24 Student Life Fast & Focused Local churches partner with Harding students for a 40-hour fast that may become tradition. In fall 2024, the Cloverdale Church of Christ, College Church of Christ and Downtown Church of Christ organized a 40-hour fast as a backto-school spiritual practice. The event was a group effort, invited members of the community to participate in fasting and prayer to mark the commencement of the school year. Over 80 students from different church groups took part in the fast. The college student ministers at Downtown, Cloverdale and College Church, respectively: Levi Huddleston, Phillip Baird and Grant Fitzhugh helped lead and participated in the fast. Fitzhugh spoke about his experience. “The 40-hour fast was a good opportunity for all of us to start the fall semester by making a statement—that God was going to come first, before anything else,” Fitzhugh said. “The fast definitely made me realize that people were hungry for God, and it challenged me to be hungrier for him. I thought it was a meaningful experience for everyone who participated, and we hoped this would become an annual event.” Sophomore Isaiah Braswell agreed that the event was an eye-opening practice. “It was a very sobering experience,” Braswell said. “It made me realize how much I relied on food for my attitude and my comfort,” He had never fasted before and spoke about the benefits of the experience. “I thought it was very hard but also very rewarding,” Braswell said. “There were moments of pain, but it showed me how weak I was. The fact that God could sustain you even when you were hungry was worth it.” Another participant was sophomore Ellie Kate Fitzhugh, Grant Fitzhugh’s sister. She offered insight on the fast and the additional spiritual practices that accompanied it. “There were three worship times at the different church buildings when the people who were fasting came together to fellowship,” Ellie Kate said. “It was a time that the students were encouraged to pray for revival and for the upcoming semester.” These churches planned to continue the 40-hour fast at the start of the next academic year, hoping to introduce more students to this spiritual practice. Written by Max Thweatt
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