FOREVER CHANGED Freshman year, Reyna Golson ’26 walked down the chapel aisle with thousands of singing voices shaking the floor beneath her. Dr. Thomas White, Cedarville’s president, had just given an altar call in a special worship service that much of the student body attended, even though it was voluntary. Her friend had grabbed her for support, and while Golson went with her right away, she doubted herself. “I felt so inadequate,” Golson said. “The Lord had not used me like that before.” Golson and her friend huddled together on the stage steps, yelling back and forth to hear each other over the singing, but a few minutes later, the friends embraced and wept together. When the song ended, Dr. White addressed the crowd. “We just had somebody get saved during that song. Let’s praise the Lord!” The room erupted; students shouted hallelujah and clapped, joining the angels in rejoicing over a life forever transformed. Golson remembers being overwhelmed by the moment. “It struck me: This is the most important thing. One single person among thousands giving her life to the Lord.” That night of worship continued for two hours, and while it changed Golson’s friend’s life, it also changed hers. Growing up in South Africa, she and her sisters were the only Christians in their school, and they watched as peers indulged in alcohol, drugs, and other vices. The worship culture on display at Cedarville gave Golson a different experience with her generation. “I got to see students my age so excited and on fire for the Lord. It was definitely a pivotal moment.” That kind of life transformation is at the heart of Cedarville University’s mission. BY NICHOLAS CARRINGTON ’10 18
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