"Spiritual Movement," Inside Vanderbilt Athletics' Public Embrace of Come As You Are Event

NASHVILLE—Eli Stowers was “faking all day” as he walked through Vanderbilt’s campus and eventually crossed Alumni Lawn. The Vanderbilt tight end shook hands without sweaty palms and appeared to be his normal self, but he hadn’t eaten all day and was “extremely nervous.”

Stowers’ “biggest fear” is public speaking. The stage in which he took on Monday night looked out at a crowd that was well into triple digits and took him out of his comfort zone as he prepared to share his testimony at Vanderbilt’s Come As You Are event. It was a step in faith that Stowers felt convicted to take, though.

“I can’t turn that down because as a Christian that’s what we’re supposed to do is tell people about our faith,” Stowers told Vandy on SI. “That’s my biggest fear, but at the same time I knew God was going to talk through me, so that helped to calm me down a bit.”

After Vanderbilt basketball standout Tyler Tanner mixed his story of faith with a Bible verse-filled lesson about being the light of the world and Vanderbilt soccer defender Hannah McLaughlin built off of it with a testimony in which she detailed overcoming family struggles to find a deeper faith, Stowers was tasked with wrapping the night.

The Vanderbilt tight end spoke for nearly 10 minutes about his life prior to a perspective-changing injury in his senior year of high school that strengthened his faith and allowed him to find an identity outside of his playing career. Stowers said his faith to that point was “all religion, very little relationship” and that he could’ve answered any question about the Bible, but didn’t have a prayer life or a history of studying the Bible.

By the end, Stowers was calling the gathered crowd to consider the lifestyle change that he’d made. The Vanderbilt star–and preseason First-Team All-American–was the closer of sorts. He wasn’t pushy or overly emotional, but he felt as if he was called to use his name and time on the stage to share what was on his heart.

“Even if just one person was like ‘oh my gosh, I’m interested in this God thing, it was all worth it,” Vanderbilt tight end Cole Spence said. “I think his platform got people in their seats and then his message, hopefully, is what may have gotten them to consider staying. Obviously you come and you’re like ‘oh my gosh, that’s Eli Stowers! I want to go see him do whatever!’ So, that’s amazing, he’s given a platform.”

Eli Stowers shared his testimony at Come As You Are's event on Vanderbilt campus last Monday night. | Christopher Denkovich

Stowers–a strong Christian apologist on Vanderbilt’s campus, who has made an effort to engage with those of different religions to share his perspective–as well as the McGlaughin and Tanner were initially contacted by Vanderbilt student James Chen to share their testimonies as a result of Chen’s vision.

Chen and Stowers both cite the on-campus revival night that Ohio State’s football team conducted last season prior to its national championship win as inspiration for a way that they could potentially impact those on Vanderbilt’s campus. They likely knew that a turnout like Ohio State’s on a campus like Vanderbilt’s would likely be difficult to achieve, but they believed that they could make an impact.

The event on Vanderbilt’s campus included pop up booths for Vanderbilt’s athlete ministry “WhoUWith” as well as local church Immanuel Nashville. Once the three Vanderbilt athletes were finished speaking, Way Church pastor Noah Herrin took the stage for a more formal sermon.

Herrin would admit that the message from Vanderbilt’s student athletes was likely more impactful to the student body than what came from him, though. Those who spoke before the Way Church pastor believe they have a unique platform that’s particularly impactful.

Vanderbilt football — McLaughlin spoke second and delivered a personal testimony at Come As You Are's event. | Christopher Denkovich

“I've learned that your ministry really is just where you are,” McLaughlin said. “Being an athlete is so fun. But ultimately, it's just an instrument for the kingdom. And so, the fact that soccer is what the Lord has given me right now, and that's where my ministry is, I’m so thankful.”

McLaughlin is among the standouts on a top 10 women’s soccer team and used her Instagram bio to declare that “Jesus saves.” Tanner is among the only familiar faces on Mark Byington’s Vanderbilt basketball team that is set to make a run towards the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive season. Stowers is among the most well known athletes on Vanderbilt’s campus and is a projected NFL draft pick.

Those three are figurative billboards for their respective programs and Vanderbilt’s university as a whole. They don’t know the eventual impact they’ll have, but they want to head a group of athletes looking to open up the eyes of other Vanderbilt students.

“I just have always seen athletics as such an influential part of campus especially now with how good football is and basketball,” Vanderbilt basketball walk on Coleson Messer—who is involved with the leadership of Come as You Are— said. “I feel at Vanderbilt a lot of people are searching for some sort of God. Whether it’s in career, or school or party or fraternity life, they’re searching for something to fulfill them. At the end of the day they're all falling short, which is what scripture tells us. It's really cool to see people in athletics kind of point them in another direction.”

Messer and Spence both believe that with the collective IQ of Vanderbilt’s students, the way to approach some Biblical conversions with the students that Come As You Are is catered towards is through logical answers to questions and open dialogue rather than just personal testimony and belief.

