Charlie Hall and Fee kick off the Passion 2010 University Tour: On the Road to Passion at Mississippi State University on Nov. 2nd. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the event begins at 8 p.m. in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium.
Freshman art major Riley Reid served on the publicity team for the event. She said the purpose of the University Tour was to publicize the Passion Conference 2010.
“This will help more students be aware of Passion 2010 and be a great opportunity for people to come together and worship passionately,” she said.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online anytime or on the Drill Field Thursday, Friday and Monday.
Baptist Student Union staff member Ashley Taylor has helped coordinate and organize the event.
“The Passion tour itself is just meant to bring glory to the name of Christ,” she said. “It’s supposed to be a time of praise and worship, of college students worshiping together, lifting up the name of Christ,” Taylor said.
Passion is a movement focused on the belief God is moving and calling out college students to unite and seek God’s face through worship and prayer. Its vision is taken from Isaiah 26:8: “Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.”
The Passion 2010 will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, January 2-5. This event promotes the Passion Conference. MSU benefits from being a University Tour stop because of the unity and passion coming from worshiping, Taylor said.
Fee, as named for the band’s founder and front-man Steve Fee, is known for its worship anthems such as “All Because of Jesus.” This month, the band released a new album, Hope Rising.
Worship leader Charlie Hall has rocked the worship music industry with a diverse array of songs, lyrically and musically. With over five released albums, including his latest The Bright Sadness, his wide-ranging music has reached a vast group of people.
Hall said he got involved with the Passion movement when Louie Giglio, the visionary and founder of the project, called after hearing some of Hall’s music.
“Louie had a vision and the music fit the vision, which was glorifying God’s name,” Hall said.
The University Tour will keep Hall’s band on the road for two weeks as they lead worship at schools from Mississippi to Virginia. He said it does not become routine or monotonous because what he is doing, not the lyrics, is his worship and offering to God.
“For me, the people change each night and you know that each night is a new moment with God,” he said. “My focus is being in the moment with God and with the people.”
Hall said it is exciting and an honor to worship with college students.
“I think the greatest thing about that time of your life is you’re really starting to find yourself, what you are and what you’re after. People are leaving their homes and they have to decide for themselves what they’re running after,” he said.
In his college years, he was already traveling and playing music. It was his hobby and how he spent his time.
“That college age, though you’re busy, you’ve got more energy,” he said. “You’ve got more opportunities to explore. Your eyes are wide at the world. You get a brand new moment.”
Getting his start “goofing off” with instruments and songwriting around 14 years old, Hall said when he was 17, God made an impact on him and his music.
“I didn’t set out to be a Christian musician. God grabbed my heart and changed my music as He changed me,” he said. “As I discovered music and Jesus, I wanted to help the people around me reach the same goal.”
With the knowledge Starkville is a small-town, Charlie said it is the people and what God can do with MSU that has him excited. He said he is looking forward to being in the moment with God and people.
“You guys are what I’m excited for,” he said. “I’m excited for this tour – to be with you guys and spend time with you in Starkville. We’re excited to open our hearts and let God and music and vision swirl around.”
Reid said she is excited to see how God is going to use Hall and Fee to impact the hearts of students at MSU.
“It’s so exciting because we’re all worshipping the same thing, we share the faith and worship together,” Reid said. “When you see a group of people, your peers, worshipping together, it’s just really great to see what God can do in you and on your campus.”