Liberty students begin first week of classes with large-scale worship event

After an exciting first day of classes to open the Fall 2026 semester, Liberty University hosted Campus Community Kickoff on the Lawn Monday evening, offering new and returning students a time to praise God alongside their classmates and peers.

Featuring an extensive time of worship led by the Liberty Worship Collective and messages from university leadership, the event gave students a first glimpse of this semester’s Campus Community theme: “What Would Jesus Do?”

Campus Community, held every Wednesday during the school year in the Vines Center, is the central gathering place for worship and spiritual growth at Liberty. The event welcomes guest speakers and staff across the university to provide students the tools to live an authentic Christian life.

Addressing the over one thousand students in attendance, Liberty Vice President of Spiritual Development Joshua Rutledge described the evening as a prequel to the eternity of worship believers will enjoy in Heaven. He encouraged students to take a “mental snapshot” of the event as they enter Fall 2026 and experience all the valleys and mountaintops the semester may hold.

“There are going to be victories. There are going to be highs. There are going to be some days it feels like you are coasting and other days it will feel like you are just in the dark, moving slowly,” he told them. “I want you in those moments to remember this night and then remember where we’re going to be eight months from now, because it’s a snapshot of the faithfulness of God in each of our lives.”

“The battle has been won,” he added. “We can celebrate now because of the victory that has been won and the victory that is still yet to be that will be won. We are going to spend eternity doing this. In anticipation of what we will be doing for eternity, this is just a foretaste.”

He noted the university plans to close the 2026-27 school year with another worship event in April.

“This year is going to represent praise, then our pilgrimage through (life), and then we are going to end in praise as a picture and a testament to who God is and His faithfulness.”

Chancellor Jonathan Falwell framed the upcoming Campus Community series through the lens of 1 Timothy 1:9, which encourages Christians to live a holy life. The “What Would Jesus Do?” phrase gained popularity at the end of the 20th century with Christians wearing bracelets as constant reminders, and Falwell said Christ’s actions and interactions with others should always form a blueprint for a proper Christian walk.

“We look at the life of Jesus and recognize that He could have come to this earth, died on the cross, been buried, rose again, and gone back to Heaven to provide us the gift of salvation we enjoy — without saying a word and without healing anyone. He could have done that without any of the parables or the miracles we read about. … But He chose not to. He lived His life in a way to teach us how to live and what to do when we are betrayed, when we are hurting, when we are broken, and when we are tempted. This fall, that is exactly what we are going to talk about.”

In conjunction with the “What Would Jesus Do?” theme, the Liberty Worship Collective will be recording one throwback Christian worship song each week from the 1990s and early 2000s. These performances will be released as a full album at the end of the semester.

Through this year’s Campus Community services, Liberty aims to train students to effectively follow Christ in every aspect of their lives, both on campus and beyond.

“As a follower of Christ, I strive to make wise decisions and to do what Jesus would do,” biblical studies junior Brooke Ott said. “I think it’s important to know we aren’t going to be perfect. We are going to make mistakes, but we should be able to make those wise decisions and to do what Jesus would do.”

Real estate management junior Sofia Sauer said she appreciated how Monday’s worship event united students behind a common calling in praising God and advancing the Great Commission.

“Seeing everyone together reminds me of the day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,” she said. “It’s a little snapshot of that day. It’s important to note you’ll either be humbled here and bend the knee to Christ now, or one day you’ll bend the knee to Him in judgement. It’s cool to see a body of people who have decided to follow him today.”