A group of young Christian men have started a faith-based nightclub for young people outside a house of worship in Nashville, Tennessee.
“My dream for The Cove is for it to be an inspiration for revival. I believe revival begins within ourselves and spreads from there. So I hope this spreads like wildfire. We want it,” said Eric Diggs, co-founder of The Cove. CBN News In an interview.
The Cove, which held its first event last November, will ban smoking and drinking and will only play Christian music, including hip-hop, bachata and reggaeton. The venue’s founders are seven black Christian men in their 20s who felt church attendance had declined since the coronavirus pandemic.
Recent pew research According to the study, monthly religious service attendance among Black Protestants has decreased from 61% in 2019 to 46% now.
“We ourselves experienced the pain of not being able to find community outside of the church and not knowing how to have fun without feeling bad for doing something that goes against our values.” Diggs said. “There was no room for that to be cultivated. So we created ourselves from painful points of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.”
When The Cove was launched, the founders implemented a marketing strategy to gain 1,000 followers on social media and ultimately exceeded their goals.
“We ended up getting over 10,000 followers before our first event, which was insane,” said Eric’s brother Jordan Diggs, 22, who is the club’s social media manager.
“Christians are sometimes accused of being obsolete,” he added. “We want to show that Christians can be normal, they can be cool, and they can have fun.”
Every month, the club holds events, and the number continues to grow.
“Honestly, what surprised me the most was the diversity,” said Aaron Dues, one of the club’s founders. “We’re seven black men and we’ve just seen the expansion of the types of people we accept and the solidarity around us.” One idea was very encouraging. ”
A couple traveled from Brisbane, Australia, to attend an event held by the club last month.
“We thought this was wonderful and glorified God,” said Hainza Posara, 23.
“It’s surreal,” added Kim Posara, 24. “It’s community, that’s what the church is for.”
Despite the club’s newfound popularity, critics say dancing and worship are incompatible, some even calling it sinful.
Nicholas Oldham, who manages the club’s “business”, said: “While calling it a Christian dance club sounds like a contradiction in terms, those who have attended have received powerful blessings.”
“People are raising their hands. Some are crying and weeping, some are praying for each other. This really shows that something different is going on,” said the seven co-founders. said Shem Rivera, another of the people. “This is not just a nightclub story. It’s not just a nightclub story at The Cove. It’s bigger than that.”
The founders plan to tour the United States and inspire the launch of other Christian nightclubs for young believers around the world. We are currently planning another nightclub event for March 16th, with attendees encouraged to wear their favorite team’s jersey under the theme “March Madness.”
Image credit: ©Long Truong/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributor to Christian Headlines and host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast dedicated to sound doctrine and Biblical truth. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary.
