By Asbury University - July 29, 2019 - WILMORE, KY - Asbury University went out to the ball game Saturday night for the annual Faith & Family Night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Asbury-sponsored Lexington Legends baseball game, fireworks show and concert from Christian band I Am They drew a crowd of more than 7,000. View a photo gallery below!
Nearly 40 church and youth groups were in attendance, in addition to a plethora of Asbury alumni, current students, staff and friends of the University.
Guests took in a alto horn performance of the national anthem by Professor Nathan Miller ’05 and later stood for a breathtaking rendition of “God Bless America” by Asburians Colin ’09 and Jamie Lloyd ’14 McGlothlin, and Andrew ’11 and Hannah Schell ’14 Miller. Asbury’s Director of Alumni Relations, Lisa Falin ’90 Harper, gave the benediction.
Much to the delight of local fans, the Legends won a nail-biting game against the Augusta GreenJackets with a score of 6-1.
The fun night was filled with prize giveaways ranging from a private suite at an upcoming game to t-shirts and even scholarships to attend Asbury. Throughout the evening, Asbury gave away a total of $20,000 in scholarship dollars. Kids also took part in jovial games in between innings and watched an exciting demonstration from Asbury Equine prior to the game.
Following the game, a fantastic firework show lit up the clear, summer sky, wowing the crowd of baseball fans, before the evening ended with a concert from I Am They, whose single “Scars” has found popularity on Christian radio stations since its release in 2018. Asbury has partnered with the Lexington Legends to sponsor Faith & Family Night for over a decade, and have featured bands such as The Afters, 7eventh Time Down and Sanctus Real in past years.
Friends and current students Caroline Bailey ’22 and Anna Lauren Jacobs ’22 appreciated getting to fellowship with those from the Asbury community while taking in the game.
“I thought it would be interesting to see how Asbury blended what Asbury stands for with something so simple and fun as a baseball game,” Jacobs said. “I wanted to see how all that could come together, and you could have fun and worship God at the same time.”
Community members were also happy to be able to attend the Asbury-sponsored event.
“We actually have a life group through our church and probably 80 percent of our life group graduated from Asbury,” Lori Tullar of Wilmore, Ky. said. “I’m most excited about the atmosphere.”