Anderson University hosted its inaugural Spiritual Renewal Week, RENEW 2024, January 30 through February 2.
This year’s RENEW theme verse was Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The week was filled with opportunities for God to renew hearts and minds as students, faculty and staff worshiped God through prayer, music, testimonies, the reading of scripture and the preaching and hearing of God’s Word.
A campus-wide prayer service kicked off RENEW 2024 following a proclamation in which President Evans Whitaker declared Tuesday, January 30 as a Day of Prayer preceding the University’s Spiritual Emphasis Week. The Prayer Service was a collaborative effort between the Office of Christian Life and the Office of Diversity, Community, and Inclusion. Students read passages of scripture related to revival and renewal, faculty and staff members led in prayer, and gospel artist Danesha Dawson led worship through song.
Marquise Cox, a former Junior Olympian in the 4×100 relay who now serves as the young adult pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, TX, was one of the featured speakers. Pointing to the reality that people often find their identity in the things of this world, Cox spoke about the importance of finding our identity in Christ. His second message focused on calling, and the example of Peter and the disciples, who surrendered and left everything to follow Jesus.
Also speaking was Clayton King, NewSpring teaching pastor, president of Clayton King Ministries, and minister in residence at Anderson University. In his first message, King shared the path to renewal, emphasizing Psalm 51. At the end of the service, the altar was flooded with students asking God to bring about renewal in their lives. In the final service, King challenged students to be a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14), urging them to be different from the culture around them and be God’s agents of renewal in a dark world.
“The way you treat your roommate matters. The way you treat a stranger matters. The way you interact with people on social media matters,” King said. “You can’t be a city by yourself… We need people in our lives that will come alongside us and put an arm around our shoulder and say ‘I love you,’ ‘I’m praying for you,’ ‘I’m here for you.’ We need that encouragement.”
Dr. Tracy Jessup, vice president for Christian life and senior minister, said to students that although chapel attendance is required, “I don’t believe you’re here by accident. You have been prayed for, the seats where you are sitting have been prayed for. We are here to say to Jesus, ‘We love You more than anything and we need You more than anything.”
Recalling his own time as a college student in North Carolina where Dr. Jessup organized a time of spiritual emphasis, King is excited about RENEW, which will be an annual event in the spiritual life of the Anderson University community.