 "Photo: Borowski, Jaclyn")
Amid the throbbing tones of electric guitar and bright-colored lights, more than 200 students gathered in Nyumburu last night to worship with The Gathering, the university's newest non-denominational Christian group.
In a generation often more concerned with the newest episode of American Idol or $2 shooter specials on Wednesday nights, Christian groups are increasingly seeking to connect with college students.
Tonight's event was an example of the growing trend of youth-centered Christianity, a phenomenon accented with casual services, large crowds and a fully-equipped rock band.
"It is geared more toward our lives rather than our parents' lives, and it's fun to go," junior public health major Christie Divietro said. "The music is key."
The group is affiliated with McLean Bible Church in Virginia and has other ministries at American University and George Mason University, with others being developed at George Washington and Georgetown. It decided to branch out to College Park this semester, after well-received preview worship services on the campus to test out student interest last October and November.
Student Campus Director Alirio Arreaza felt his life was changed by the Word of God after a previous life of apathy and frequent partying. Soon after, he decided to start the campus chapter of The Gathering.
"If you look at our generation, in the end, it feels empty," Arreaza said. "We go through a lot, like depression and suicide. What is important and motivates me is to come out of what we see everyday. I'm motivated to see lives change in my college community."
During the concert Thursday night, dozens of students sang along to the inspirational, Christian-themed songs, some with their hands raised in praise.
For sophomore letters and sciences major Jeremy Hall, who grew up without a specific religion, The Gathering provided an outlet for a new surge of Christian belief.
"It's for everybody," Hall said. "The Gathering tries to help you have a close relationship with the Lord, and it's not just some guy preaching a bunch of nonsense."
Pastor John McGowan, who helped create the college ministry that The Gathering is today, echoed Hall's sentiment that the college years are crucial for spiritual growth but often overlooked by the church. Therefore, The Gathering's informal, modern and musical approach is exactly what students are looking for, McGowan said.
"We are trying to make it look more and feel more [like] the way students engage with the rest of the world," McGowan explained. "I can go out on Friday night to a concert and enjoy it, then go to church on Sunday and listen to one guy play the organ. We think the church thing can sound like the concert thing, and that's OK and does not offend God. Worship matters when it connects to students' way of life."
But on an even larger scale than The Gathering are the Passion Conferences, a Christian touring group with a similar focus on reaching college students. The group is currently touring six cities around the country and hosting worship services for crowds of more than 3,000 people; it even has a world tour spanning 20 different cities scheduled for later this year.
"We feel that that is what God called us to do: bring college students together," Assistant to the Director of the Passion Conferences Jennifer Hill said. "We know God is at work on campus, and we want to be a support for them."
Other Christian organizations on the campus also believe in relating to their college age congregants through a low-key atmosphere.
Reformed University Fellowship, a nationwide college ministry under the Presbyterian Church of America, reaches out to students with weekly services, Bible studies, dinners, meetings and social events.
"We are hearing true gospel and not trying to water things down," campus minister for RUF Chris Garriott said. "I try to make it applicable to college students, to issues they are going through."
However, Garriot is not without his criticism of larger groups such as the Passion Conferences, mainly because of their lack of emphasis on day-to-day religious behavior.
"They are doing a lot of positive things," Garriott said. "The only danger is that it's just a weekend frenzy - they get worked up, get back to campus and don't really apply it. I'm for big conferences, but I'm more for consistent day-to-day worship, making sure it's real and you're getting plugged into the church after college."
Overall, however, McGowan believes that groups such as the Gathering and the Passion Conferences are helping plug students into the religious community available to them.
"I think it's becoming more personal," McGowan said. "I think college students are understanding that there is a huge difference in being a member of religious community than being a follower of Christ. Students are not just following the religion they were born into - it's more what they believe, not just a cultural box-check kind of thing."
ktousign@umd.edu
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