Stowers is a staunch believer in the idea that a believer should be able to defend their belief when asked. The Vanderbilt tight end and his teammates are more likely to get those questions than average students by nature of the position they’re in, Messer also says that he’s received calls from numerous former teammates who are curious about the belief he has.

“Being on the stage as we are as athletes I think it's something that is super important to promote your faith like that,” Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson told Vandy on SI. “It's so easy for us as athletes to put our identity on sports, but when it is in something so much greater than yourself that's where you find your freedom.”

Vanderbilt basketball — Stowers says the crowd at the Come As You Are event was better than anticipated. | Christopher Denkovich

Chen—who orchestrated the Come As You Are—is a lifelong sports fan and recalls the beginning of college sports’ best traditions coming in the midst of winning. Alabama’s Dixieland Delight tradition did. The circumstances in which it came is the rule, not the exception.

In Vanderbilt football and men’s basketball’s history there’s never been much of a window for a tradition to arise. The school has tried, but has often seen its efforts towards building anything be derailed by its lack of winning. Chen appears to have his college years in the midst of Vanderbilt Athletics’ golden age and wants to do something about it, though.

“ Vanderbilt sports were gaining a lot of national attention—football had just beaten Alabama, basketball made the tournament, and baseball won the SEC. We thought it was the perfect moment to take all those eyes on Vanderbilt and point them back toward God,” Chen said. “Many of my friends who are student-athletes mentioned feeling a gap between athletes and the rest of the student body. Since we all live side by side here, we wanted to create an event that helped close that gap and build real community across campus.”

Chen has seen “several” Christian groups on Vanderbilt’s campus grow over the years, but “rarely” come together. He felt as if his group could create a night in which those campus ministries and local churches could come together for the same mission.

The Vanderbilt senior says that on Vanderbilt’s campus, like any other, “people are figuring out who they are and looking for affirmation” and can often be “hesitant” to vocalize their beliefs when it feels “unpopular,” but he doesn’t believe that encapsulates this place or what’s happening inside of it.

“I really do believe there’s a spiritual movement happening on campus,” Chen said while subsequently indicating that the movement he speaks of isn’t a Vanderbilt-specific event. “Gen Z has actually been returning to church and faith communities at a higher rate than before. I think that’s because our generation has been exposed to so much darkness and confusion through social media from such a young age. When you see so much pain, suffering, and moral confusion around you, it forces you to reflect on what you actually believe in and where your values come from.”

Stowers admits that he’s in a bubble these days, but he believes that Vanderbilt is on track to do what he and Chen saw at Ohio State throughout the 2024 season. They each believe that Vanderbilt football’s 7-1 start can spark something within its student body other than the large College Gameday turnaround. If all goes right, the success that Stowers and his teammates have on the field while speaking of their moral values can be a catalyst for change on Vanderbilt’s campus.

Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner shared his testimony a week ago. | Christopher Denkovich

The perception around West End has often been that it’s a place that can be lonely for those like Stowers, Tanner and McLaughlin, who are outspoken in their faith. Messer says that the idea of having to be “lonely” in the faith nowadays is a “lazy statement” because of what happened last Monday night, though.

“I think there’s actually a lot of people that want to grow in their faith,” Messer said. “When you’re at these big schools and everyone’s a Christian it’s pretty easy to get plugged in, but at Vanderbilt it’s not the main identity, it’s not the main objective [generally]. The point of going here is to get a good job and get a good education. Having the Christian aspect added on to that is just really cool to add on to that. It kind of gives people an extra layer and an extra purpose of their time at Vanderbilt.”

Perhaps the greatest piece of evidence to back up Messer’s claim came just after sunrise on the turf side stage at Vanderbilt’s College Gameday set. All eyes turned to a dancer who stood there doing a solo act in a black shirt. On the front it was inscribed “Come As You Are” in gold letters, it’s back quoted Matthew 11:28.

Spence and Patterson went through Vanderbilt’s pregame Star Walk in the same shirt a week ago and saw the interaction that Come As You Are’s Instagram page generated prior to the event, but those involved with the event likely didn’t understand the magnitude of it until after it happened.

Now that they have, they have a declaration.

“I think there is for sure,” Patterson said of the idea that there’s a spiritual movement of sorts on Vanderbilt’s campus. “I think there’s such a spiritual movement across all of America right now. There’s lots of evil everywhere and a lot of people don’t get treated the way they should be treated and right now is such a time for people of faith to stand up and show their identity, show God’s kingdom.”

It’s a process for Chen and company to continue to make an impact as some of the first to do what they’re doing on this campus–and they’re working to get more dates on the calendar–they also feel as if the time is right for it.

They view this as a movement that can stick.

“I think you can start to see a trend about people really taking their faith seriously,” Stowers said, “And actually talking about it, that makes a huge difference.”