Rend Collective Visits Regent University’s Night of Worship

Earlier this month, Regent University’s Office of Advancement hosted the first Night of Worship (NOW) event of Spring Semester 2016 featuring the Northern Ireland artist group, Rend Collective.

This up-tempo, folk-indie band played to a packed-out crowd at the University Chapel on Thursday, January 14. Band member, Ali Gilkison, said the event was a throwback to the band’s origin: a Bible study for college-aged people in Northern Ireland.

“That’s always been our heart, long before music or worship music, or making songs was a part of our lives, discipleship for college-aged people was really very much our heartbeat,” said Gilkison. “So obviously getting the opportunity to play thousands of miles away from where our original Rend started, to get the opportunity to minister to college people across America is just absolutely a blessing for us.”

Of course, for Gilkison, the ministry is in the music. She enjoyed having genuine worship experiences, like what she experienced at Regent. She explained the most important thing to ensure that Rend Collective and its mission sustains an attitude of worship is by recalling the two words Jesus used to describe it.

“Jesus mentions worship in John; he says that the Father accepts His worship in spirit and in truth,” said Gilkison. “That means, for us, bringing your real self before God and knowing who you are before God. We bring our scars before Him, we bring our successes before Him, and we bring our dreams and our disappointments.”

Regent’s next Night of Worship event will feature popular gospel artist Casey J on Friday, February 5 at 8:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.