Emphasizing God and the local church
The first week of Convocation at Liberty University kicked off the school year by encouraging students to focus on God during their time in college.
Wednesday marked the first all-school Convocation of the year with a big welcome to Liberty’s new president and first speaker of the year, Dr. Dondi E. Costin. After an energetic opening from the Worship Collective and LU Praise, Pastor Jonathan Falwell welcomed students and introduced Costin and Liberty’s first lady, Vickey Costin, to the crowd.
In celebration of Costin’s recent birthday, Falwell announced the giveaway of 10,000 of Costin’s favorite candies — peppermint patties — waiting at the door for everyone leaving the Vines Center. Falwell even tossed a few of the candies to the students on the front row.
Costin began his testimony by sharing with the students the title of a book by Robert Fulghum: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Costin explained how the book contains crucial advice for life such as “don’t hit people” and “don’t take other people’s stuff.”
Laughter spread throughout the packed Vines Center as Costin shared another book title for followers of Christ: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Sunday School.”
Costin described how the story of his own life is similar to the book title; he accepted Christ at 7 years old in May 1972, but his journey of faith was only just beginning. When he was 16, Costin was called into the ministry but feared public speaking and turned away from God’s calling.
“Years later I would learn the most important lesson I have ever learned and the one I want you to take from today: there is a God, and you’re not him,” Costin said.
He demonstrated the meaning of this to students through his own life’s story and how he had to learn to follow God no
matter what.
Costin shared that about seven years after saying “no” to the call to ministry, he entered the ministry as a chaplain and attended Liberty to learn about how to serve Christ.
“I want you to know,” Costin said, “that everything you really ever need to know, you will learn at Liberty University.”
Liberty’s new president encouraged students to learn and follow God’s calling for their lives.
Friday’s Convocation marked the start of Local Church Emphasis Day and welcomed local Pastor Dr. Dhati Lewis of Blueprint Church to speak to students about the importance of attending church during their time in college.
“God has no plan B when it comes to maturing in your faith,” Lewis said, explaining how God calls Christians to spread the Gospel to others and not keep their faith as only personal. “Too many of us have reduced our Christianity to conferences and concerts.”
Lewis read through Matthew 9:37-38 to show how God is always at work in the community, but the harvest needs laborers; it is the job of the local church to be the laborers.
Lewis described how Christians are supposed to be both warmth and light in a cold and dark world, not just one or the other. He showed how community and accountability need to be practiced vertically toward God, but also horizontally toward other Christians.
“There is no perfect church,” Lewis said, “but this is God’s way.”
A panel of local pastors then walked to the stage along with Dean of the School of Divinity Dr. Troy Temple. Pastor Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church joined Lewis along with Pastor Jonge Tate from Bedrock Church and Pastor James Hobson from Hill City Community Church.
The panel discussed the importance of attending a local church, with Tate emphasizing the energy that Liberty students bring to a church community. Falwell added that the best way to fix a church is not to walk out, but to walk in and engage with it.
“You don’t just get community,” Hobson said. “You have to cultivate it.”
Melanie Johnson, a sophomore at Liberty, loved Lewis’ depiction of how Christians are to be both warmth and light in the world by being a “bonfire” and not just a “lamppost” or a “space heater.”
“It is not enough to just try and fix one problem as a lamppost or a space heater, but as Christians we are called to both speak the full truth and care for our brothers and sisters in need,” Johnson said.
Johnson is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X