50th Anniversary Edition: Letter From The Editors

The beginning of the 2021-2022 school year marked the beginning of Liberty University’s Year of Jubilee. 

In Leviticus 25:10, God declared to Moses, “And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.”

Although the word “jubilee” sings of celebration and joyful festivities, in the following verses, God designates this year for something else – a year to pause from sowing and reaping, to free the enslaved, to return home. A year to rest.

This school year has rightfully been set apart by an abundance of celebration. This special tabloid edition of the Liberty Champion serves as another commemoration as we celebrate 50 years of history, growth, education, campus life, national championships, music and memories. 

However, in addition to celebrating all of Liberty’s accomplishments, our hope is that the stories within this tabloid serve as a reminder of something else in accord with our Year of Jubilee – rest.

Inside you will find stories of faith and miracles. Prayer meetings on the mountain, barely making ends meet, long hours each day on the bus to class – these moments of faithful endurance for Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr.’s dream defined the early days of Lynchburg Baptist College. From answered prayers for healing after car accidents to thousands of students giving their lives to the Lord to the countless individuals who made their mark on this school, God has remained a God of miracles at Liberty University. We only wish that we could recognize everyone who embodied this university’s mission.

At Liberty, classes have continued while we’ve sowed and reaped our education. COVID-19, mental health concerns, social unrest and more have weighed heavily on students and faculty alike. Rest has often been a rare commodity.

But even in the busyness – in the restlessness – of life, it is that same, tried and proven faith that we are resting in this year. Faith that God will provide amid stress and the unknown. 

Because He has done it before at Liberty, and He will do it again.