Walking through worship

Students establish a weekly music gathering inside the East Campus tunnel

A group of students in their first year at Liberty University, strolling through campus on a Friday night, decided to stop and play music in the East Campus tunnel. It was September of 2014.

UNDERGROUND — What began as an impromptu activity for fun has become a weekly gathering for hundreds of students. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

UNDERGROUND — What began as an impromptu activity for fun has become a weekly gathering for hundreds of students. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

Two weeks later, they decided this would become a regular event. Each Friday night at 9 p.m. Tunnel Worship happens. Tunnel Worship began as a small group of people who simply enjoyed what they were doing. Little did they know, it would grow into what it has become today according to Malik Nichols, one of the original worship leaders.

“The acoustics in this tunnel are great,” Nichols said. “That’s the only thing we were thinking.”

In almost a year’s time, Tunnel Worship has grown into something Nichols along with Braxton Mann and Jonathan Shirey, the other two originals, never expected. On the first official night of Tunnel Worship there were somewhere around 10 people. One year later, there are about 200 people who crowd in from across campus to pack into the tunnel and worship,according to Nichols.

On an average day of the week, the tunnel is an avenue for students to get from one side of campus to the other without having to cross US 460. But for one hour on Friday night, it hosts as a worship gathering of students as well as a walkway.

But for the men who started Tunnel Worship, it is more than just a walkway for students and more than just an area with great acoustics. The tunnel represents so much more.

“Tunnel Worship is about Jesus meeting us in that in-between season of life,” Nichols said. “It’s supposed to be a symbol that Jesus meets us every single place we are.”

The group that leads Tunnel Worship consists of 13 students and a multitude of instruments. Guitars, a violin, a banjo, vocals, a xylophone, a cajón and a cymbal ring throughout the tunnel as passersby travel through. Some students stop for a few moments to see what is going on while others keep walking with no hesitation. However, some stay the whole time.

“When we hear peoples testimonies about how Tunnel Worship blesses them or how they came from a super rough week, Monday through Friday, and they were unintentionally just walking through the tunnel and how they feel that Jesus met them there,that’s all that we want,” Nichols said.

For more information, visit “Tunnel Worship” on Facebook.

PIERCE is a feature reporter.

2 comments

  • I wish I was there!! I’m an online student in my senior with LU, but I’m in Texas. If I was there y’all would have another violinist joining y’all!! (More of a fiddler actually.) Keep up the good work!!

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