Secret Church: A night of remembrance and a call to action

By Avonlea Brown

*For the purpose of security and protecting students from hostile countries, no name of students who shared their testimonies and their countries of origin will be shared as well as last names of the coordinating students

Seniors and juniors of Cedarville University gathered quietly at 9 p.m. on October 28, in the Scharnberg Business and Communication Center for an event titled ‘Secret Church.’ The night of worship and prayer called students to have a passion for sending and going and remember those already sent. 

The junior class council began planning for this event and invited the senior class council to join, seeing an opportunity to challenge students in a transitional phase of their lives. 

“This is especially impactful to seniors and juniors as they are getting ready to leave campus, and they need to think about what it means to be bold for the gospel,” senior International Studies major Brianna said. “This has really been on my mind because I know I am not as bold with the gospel as I should be, and yet there are brothers and sisters in jail right now, and their most common request is for boldness.” 

The evening began in the Scharnberg building assembly hall, yet quickly changed locations to recreate the common practice of persecuted churches around the world. According to Open Doors, a global organization for the persecuted Church, one in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide. As a result, many churches need to meet secretly and move around to avoid being caught by authorities in their countries. As the students marched silently from one building to another, they got a small taste of the reality for many Christians in other countries. 

The rest of the night students sat on the tile floor of Alumni Hall and listened to three testimonies of students from hostile countries. 

Senior nursing major Katherine Redding attended this event because of a growing curiosity about the global church. She heard about Secret Church from a friend who attended a similar event in their local church. Throughout the night, Redding felt most impacted by the testimonies and information shared about the severe persecution Christians face. 

“This topic is something I have been interested in, and the Lord has been growing affections in my heart for the nations, so I wanted to check this out,” Redding said. “I was humbled by my own ignorance of the persecution going on around the world right now.” 

Redding also felt encouraged to be bold in sharing her faith, much like Brianna. The first-hand accounts of persecution and stepping out in faith encouraged her to look at experiences in her own life in a different light. 

“Their testimonies are powerful, and challenging to my own heart,” Redding said. “It made me think about the times in my life where it has been hard to share my faith, and I found encouragement from that not to deny Christ and glorify God in every aspect of my life.” 

Between stories, a small worship team led prayer and songs of praise. The last piece of the night was a call for prayer for the nations and the Christians imprisoned right now. 

Students could then pick up letters to send to U.S. representatives, advocating for the release of Christians in one of the most hostile African countries. While a small action, the letters serve as one way students could actively partner with Christians around the world.

“We aren’t called to be passive,” said Tim Olson, a senior management major who led a devotional when students first entered Alumni Hall. “We must partner with other believers to bring the gospel to people in unreached countries, and the first thing we can do is pray.” 

Ian Chan, a senior Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major, knew a couple of the coordinators of this event and attended to support them. Once there, he thought the event was different from others about the nations. 

“We have been talking a lot, in chapel and other events, about missions and the importance of missions,” Chan said. “This was a good event because it has a more serious tone and people gather, hear the testimonies, and to hear everyone praying together for our fellow brothers and sisters around the world, it was very encouraging.” 

Chan loved the end of the night when students gathered in small groups to pray for persecuted believers around the world. He recognized the key part the testimonies played in bringing the reality of persecution to students. 

“I hope to see that they do something like that again,” Chan said. “Being able to hear people tell their testimonies makes it feel real, it makes it more relatable. As an international student who comes from a country that needs the gospel, that was great to see.” 

Avonlea Brown is a senior Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism major and editor of Campus News for Cedars. She likes reading, traveling and learning new things.