The clock strikes seven on another Thursday evening in Arkadelphia. The last traces of sunlight seep below the horizon as a small group of college students walks through the door of Arby’s. After a lengthy afternoon of rehearsing and sound checking, members of the Refuge band enjoy an hour of fast food and meaningful conversation.
The clock strikes eight. As the band members finish off their last few curly fries, another group of students gathers at Second Baptist Church for a time of prayer.
Students from Henderson and Ouachita flood the sanctuary. Friends exchange hugs and smiles as “This is Amazing Grace” plays in the background. Backstage, members of the prayer team place their hands on the speaker and the band, praying that God will move in power through the message and the music.
The clock strikes nine. The lights dim. The music fades.
“Welcome to Refuge.”
Started in the early 90s by a group of Ouachita students, Refuge is the weekly gathering of students in the Arkadelphia college community for an hour of worship. It’s an opportunity to briefly retreat from the stresses of life and focus on Christ.
From the pulpit to the sound booth, the event is entirely student-led. Seniors Sadie Sasser, David Willhite, Steven Rutherford, Libby Hilliard and Sam Beary invest hours of prayer, planning, scheduling, rehearsing and sound mixing throughout the semester. Each student leader plays an integral part in the weekly impact that Refuge has in the lives of students.
Sasser and Willhite, the speakers for Refuge, select their biblical passages a week in advance. During this time worship, leader Steven Rutherford schedules band members and formulates song ideas for the upcoming service.
“We all meet together on either Sunday night or Monday night to talk about song choices, order of service and opening prayer. Sometimes Steven has an idea of the song choices already, but other times we request something that could be good for the service,” said Sasser.
Rutherford tries to have band members scheduled to play a couple weeks in advance and will have the set list planned on Monday or Tuesday. He arrives at Second Baptist around 4 p.m. on Thursday, where sound booth operator Sam Beary and sophomore assistant Matt Phillips have been hard at work since 3:30 p.m.
It takes an hour and 15 minutes to set up the sound system needed for Refuge. Band members arrive sporadically during this time window to help set up and prepare for a sound check at 4:45 p.m. Rehearsal typically starts at 5 p.m.
“During rehearsals me and whoever else is helping out with sound will mess with vocals and instruments and try to be sure everything sounds balanced,” said Beary. “The band will go through every song once and ask for adjustments in their inner ear monitors so they can get their personal mixes right. After they go through each song once they’ll do a full run through and that’s where we really try to get a good mix for the house.”
Rehearsals can last anywhere from an hour to a couple of hours depending on the song selection and the band members playing. The fact that the band can accomplish all of this and still have time to make a dinner run to Arby’s is a testament to the quality of the worship team.
“The guys that play in Refuge are all incredible musicians so rehearsal is a great process,” said Rutherford. “It can be a really hard thing to do to have to set up, sound check and rehearse all within four hours, but it’s a blast.”
Refuge has been infused with prayer since its conception 20 years ago, and the prayer team led by Libby Hilliard is still at the core of its ministry. The team meets an hour before the service each week and begins by talking about specific requests for Henderson, Ouachita and personal requests from people in the group. The rest of their time is devoted to the ACTS model of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The group ends by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.
“I think prayer is the heartbeat of everything we do as Christians. Prayer is worship, praise, conversation and more. Being part of the prayer ministry definitely encourages personal growth as you learn to quiet your heart and turn it to God for longer and longer periods of time, but I believe it impacts the rest of the world too,” said Hilliard. “We pray for everything from the strength to overcome a certain temptation all the way to unreached people groups across the globe. I believe God hears our prayers and responds in his own way.”
The student leaders would not be able to do what they do without the help from student volunteers. Each week students will stay after the service to help clean up with band members and the sound team. According to James Taylor, director of Campus Ministries, this is a good way to make connections and get plugged in if you’re interested in the worship aspect of Refuge.
“The easiest way to get involved is to go and get to know the Refuge leader or leaders that year. It’s best to sort of work behind the scenes and then use opportunities to let folks know that you’re interested in playing or singing,” said Taylor. “Another way to get involved is to lead worship in other situations like Noonday or when social clubs have events. Take advantage of every opportunity to be part of worship leading and gain experience.”
Beary adds, “We love to have help setting up for Refuge and people can do that simply by emailing or texting me. I’ll show them the ropes of what they can do and try and teach them a little bit along the way. If there’s anyone who wants to do sound and get involved in media we’ll be glad to teach you. You don’t have to have a full background in sound to help.”
Refuge is a ministry. It requires dedication and hard work from its leaders and volunteers. But whether you’re on stage lifting your voice to God or wrapping up a quarter inch after the service, it’s about humility. It’s about letting go of your pride and knowing that God is using you for something with eternal significance. Junior vocalist Emily Weeden embodies this humility.
“When I take out my inner ear monitors and I’m just listening to everyone singing, God’s really sweet to remind me of the purpose of what he’s doing,” said Weeden. “It’s just so beautiful. It really does ravish my heart for the body of Christ. It makes me think of the big picture. He is redeeming the entire world and Refuge is a good reminder of that.”
For more information about Refuge and how to get involved with Campus Ministries, visit www.obu.edu/campusministries.
By Evan Wheatley, features editor
