Editor’s Note- A previous version of this story misspelled an individual’s last name as “Bohr.” It has been corrected to “Voor.”
Liberty students gathered at Riverfront Park Saturday morning to participate in Run with Christ.
Run with Christ is a fun and engaging event held Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. to provide community for students at Liberty University and Lynchburg locals. The event consists of a 5K with devotions and prayer to kick off the event, concluding with a time of fellowship.
Run with Christ originated in Columbus, Ohio, as “not just a run club but a movement to make heaven full,” according to its Instagram.
Junior Beth Rider, one of the leaders of Run with Christ, emphasized that running is only a small part of what they do.
“We really want to make sure every person is touched,” Rider said. “Another one of our catchphrases is ‘taking people from isolated to integrated’.”
Rider shared how Run with Christ is an avenue to bring people into the circle of Christ and how being a run club helps them do that. Run with Christ represents Jesus in a different setting than in a church.
“It’s easy to invite someone to a run club but maybe a little bit harder to invite them to church if they’re an unbeliever,” Rider said.
Run with Christ currently has over 80 locations globally and has just started this semester in the City of Lynchburg to continue its mission of connecting runners, students and people from all walks of life to the body of Christ.
Run with Christ is not just for Liberty students, which is an integral part of why it takes place in Riverfront Park.
“It’s a great central point, it’s not just Liberty students, but it’s all of Lynchburg,” Rider said. “That’s why we named it ‘RWC Lynchburg’ and not ‘RWC Liberty’.”
While Run with Christ is a run club, participants are not racing or required to run. Some people walk the entire time and take it as an opportunity to talk with their neighbor.
Sophomore Lily Voor comes to Run with Christ a few times a month and described why she loves the community.
“These are just college students that choose to spend their Saturday morning in fellowship with other people and instead of sleeping in, they go out and run three miles all together,” Voor said.
Run with Christ’s main focus is to always have Jesus at the center and Voor emphasized how that was evident each Saturday morning.
“It always starts with Jesus, and it ends with Jesus, which I think is really beautiful,” Voor said.
Run with Christ is a community that provides students and non-students the opportunity to engage in a fun morning exercise in a Christ-centered environment.
To get involved or find out more, visit Run with Christ Lynchburg’s Instagram page @runwchristlynch or their website at www.runwchrist.com.
Lee is an off-campus news reporter for the Liberty Champion.
Clardy is the off-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.