by Nicole Hackett, Student Public Relations Writer
The Worship 4:24 Conference will be held January 25-26 at Cedarville University in the Dixon Ministry Center. The conference begins Friday at 10 a.m. and continues with general sessions, a night of worship and more than 100 breakout sessions until Saturday afternoon. More than 700 are expected to attend.
Dove Awarding-winning singer-songwriter Meredith Andrews will be the special musical guest for this year. Andrews has contributed to multiple worship songs performed in churches across America, such as “Open Up The Heavens,” “Lamb of God,” “Not For A Moment,” and “Spirit of the Living God.” She will lead worship in chapel on January 25.
“Worship 4:24 is an amazing conference that has impacted my worship drastically,” explained Brandon Slifer, junior worship, youth ministry and Christian education major from Tipp City, Ohio. “Not only have I had incredible opportunities to work with and learn from big name Christian artists, but I have also gotten connected with worship pastors, authors and professors from all over.”
A new element of this year’s conference is the Weekend of Worship (WOW) for high school students who have a heart for worship and who may have enjoyed Cedarville’s summer worship academic camp.
“Our worship camp is the largest academic camp at Cedarville,” explained Roger O’Neel, associate professor of worship and director of Cedarville’s worship program. “We have a lot of students that love it, but then there is nothing for them for a whole year.” WOW is an initiative to solve this problem and continue the success of the worship camp.
On January 24, WOW will host a night of worship with one of the Cedarville worship department bands. There will also be a meet-and-greet with the conference’s musical guest artists. The students will also experience college life by staying in residence halls and eating in the dining hall.
Worship 2:24 is co-sponsored by the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio. Originally, the State Convention of Baptists had its own conference, the Ohio Worship Leader Conference. Ten years ago, Cedarville University's Department of Music and Worship partnered with the State Convention of Baptists to rebirth their conference into something bigger and better, Worship 4:24.
The Worship 4:24 conference is designed to equip and inspire worship teams, from the leaders and praise teams on stage to the graphic designers and tech crews behind the curtains. “Worship 4:24 is a great conference to attend in order to grow and be encouraged as a worship leader,” explained Michael Hoskinson, senior worship and business management major from North Canton, Ohio. “It is an awesome encouragement to worship the Lord with hundreds of worship leaders.”
For online registration and more information about Worship 4:24 visit www.worship424.com.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,193 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.