1. Rituals
Pink and orange balloons were volleyed from one pair of hands to another. A cappella voices joined
together in worship songs. A thumping techno beat played as ministry members entered the room.
On a quiet Tuesday night in a mostly dark basement at the CSF house, pink and orange balloons were
bumped from one person to another. A cross lined with twinkle lights was in the center of the room, and
rows of grayish brown metal chairs aligned with it.
Framing the room’s edges were a black screen. Before the service begins, the screen showed a video of
a group of CSF men lip-syncing “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” by One Direction. CSF members
cheered and laughed as the video announced an upcoming lip-sync battle.
Soon after, their worship began. A drum beat complemented the music as people swayed and sang. The
song ended, and members were asked to seek out someone they did not know and talk to them. There
was little hesitation. Members bustled around shaking hands, smiling, and exchanging names.
Hilltoppers for Christ members had their own unique way of connecting during their Wednesday night
worship service. They sang a cappella, so it was only their voices joined together to praise God. For a
few songs, the men and women harmonized on certain parts. The minister, Ryan Cole, stood in the back
of the room until it was time to preach.
On this night, HFC hosted their first ever baptisms. A steel tub sat in the middle of the room. The first
girl to be baptized stood near it, a friend on either side of her. One of her friends announced that they
would each read a Bible passage that was meaningful to this girl. Then, she was baptized in the tub. The
group stood to pray for her and she buried her face into a white towel. A leader clasped her shoulders
and led the prayer. The group sang “My Chains are Gone” when the prayer was complete.
The second girl baptized did a little dance after it was over. This time, it was Cole who led the prayer.
Cole prayed over her, and then invited anyone who wanted to be baptized to come talk to him. He
moved to the back of the room. Once again, the group sang “My Chains are Gone.”
Later, the members stood and clustered around the two newly baptized girls to pray over them. HFC
had welcomed two new members into their faith and community.
The following evening, Cru welcomed members into their weekly worship with a thumping techno beat.
People came into the Grise hall auditorium in groups bit by bit. A projector screen took center of the
room. A man with a guitar lead the opening song, and white lyrics scrolled across the black screen. A
happy birthday announcement was made for Minister Jacob Blair, and the group sang for him.
A woman and man leader announced upcoming events like evangelism training and a Saturday Barn
party. Cru members whooped and cheered for this party and for an event called Evening of Elegance.
The Cru winter event called Encounter was discussed as well.
A woman named Sarah Woodward took the stage to talk about her experiences with encounter. She
named one thing God did for her every year she went to Encounter.
Minister Jacob Blair took the stage to give the main message of the evening. He reminded the group
that they were in a segment called “Questioning God”, where they took apart an emotional or
intellectual issue with Christianity and looked for answers in the Bible. He compared using material
items instead of God to find sustenance with drinking energy drinks instead of eating. He told the group

2. that every difficulty was a God sized difficulty.
When Blair closed, the band lead the worshippers in their final song. This time it was led by a woman.
The rituals were different. The energy was different. The message between these groups was similar:
Christians have already been saved and God will always pick them up. A bouncing balloon, a lack of
instruments, and a techno beat helped form the individual communities but did not take away from the
larger ministry community.