Speakers seek to inspire students

Bestselling author and speaker Angela Thomas incorporated humor and colorful stories in her address to the student body at convocation Wednesday, Sept. 12 with her message entitled “One Life to Live.”

Thomas spoke from Hebrews 12, focusing on spiritual hindrances and healing, often referring to her own experiences as a single mom raising four children.

She recalled her memories of when she was invited to be a parent chaperone for her daughter’s high school trip to Paris. Their trip was hindered by hurricane-scale winds that led to a series of unfortunate events, but she was encouraged by the thought that her group overcame the weather to climb the Eiffel tower.

“Most of these kids will only be seeing the Eiffel tower one time,” Thomas said. “The Lord said to me, ‘You’ll only get one time too.’”

Thomas encouraged students to live their lives serving God.

“You only get one chance to live for the glory of God,” she said.
“Some of you know my story. You know that I was a single mom to Grayson and his sisters and brother for seven-and-a-half years. We’ve walked a broken journey too,” Thomas said.

After convocation, Thomas spoke of how she got her start in inspirational speaking.
“Honestly, I did not pursue speaking. It kind of just happened because, I assume, the Lord was taking me there,” Thomas said. “I had been teaching a women’s Bible study and someone gave my name to someone to do a retreat. Then I did another retreat, a Bible study group, and finally, the Lord just did it His way, in His time.”

Thomas offered encouragement to Liberty students who wish to pursue a career in speaking or become leaders in their church.

“While you’re here at Liberty, get all the training you can. I did not know that that was in my future, so I did not get some of the training that I think would give you a really strong foundation and a sense of confidence initially, so I had nervous knees. I just didn’t have the confidence or the training. Of course the Lord overcame that, but I would just say get everything you can.”

Thomas’ recent works include her book, “52 Things a Kid Needs from a Mom,” and her Lifeway Bible study for women entitled “Brave.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, Sept. 7, pastor of Epiphany Fellowship Eric Mason spoke to students at convocation in a message entitled “From the Inside Out.”

Mason coupled jokes with practical application as he connected with students and explained his “three stages of life.”

“You’re either going into a trial, getting out of a trial or in a trial,” Mason said.

Throughout the hour, Mason drove home a clear theme. Student’s lives should reflect Christ’s power.

“(God) wants you to be passionate for the right person at the right place at the right time,” Mason said. “The world can’t be changed unless there are changed people in it.”

In addition to his position at Epiphany Fellowship, Mason serves in the ministry “Thriving,” which reaches out to ethnic minorities who wish to be trained in the ministry.

For more information on upcoming convocation speakers, visit liberty.edu.