By: Eliana Morales
This year’s IGNITE Live event, held Feb. 7, featured Billboard-charting Christian artist Terrian and the Aeolians of Oakwood University.
Best known for her song “Big God,” which has surpassed 56 million streams on Spotify, Terrian is signed to Gotee Records and previously toured as a member of TobyMac’s Diverse City Band after joining in 2017.
“She’s honest and so authentic,” said Chisara Ukegbu, producer of IGNITE Live. “I know that as college students, we deal with a lot of stress, and when I heard her music, I felt like her songs really spoke to me, and I wanted to share that experience with our campus as well.”
According to Southern’s website, IGNITE Live is a 90-minute community event hosted each year on a Saturday night. It combines a family-friendly late-night show with worship, games and audience interaction. Entirely student-led, student-fundraised and executed through the School of Journalism and Communication, the production aims to create an entertaining and meaningful space to explore faith and real-life challenges from a Christian perspective.
A total of 1,149 tickets were distributed for this year’s event. Admission was free for Southern and Oakwood students, faculty, staff and those 18 and under. General admission was $25.
The evening began with a VIP experience at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Hulsey Wellness Center. The gathering offered refreshments and a more intimate setting before the show. Guests were able to submit questions for Terrian through a QR code, and she later joined the group to take photos and interact with attendees.
According to Terrian, Southern is her first university performance. When her team received the invitation, she said they thought it would be a cool opportunity.
“I figured this would be a special night, so we’re honored,” Terrain said.
She also shared what she hoped students would take away from the experience.
“I love, hopefully, bringing both truth and joy to music,” she said. “I know [when you’re] college age, you’re starting to ask a lot of questions. You’re starting to figure out who you’re meant to be in this world. So, I just hope that [the students] are able to take away joy. The joy of the Lord is their strength.”
The doors open
IGNITE officially opened with a pre-show performance by the Aeolians of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. The internationally recognized choir sang a selection of gospel and worship songs.
Before the Aeolians took the stage, the Accent asked one of its members, Kaylani Krigger, what she was most looking forward to sharing that night.
“Just our voices,” she said. “It’s just really nice to see other Adventist young people having a good time, finding worship fun and building community between [Oakwood and Southern] as schools.”
Jeremy Jordan, director of the Aeolians and an Oakwood University alumnus, said he was excited about the collaboration between Oakwood’s and Southern’s choirs, referring to earlier that morning when multiple choirs sang during the service at the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists.
Jordan, who is a fan of Terrian, was also looking forward to having fun during the upcoming activities and listening to “Testimony,” which has been his favorite song of hers from day one.
Following the pre-show, IGNITE hosts Raegan Blake and Preston Waters brought Terrian on stage to answer questions submitted by the VIP attendees. Then, in teams of three, they played a giant basketball-style Connect Four game, hosted by sophomore mass communication major Jordan Lightbourne. They played to win $350 for a campus club that was chosen at random. Blake, Terrian and Jordan’s team won for the Business Club.
After the first game concluded, AdventHealth brought students up to compete in a Quality CPR Race, where performing chest compressions on a training dummy powered a virtual ambulance on screen. In both rounds, business majors won over nursing students.
The concert
Terrian began her set with “Matthew 5,” followed by “He Sees You” and “Stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3).” During “God Is for Me,” some audience members left their seats and gathered in front of the stage.
The atmosphere turned to worship as Terrian began singing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Many lifted their hands in reverence and swayed, eyes closed. The energy began to rise again as Terrian moved into “Great Are You Lord,” a song that most knew well and joined her in singing.
Two songs later, Terrain paused to give her testimony. She spoke about growing up in her grandfather’s church and how the message of the gospel made her feel anxious for years. She shared that only recently she fully embraced the gospel as good news, a journey that led her to be re–baptized while on tour.
The Aeolians returned to the stage to join Terrian for the rest of the program. She sang “Testimony” and concluded with her most well-known song, “Big God.” Thunderous applause filled the room before the hosts reappeared to deliver final words of gratitude.
Behind the scenes
IGNITE Live’s producer, Ukegbu, said that she began planning for this performance a year ago, as soon as the previous show ended. She struggled with the workload at times, juggling her summer internship, the Ignite podcast and her senior project, in addition to her producer responsibilities.
“I’m just happy I didn’t give up, and I was able to see it through to a very happy ending,” she said.
For Ukegbu, the concert part always stands out to her during IGNITE Live shows, especially when the crowd begins to move to the front. This year, she enjoyed seeing Oakwood and Southern come together.
“I’m beyond grateful that Oakwood University came all the way over [from Huntsville] to share the night with us,” she said.
Hevanna Hippler, assistant producer and backstage manager, said the most challenging part of managing the backstage was communication, but since the team was prepared, everything went according to plan. She was proud of how many people were willing to step out of their comfort zones to help the night go smoothly.
“It was Jordan Lightbourne’s first time hosting a game, Adriel Sand’s first time on the Steadicam and Sam Robles’ first time on the switcher for an event like that,” Hippler said. “Those are just [some] examples of how people were ready to stretch themselves in order to make IGNITE happen.”
Blake served not only as a host but also as assistant producer and engagement coordinator. She said that she was happy with how the event went.
“My goal was for every student to be touched by God at some point during the show, whether that was during the music, the interviews, her testimony or even through the Aeolians’ pre-show,” Blake said. “God reaches everyone differently, so I was glad we could provide every opportunity for God to reach the students, faculty and community members.”
The Accent captured the reactions of a few students right after the show. Rode Martin Rodriguez, a senior effects animation major, had been planning to leave early but said the music compelled her to stay.
“It was very fun,” she said. “The energy was a lot more hype than I thought it was going to be.”
Becca Savoy, a senior marketing major, said she has attended four IGNITE Live events and that this was one of her favorites.
Gabriel Hernandez, a junior nursing major, said he really enjoyed watching the Connect Four game tiebreaker. Though he was not familiar with Terrian’s music before the concert, he said the performance was amazing.
“Getting to know her music was really good,” he said. “[She will] definitely be on my Christian playlist. I just loved her.”
After sharing the stage with Terrian, Blake praised the artist’s openness and her ability to deliver powerful messages.
“I feel like Terrian was genuinely the perfect guest for IGNITE Live, because she brought the right amount of energy, soul and spirit to the students,” she said.
