Students from campus-ministry groups sang hymns at the Phi Sig Pavilion to promote evangelization April 12.
Senior and member of Hymn Singing Club leadership Hannah Wong talked about how the preparation for the event encouraged a broader perspective on evangelism.
“Going in I think we all thought there aren’t that many hymns about evangelism, but there are. There were a couple of hymns I didn’t know before,” Wong said. “‘Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying’ is a hymn that emphasizes feeling insufficient to do evangelism but relying on Christ because ultimately the work of evangelism God carries out, and we are just under his orders. It was cool to see how all the hymns connected.”
The Hymn Singing Club invited Equip Ministries, the Reformed Student Fellowship, the Anglican Student Fellowship, and the Lutheran Society to join in the event. The time began with a brief devotional on evangelism, led by senior and Equip Ministry member Kellen Pollock, and proceeded with the singing of several hymns pertaining to the role of evangelism in the Christian life, led by senior Stephen Zhu and freshman Cayden Gibello.
Between the songs, Gibello explained the connection between the hymns and mission work.
“Evangelism is part of fulfilling the second greatest commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. How better to love someone than by sharing the gospel of life and freedom with them. How does that connect to singing? I think hymns do a great job of making gospel truths beautiful,” Gibello said. “There’s something that should induce love and joy in our hearts when we sing these songs. It’s a great way to spur people on.”
President of Reformed Student Fellowship and sophomore Laura Talcott said she valued the interdenominational event and its use to their purpose on campus.
“It’s important to remember that we are all Christians serving the same God, and we are all here to further his kingdom through our work, and I think evangelism is a very fitting topic on which to have interdenominational collaboration,” Talcott said. “We are supposed to be surrounded by other Christians, bearing one another’s burdens. Iron sharpens iron.”
Equip Ministry leader and senior Jihye Kim encouraged students to value and take advantage of the faith-based communities surrounding them at Hillsdale.
“I would challenge students to consider why they are here or why they do anything in life. It’s very easy to be a student first and foremost, but that’s not really our vocation. Our highest calling and our main purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever,” Kim said. “If you’re here and you’re not growing in your faith, you are wasting your four years at Hillsdale, so get plugged in.”
