Eden Landgrover
Staff Writer

On January 18th, the Cone Ballroom was bursting at the seams with students from various campus ministries and local college ministries who were eager to take in a night of worship, and put on by the Carry The Love campaign.

Carry The Love is a national campaign, hosted by Circuit Riders, that has been making its way from university to university to inspire this generation to identify needs within their schools, and to meet them with love and compassion, building a nation-wide community of college students anxious and willing to reach the hurt and hardship on their campuses and in their areas with fresh eyes and a new heart.

Deemed a “grassroots Jesus movement,” the campaign collaborates with student ministries at each campus to host a weekend long event intended to share the gospel with college students in a new light, and to make the mission accessible and applicable among this demographic.

Hundreds of UNCG students eagerly awaited the opening of the doors into the Cone Ballroom, and the anticipated setup was swiftly flooded- and overflowed- just moments after initial admittance. Every seat in the house was filled and the aisles and back-space ultimately served as prime seating to accommodate the immense turnout.

The evening was kicked off with powerful and passionate worship led by a live worship band. As hands raised and hearts were nudged, attendees individually made their way to the front of the room simply to be closer to the music and out of the bounds of the seating arrangement. Anyone in attendance could note that it was a time of complete abandon, and students across the room could feel the power of coming together in this manner.

As the songs continued, the worship leader would prompt call-and-response moments with words like “FAMILY” and “HOPE.” Students who had never met before could be found in shameless embrace with complete strangers, led to do so by nothing more than the joy and sentiment of coming together in divine fellowship. You would be hard pressed to find that level of comradery on a college campus outside of this night.

Transitioning out of worship, the night’s speaker shared a moving message based on the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The parable of the Good Samaritan comes from the book of Luke, and was the basis of the message that the speaker was sharing. It focuses on shifting your perspective and viewing “problems” in the world as opportunities to mend and show love. The Samaritan in question is coming to the aid of someone who had been deemed an unworthy non-necessity by others who passed by, and has put personal vendettas aside to meet the needs of the hurting individual.

The speaker urged attendees to remember that we have all been the one in need of help at one point or another, and that there should be no restraints on the extent and object of your compassion. The message challenged each student in attendance to be the Good Samaritan in their own sphere of reach- to really see the needs around them and to be relentless in pursuit of relinquishing apathy.  

As the night came to a close, many students publicly devoted their lives to the cause of Christ and to the gospel, and all in attendance were inspired to start a revolution on the campus on UNCG- one in which love will be the driving force of interaction and fellowship.

Carry The Love also had a second day of activities featuring subject-specific open small groups, evangelism training and outreach, and a final gathering and “bootcamp” of sorts to wrap up the weekend. This event left UNCG students with a new heart for people, and Carry The Love is now off to win over more campuses for the cause of love!

Categories: Arts & Entertainment