On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the Student Association (SA) will host its first Testimony Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. in the Liberty Room. According to organizers, it will be a time for students to listen to two testimonies and participate in a question-and-answer session afterward. The SA’s spiritual life committee said they wanted to create an event that would engage students with one another spiritually, and they believed listening to testimonies would be beneficial.
Junior Davis Rowan is head of the SA’s spiritual life committee. He said the idea for Testimony Tuesdays came about during a brainstorming session with the committee, and everyone seemed to like the idea and wanted to know how to make Testimony Tuesdays a reality. He believed listening to the testimonies of others may help give more insight into their personal stories.
“I heard this quote once: ‘The reason God can love everyone is because he knows everybody’s story,’” Rowan said. “I think [Testimony Tuesday] would be helpful. You don’t know everyone’s story, so hearing their story might change your perspective of that person and make you appreciate them more.”
The two speakers for the first Testimony Tuesday will be Dr. Mac Sandlin, assistant professor of Bible and religion, and Stephanie O’Brien, director of Upward Bound.
Sandlin said that as followers of Christ, it is important to talk about what God has done as a way of reaching out to other believers.
“Testimonies are a biblical genre; Paul gives his in Acts,” Sandlin said. “That’s enough to justify their importance to me. But testimonies are also a way of bearing witness to the continued work of God’s spirit in the church today, an exercise in seeing God, which is the whole point of the Christian faith.”
Testimony Tuesday will be a one-hour event formatted with the speakers sharing for 20 minutes each followed by an opportunity for audience members to ask the speakers questioms.
Freshman Seth Hammitt is one of two freshmen on the SA’s spiritual life committee. He said he hopes the first Testimony Tuesday will be one of many, as it’s a good way to connect with peers who may be struggling.
“It’s a good way to get to know other people … and it’s a good way to connect with yourself,” Hammitt said. “It makes you think, ‘Oh, this person shared about this story in their life, and now I feel more comfortable telling others and sharing how I feel about this topic with somebody else.’”
