In the melting pot of over 16,000 students at Mississippi State University, 10 campus ministries annually join together to celebrate their common interest-Jesus Christ. The celebration kicks off tonight at 7 in the Bost Extension Center and will continue each night through Feb. 21.
Christival began in the early 1980s and has continued every year since.
“I was a student here at the time,” Baptist Student Union Director Michael Ball said. “The very first one was ‘Christival: A Festival of Hope.’
“It was a joint project between the campus ministries, and there were several different speakers.”
Now, nearly 20 years later, the theme is “One Life, One Choice,” and traveling speaker Jeff Lewis will address students on relationships, God’s will, decision-making and developing a closer relationship with God.
“We voted on 20 topics, and those were the ones that people seemed most interested in,” Claire Walton, head of the Christival committee, said.
Walton said work on Christival began last April. “We started getting some ideas, and we found the speaker this summer,” Walton said. “I’ve worked on Christival every day this semester.
“There were a lot of little details I didn’t realize went into planning something like Christival. It’s nothing like I expected.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to meet and work with different people from all the organizations. Their ideas, input and help have been priceless.”
Christival remains a joint project for several campus ministries. Campus Crusade for Christ, Reformed University Fellowship, Wesley Foundation, Baptist Student Union, Catholic Student Association, Lutheran Student Fellowship, Greek Council for Christ, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Chi Alpha and United in Christ worked together this year to plan and promote Christival.
Before Lewis speaks each night, the Christival praise team will lead several worship songs.
The Christival praise band formed when Ball approached Jake Shivley, the leader of the BSU praise team, and asked him to put together a band composed of members of various campus ministries.
“We wanted to have a more united front,” Ball said. “We’re sharing the task of putting on Christival, and this is a joint effort.”
Shivley said he visited each campus ministry before he chose members for the band. The final team is a mix of musicians from the BSU, Campus Crusade and RUF.
“I’m very pleased with the band,” Shivley said. “The musicians are very talented. They have a heart for God-centered worship, and we’re putting ourselves aside to look at the bigger picture.
“There’s no way that so many people with so many different ideas could come together this way without God. It’s totally not of us-it’s God. Without his hand in it, we never would have gotten together.”
T-shirts for the festival are available and can be purchased for $13 at Bost.
“Christival is open to anyone,” Walton said. “It’s focused on campus, but anyone in the community is welcome to come as well.”
“If it brings us all into a time of worship, and we encounter Christ, then I consider it successful,” Ball said. “We hope that lives are changed and our hearts are changed so our campus is different.