ONE Night Midlands, an evangelistic student event, was held Sunday, Nov. 17, at Shandon Baptist Church. More than 700 middle and high school students from across the Midlands attended the free event that included food, games, a silent disco, giveaways, and a clear gospel presentation. Sponsored by the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC), the evening student experience has been held throughout the state for several years.
SCBC Evangelism Team Leader Chad Stillwell shared the driving forces behind ONE Night in a social media post immediately following the event. “Why do we cooperate together as Baptist churches? Because of nights like tonight when 32 SC Baptist churches and two associations from across the Midlands brought over 700 students to hear the gospel,” Stillwell wrote. “Just a little while ago, 63 students repented and placed their faith in Jesus, and 20 students answered a call to ministry.”
Associational Missions Strategist Jamie Rogers was glad that there were student groups there from seven CMBA churches, including New Creation, North Point Community Church, North Trenholm, Shandon, Spears Creek, Spring Valley, and Temple. “I’ve seen a number of churches from the Lexington Association, too, and that’s been really exciting to see our two associations come together to put on this event to reach students with the gospel. That’s what this is all about,” Rogers said.
Spears Creek Student Pastor Phillip Barringer was excited that his students would hear a clear gospel presentation at ONE Night. “A lot of students that grow up in church hear the gospel in pieces and fragments, and sometimes they forget about it over time. The whole vision from the beginning of this is for the gospel will be clearly presented and that students will have the opportunity to respond,” he said.
High school senior Joshua West was curious to find out what the silent disco at ONE Night was all about, plus a lot of his North Trenholm friends were going. He admitted enjoying the spiritual boost he gets from attending large student events like this because “it’s about Jesus here. Sometimes it can be hard in high school to have big moments like this feeling close with God.” West thought of several friends to share the gospel with after ONE Night, too, “yes! A lot of friends.”
According to SCBC Next Gen Strategist Ricky Wilson, one of the event’s goals is for students like West to share the gospel with their friends. Wilson reports that in 2024 and prior to ONE Night Midlands, SCBC has seen “800 salvations through 11 ONE Night events. We have also trained more than 3,000 students on how to share their faith through ONE Night, which has contributed to even more salvations happening when these students go and share their faith at their schools.”
The ONE Night Midlands event speaker was Ryan Fontenot of RAGE Ministries, who presented a simplified gospel outline through a series of emojis. Each student received two bracelets with the emojis printed on them – one to keep, one to give away. Wilson reports that 8,500 bracelets have been distributed through ONE Night events because they are “a practical way for students to share the gospel.”
Several North Point Community Church students brought friends with them to ONE Night, something Student Minister Nick Smith said he was looking forward to about the event. “We are a small church with a small youth group, and I have been excited for our students to connect with other students their age through this experience,” Smith said.
For his part, Spring Valley Minister of Students Spencer Creech was excited for his students to see what Kingdom cooperation looks like during ONE Night. “We have a bunch of churches in Columbia who are on the same team, running the same race,” Creech said. “Thousands of teenagers will get to hear the gospel tonight because we have cooperation amongst churches. I am ready to see lives changed and Kingdom cooperation strengthened here.”