CU Nova Worship Team Goes Deep
By Cynthia Makachi
The end of the fall semester concluded an exciting season of learning and growth for CU Nova’s worship team. From joining the team as a freshman when activities were completely virtual in 2020 to becoming a co-team leader as Princeton’s campus transitioned back to normal, it has been an encouragement to see the team grow and thrive in new ways as it serves the CU Nova community. And I’m not alone—my co-leaders and members of the team agree: the worship team has been an invaluable part of their college experience.
Osamede Ogbomo ’25, my worship team co-leader, said “A major highlight of the team has been working with freshmen, mentoring them, and watching them grow musically and spiritually. CU Nova was a major part of my transition into Princeton, and serving with the worship team helped me get through some of the hardest moments of my first year. The fact that I get to facilitate the adjustment of the incoming classes is such a blessing.”
As worship team co-leaders, Osamede and I were in charge of recruitment for the worship team this fall and we were thrilled to welcome a handful of talented freshmen who could do everything from singing to bass playing. The freshmen’s passion to lead others in worship even while they adjust to college has been a beautiful thing to witness.
Joseph Chai, a freshman guitarist on the team, explained that he wanted to join because he’s always loved going to worship sessions and wanted to give back to the worship community.
Kelih Henyo, a freshman vocalist, expressed a similar heart for worship. “I’ve always loved going to worship sessions and listening to morning worship playlists to make my day ready with the Lord,” says Chai. “However, I always felt like I was taking more than I was putting in into the worship community and I just wanted to be able to give back in some way and pass it forward to others.”
One of my favorite moments from the semester was at a monthly fellowship meeting. Monthly fellowship meetings give the whole worship team an opportunity to come together to spend time with each other outside of rehearsal and to grow in relationship with one another.
These fellowship opportunities are so important for the health of the worship team because leading worship is not merely about skill levels, but just as much about our relationship with the Lord and with one another. These meetings help the team come together to know one another on a deeper level and pray together. Our November meeting consisted of sharing life updates followed by a round of friendly competitions of “Guess That Worship Song” and charades. In these moments, I am overjoyed to watch the members of the team connect and have fun while we also grow together as a team.
Another junior who plays piano, guitar, and drums for the team, has also been encouraged by the teams growth. “A highlight of the semester has been seeing the team grow in community with each other,” he said. “We’ve welcomed the freshmen well and I feel like we’ve grown in our ability to worship and lead the my-drugs-blog.com in worship: hence the two great worship nights and for that we thank God.”
The two worship nights occurred in November. One of them was an Afro-Caribbean praise night for TruThursday, a weekly leadership lecture series that exemplifies the gospel while celebrating African, Caribbean, Latinx American, and African American cultures. The praise night was led by senior Tiffany Agyarko and consisted of gospel, African, and Hispanic worship songs.
Students of all backgrounds came out for the event to sing familiar songs and learn new ones. A group of freshmen even began a dance circle while the worship team played, highlighting how festive the night was as we all praised the Lord in different languages.
With the spring semester in full swing, Ogbomo has great expectation about what God might do.
“I truly believe that if we prioritize the spiritual health of the Nova worship team, we will see the lives of Princeton students transformed. I’m expectant that God will use every member of the team to make a difference both within and beyond CU.”
In the coming semester, the worship team hopes to continue in this: offering sincere worship to the Lord in all areas of our lives, seen and unseen. As we do so, we trust that the Lord will be faithful to make Himself known to us and to the CU Nova community.
