Five thousand people gathered on Alumni Park to worship through song, prayer and spoken word.
Pepperdine University hosted their annual Worship Summit on Sept. 14. The event started at 5 p.m. and went past 9 p.m. The event featured performances and messages from WAVES WORSHIP, United Voice Worship, Chris Tomlin and Sadie Robertson Huff. The energy and Christian faith radiating across Alumni Park, Tomlin said, came as a surprise to him.
“I’ve never known Pepperdine to have this vibrant culture of worship,” Tomlin said. “And in the last few years, with this [Worship Summit] happening, there is a new heart, so I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Worship Summit 2023 hosted almost 3,000 attendees; this year surpassed that with more than 5,000.
“I cannot praise this enough, the atmosphere is so different,” junior Scarlett Fletcher said. “My freshman year there were not this many people, and [now] it’s just so lively and God is here and I’m so excited.”
From the moment WAVES WORSHIP took the stage to Tomlin’s last note, audience members were packed around the front of the stage with their hands in the air. Stepping away from the stage, there were vendors and food trucks for all to enjoy.
The air was filled with positivity throughout the evening, sophomore Amir Paridari said. On stage, Tomlin said this was the best time he had while performing music in a long time.
Alumni Park Sets the Scene
Robertson Huff said it is not every day that she gets to speak in front of thousands of people while overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“I don’t even need to preach,” Robertson Huff said. “I can just be like, ‘Hold on everybody. Let’s just let that [the ocean view] speak for itself.’”
It was not Robertson Huff’s first time at Pepperdine; she spoke at the Well in February 2023, but she said this time was different.
“I was expecting some college students at the Well,” Robertson Huff said. “Today I’m pulling up, and its people and families, young to old, so many different nationalities, and I’m like, ‘Whoa! This is so cool.’”
It is important to spread God’s word everywhere, but especially on a college campus, because it is such a pivotal time in that demographic’s life, Robertson Huff said.
“You’re setting up your future like, ‘What am I gonna do? Who am I gonna be? Who am I gonna marry? Am I going to start a family? Where am I gonna live?'” Robertson Huff said. “To have all of those questions without being led by the Lord is daunting.”
Performances Light Up the Crowd
The event started off with Pepperdine’s own worship group, WAVES WORSHIP. The group performed their own single, “Let it Fall,” which can now be pre-saved on Spotify.
By the end of the performance, the audience swarmed the stage, jumping up and down while singing the lyrics presented on the screen.
Following WAVES WORSHIP was an A Capella group, United Voice Worship. The group put their own twist on traditional worship songs by performing them without any instruments or back track.
The energy seemed to hit a new level when Grammy award winner Tomlin hit the stage wearing a Pepperdine “Waves” crewneck sweatshirt.
“I just want to wear this sweatshirt for my whole tour,” Tomlin said while performing.
He performed his hit songs for about an hour including “Holy Forever,” “How Great is Our God” and “Good Good Father.”
Tomlin also said he has a passion for performing for college students.
“So many decisions are made [during college] that forge paths,” Tomlin said. “At that moment in life, to say, ‘You know what? Here’s what matters the most in my life. Here is what it looks like to live in a world that is centered around Jesus.’”
Along with Pepperdine students, the performance was packed with local SoCal and Orange County residents, all looking forward to the tunes of Tomlin.
“I’ve been listening to Chris Tomlin for a really long time,” said Paul Kim, an Orange County resident. “I used to be a worship leader, and being able to sing some of his songs and see him live is a cool experience.”
The night was nowhere near over when Tomlin left the stage for the first time.
There was still more to come from Tomlin, and a message to hear from Robertson Huff.
You are the Light
The view of thousands gathering for the Worship Summit had Robertson Huff imagining something special, she said.
“It’s like giving you a picture of what’s to come,” Robertson Huff said. “We all gather before the Lord, and all different ages, all different nations, and I don’t know, it’s just a picture of us.”
Robertson Huff said the main goal of her message was to expand Matthew 5:14. This message was about light, which is Pepperdine’s theme for the 2023-2024 academic year.
“You are the light of the world,’ I think that’s something that you might have heard your mom say, and you’re like, ‘Cool, I’ll be the light of the world.’” Robertson Huff said. “But you have to understand it as actually something Jesus called us to do.”
This is not a calling that should be ignored, Robertson Huff said.
“I hope to really help people understand the gravity of that calling on our life to be that [light],” Robertson Huff said.
Robertson communicated that message while weaving in analogies of lamps, microphones and even plankton.
At the end of the message, Robertson Huff called on the audience to mark that day as the time they decided to be the light.
Following Robertson Huff’s message, Tomlin took the stage once again to give the audience a musical send-off.
Tomlin said he added one more song to the end of the show because of the energy coming from the crowd, which he added he does not usually do.
When thanking the crowd for coming, President Jim Gash said he loves to start off the academic year with a night of worship, and the event will continue for years to come.
“It [the Worship Summit] makes me so excited for all the different spiritual opportunities and all the opportunities to get involved on campus,” first-year Emma Marcoux said.
Shalom Montgomery contributed to the reporting of this piece.
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