The bells finished clanging at Davis Wade Stadium around 10:30 pm on Saturday, September 26, after the Mississippi State University Bulldogs sealed their victory over the Missouri Tigers. You can sense excitement growing with the expectations around Starkville, Mississippi, as MSU racks up four straight victories to start the season. Starkville’s official population, according to the Census Bureau, is 25,753, but officials estimate that it swells threefold on gameday.
The first morning service at Grace Presbyterian Church starts at 8:30 a.m. The church is the only PCA congregation in the city and in Oktibbeha County. It is conveniently located about two miles from campus and the town’s center. Established in 1978, Grace has been a key partner for decades with Reformed University Fellowship at MSU, one of the oldest and largest RUF ministries in the nation.
As the cars roll into the parking lot off Academy Road on this particular Sunday morning, the evidence of yesterday’s game remains. Truck beds are loaded with the tables, coolers, and gear that supplied Saturday’s tailgating experience. Worshippers walking toward the church building sport varying shades of maroon. You can spot polos, pullovers, sport coats, and dresses all signaling Bulldog fandom.
Less than 12 hours earlier, the Bulldogs completed a come-from-behind victory on national television, and as Seth Starkey steps behind the pulpit to start the Sunday service, he knows that worship may not be foremost in people’s minds. He confesses that he had to regulate his enthusiasm while watching the ballgame to preserve his voice for Sunday worship. However, he admits that the carpet in his living room suffered from his pacing back and forth during the close competition.
The game’s late ending might have been hard for most adults to handle, but it doesn’t seem to phase the college students. The church has an orchestra and choir, which appear to be primarily composed of undergraduates. The congregation is a mix of college students, young couples, and families. At this early service, around 150 people fill the sanctuary. At Grace’s 11:00 a.m. service, parking spots and sanctuary seats are more difficult to find.
Gameday brings all sorts of people to town: parents visiting their children and catching the game; alumni visiting campus for the big game and returning to their college home church; and fans from around the state who come to Starkville for games and want to worship before heading home.
Grace’s building feels modern while its service follows a traditional liturgy centered around hymns, prayers, and preaching. Starkey recently began a series studying John’s gospel and is focused this Sunday on Jesus calling Phillip to be his disciple, who in turn calls Nathanael. “Found people find people,” Starkey repeatedly emphasized. He admitted that Presbyterians often fall short in this area of inviting people to Jesus and challenged the congregation to be more intentional in its commitment to the Great Commission.
Before and after the service, people chat about yesterday’s game. They swap stories about their gameday experiences and console each other about the hearing problems that come with being in a stadium filled with ringing cowbells. As the early service dismisses, cars are pulling into the parking lot for the Sunday school hour.
All of the 16 towns with a Southeastern Conference college have at least one PCA church, and 13 have more than one PCA congregation. Starkville is one of the three towns — along with College Station, Texas, and Stillwater, Oklahoma — with only one congregation. RUF is represented at every SEC school, which is also where RUF enjoys some of its highest attendance. Hundreds attend the weekly large group at Mississippi State, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
You’ll never find yourself in Starkville accidentally. For most people, there’s really one attraction that brings them to town: MSU. The state decided to locate the university in Starkville because it was central to the agricultural region of the state. Now, the small town shares its streets and spaces with over 25,000 students.
Like the town, the church is intertwined with the university. Many of the members work at the school. The session and diaconate include professors and researchers from the forestry, music, engineering, and computer science departments, as well as staff from the athletic department, like the stadium’s public address announcer.
Although cowbells do not appear on Sunday morning, they are never far away in this town. They become family heirlooms passed down from one generation to the next. Grace Presbyterian helps families pass down the Christian faith to their children, those raised in the church and those who are temporary residents at the university.
You’ll find Christians gathering at Grace to start their week celebrating the resurrection of Christ. And you’ll find them ending most weeks with cowbell in hand, cheering on their Bulldogs.
Andy Jones is the editor of byFaith.