Christival will take place at the Mississippi State University amphitheater on Tuesday, April 15th and begins at 7 p.m. Its aim is to unite students in the celebration of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
“Christival is about getting all of the Christian student ministries on campus together to worship with each other and reach out to those on campus that don’t know Jesus Christ,” coordinator of Christival, Jerry Studdard, said.
The subject of the night is “The Significance of the Cross.” Chip Henderson, pastor of Pine Lake Baptist Church in Brandon and MSU graduate will be bringing the message. While attending MSU, Henderson was an active member of Sigma Chi, Campus Crusade for Christ, and the Baptist Student Union.
Christival is scheduled to prepare students for Easter.
“We chose the theme to be ‘The Significance of the Cross’ because Easter is going to be next Sunday,” Studdard said.
Before Henderson speaks, there will be a time to worship through music. The music will be lead by a praise band composed of members from many of the different Christian campus organizations. The band consists of Anabeth Lacher, vocals; Jake Shively, vocals and acoustic guitar; Chad Stewart, vocals and guitar, J. Jay Johnson, bass guitar; Zach Mullins, electric guitar; Justin Ott, drums; and Doug Sweat, congas.
“Christival is going to be an awesome time of praise and worship as all of the Christian organizations from campus come together as one in worship to God,” vocalist Lacher said.
Traditionally a three-day event, Christival has taken place at MSU for over 15 years. This year, it will be held at the amphitheater, which according to Studdard is “common ground where everyone can come together.”
Last year Christival was held at the Bost Extension Center. The room was filled with more than 800 students.
“I am very excited about Christival this year because it is about the Cross, and we need to be reminded of the sacrifice that Christ made for each of us. Christival is a wonderful time to worship with believers across campus. Denominations are put aside, so that the one true focus is Jesus Christ,” MSU student Kristin Davis said.
The invitation to attend Christival is extended to all, especially students. Tuesday night at 7 will be a time for worship and praise with other students.