Lenten Campaign 2025
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The Bible says that God's word is living and active, and a group of about 70 Christian students from Western Kentucky University (WKU) set out to demonstrate this in an unconventional way.
On the night of March 10, a week before their spring break, they gathered to write out the entire Gospel of John -- all 879 verses -- in chalk across the sidewalks, walking paths, and common grounds of their public university's campus.
The University's newspaper, The College Heights Herald, reported how the initiative that was completed in just a few hours was organized by the school's Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM) and joined by other groups such as Campus Crusade for Christ and Hilltoppers for Christ. They received permission from their school's administration ahead of time.
"The main reason for us doing this ultimately is to spread the good news, or the Gospel," Luke Alford, BCM vice president and senior at WKU, said. "We live in a time when there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion in the world around us ... I firmly believe that the Bible has the answer to these questions, especially in the Gospel of John," he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
When morning broke on March 11, there was mixed feedback and plenty of harsh comments about the Bible verses written on campus, particularly on Yik Yak, a social media app for college students. Rachel Harwood, a BCM student leader, didn't let the negativity get her down.
"Even though many of the responses were negative, students were still talking about the truths that are in the Bible ..." Harwood told Fox News Digital. "[For this reason] the BCM had a table and chalkboard set up to talk to students and get their opinions. This was a great way to verbally share the Gospel ..."
The international outlet SG News picked up the story and showed an impressive reel of the illustrated sidewalks stretching for two miles throughout WKU's campus. Their piece celebrated the vibrant faith demonstrated by many of the Christian groups of the WKU student body that has experienced a 'revival' of sorts since the fall of 2023 when many of them took part in a gathering of over 5,000 students at Auburn University in which 200 of these participants were baptized.
This 'sidewalk chalk' demonstration by WKU students is part of a new but growing trend called The Gospel Chalk Movement.
Its TikTok page boasts many videos of students in colleges mostly throughout the southern region of the United States gathering to take part in events similar to the one held at WKU. The group's simple mission is stated on their page's header: "A movement to spread the gospel to every student."
