“Gathering to go” – this is the mission statement of a new worship experience for college students in Spartanburg. The name of the group is “Sunago,” which is Greek for “to gather.” This weekly Thursday night meeting takes place in “The Hangar,” the building that serves as the student center for First Baptist Church, Spartanburg.
New to Spartanburg as of last fall, this worship experience has been a catalyst for gathering various churches and other ministries to work together with the common goal of ministering to lost college students and young singles. And, as the name suggests, Sunago exists not only to “gather” these young people together, but it also encourages them to “go” out into their world and share Christ.
Basing their goal and vision on Matthew 12:30, Sunago participants hope to “connect to the local church through relationships, connect to this community and the world by serving and meeting needs, and connect to their campus through authentic relationships.”
Spartanburg-area Baptist collegiate minister Tracy Turner, along with Robert Hargrave, college minister at Spartanburg First Baptist, and Jeff Cothran from Lake Bowen Baptist Church have all worked diligently to make Sunago a reality.
The vision of Sunago was born out of Tracy’s many years of work with youth and college students. Tracy says, “One of my heartaches in youth ministry was seeing students ‘fall through the cracks’ after graduation. I would see students who seemed very connected to the church drop out of church after beginning college. Sunago’s vision is to partner with churches, lay youth ministers, part-time youth ministers or full time youth ministers to offer a ministry that would keep college students connected to their church and ultimately pursuing Christ. We dream of a day when college students are so passionate about Christ that they see their campus as their ‘mission field.'”
This partnership between various ministries and churches is what makes Sunago a unique ministry. Nathan Neighbors, associate pastor to youth at Morningside Baptist Church, has also helped out with Sunago.
He says, “If Sunago and Baptist Collegiate Ministry are going to be a vital tool for reaching lost college students and young singles, local churches need to work together. Cooperation between local Southern Baptist churches is vital – not only in our missions giving, but also in our local hands-on ministry efforts. Ministering together reaches more students, brings a spirit of unity, and ultimately makes a larger kingdom impact.”
Sunago is unique not only in its goal to include different ministries, but also in its worship experience. On a typical Sunago night, local churches provide a meal for the students. Then, music is provided by a worship team, led by Robert Hargrave, and a band of “area students and musicians representing different churches and colleges in Spartanburg.” Finally, Tracy Turner or another special speaker delivers a message.
At the conclusion of the meeting, those attending are invited to different “ministry stations,” including one where students can pray for missionaries or pray about God’s call on their own lives. There are also easels for painting, candles to signify the lifting of prayers for others, and the cross to signify the sacrifice Jesus paid and a place to nail things they are giving to Christ.
Caraleigh Brady is an art history junior at Converse College and is also on the student leadership team for Sunago. Caraleigh says that what she loves about the experience is that “during the worship time, we focus on providing many ways for people to connect with God.
“We try to incorporate both communal worship and also time in solitude with God. To me, this has been where I have seen God work the most, because we often get so busy that we lose sight of the goal, and this is a time to refocus and mature in our relationship with Christ,” she says.
The response from students such as Caraleigh is one that hits home with Tracy’s thoughts on what he has seen God do so far through the ministry. Tracy says, “The worship stations have also been a very cool thing to watch. It has been a confirmation that this generation does not want to be just spectators, but participants in worship.”