic group on campus. Buttheirgoalis nottobe a showpiece or justanothergroup oftalentedperformers. Their goalis tominister.And they speakoftheir spiritual walk withthe samefervencyas theysingtheir gospelmessage.

TheFellowshipGospel Choirwas startedintheearly 1980s.ThechoirsingsinconvocationandSunday morning

Fellowship Gospel Choir

To spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ through song; to overcome racialbarriersand uniteasone body inChristtoreachtheworldforHim

Row 1: O. Bolden, S. Bailey Row 2: D. Dunn, D. Sackson, L. Washington, L Acey,N Hutchings,L Titus, R Cooper,K Patrick Row 3: K Davis, S Kirkwood, N McGann, M Scruggs,S Burks,T Collins, F.Dodson, R McFarland, S Sutherlin,L Ferguson Row 4: J Dorsey,L Holden, D Mitchell,J Simpkins,J Loriso,J Fong,J Provaznik,S Lumpkins, V Turpin,G Thomas services at LU; theyperform in community concertsand special services at churches all over Virginia.

Stefan Bailey, a sophomore fromPortsmith, Vav has led the choir for the last twoyears. At hishomechurchhe was the directorofhis high school and adultchoir. His pastor, Allen MacFarland,gave Bailey a referenceand he was offeredthe director's positionoftheFellowship GospelChoir Although he had hoped to slow down abit and just assistwiththe choir, hegladlysaid yes tothe offer.When hetookcharge, the choirhad fifteenmembers. Now it has overseventy.

Forawhile last year, thechoir had asmany as150members because, according toBailey, it was "theblack thingtodo." ButBailey'sgoalis to make thechoiraministry; and he felt that for thechoirmembers tominister, they had to"berightspiritually." Through the semester thechoirlost some ofits less committed singers, but it retained aspiritually strong membership.

The choirchaplain, David MitchellJr., feels that God has "greatthingsin storeforthechoir." His goal is toseeatleastone person saved atevery one ofthe choir'sperformances. He has devotions with thechoir atall ofits biweekly practices and he placesa heavy emphasis on prayer

"Where thereis much prayer thereis much power," hesaid can capture awhole year'ssportsinjust a t, we can'tcover all thesportsbecause we pages insometime beforetheend ofFebruasicsgo intoevery sport. The bottom line ke sweat, precision, pressure and stamina. ire of tears, glory, unity and impact. grow stronger together asthey grow betterindividually.

And thechoir has experienced thepower of God At one servicein a smallchurch, thechoir performed and Bailey gave an invitation.

"Almost the whole church came forward tobe saved," Baileysaid.

That is what theFellowship Gospel Choir is all about They presenttheir unique Gospel message with theprayer thatit will change theirlisteners' lives.

T o promote world missions on campu s through fellowship and prayer; to organize mission trips for the students of LU.

T o provide Christian entertainment over the Lynchburg airwaves; to provide students with the opportunity to develop their on-air and production skills in a working radio station environment.

T o allow individuals to express themselves through art; to expose Liberty to a broader community of art.

But there's more to sports than game time. If we stop the clock and take thingsoff thefield, we findwhat goes onbehind thescenes.

We train and practice and study and compete. We sacrifice sleep and comfort and good 'ole weekends inLynchburg. We juggleathleticswith schoolwork and our walk with God— and somehow manage togivetime toeach.

We get hurt—some of us more so than others—but we recover. Sometimes we have tosit thebench when we're itching togetoutthereand play and fightand win\ii

We shareChristwith our opponents just by theway we play We watch our language. We congratulate them on a good play. We're good losersaswellasgood winners.

We are often the only picture of our school that others see, and thetruetest ofour abilitiesoftencomes only when we stop theclock.