Powerhouse: then and now

Chapel services remain a staple of the Messiah experience, but in the late ’80s, the College added evening concerts of prayer to offer a less formal worship setting, too. In 1989, these concerts—which allowed students to linger in the presence of God as they prayed and encouraged one other—became known as Powerhouse.

The first Powerhouse gathering included a group of only 30 students. Oh, how things have changed. Today, Powerhouse worship leaders must pay close attention to fire codes, due to the mass amount of students who flood Hostetter Chapel on Thursday nights.

“Powerhouse represents what God does through students who have hearts for worship,” said Mark Templeton ’91, director of leadership gifts, one of the founders of the event.

Priscilla Paino ’20, a music and worship major, who serves as the current president of Powerhouse, says Thursday nights provide a time when students come together and worship through good times and bad. “Here on campus, we do life together. We go through joy, pain, sickness and celebration together as a community,” she said.

While Paino and her team lead students in worship, other students, such as social work major Anita Garber ’20, make their way through the crowd, praying and encouraging their peers.

The Messiah College worshiping community changes every year. “Seven hundred students graduate, 700 new students come in,” explained Douglas Curry ’91, who has served as the College’s worship pastor since the 1990s.

As a microcosm of the larger church culture, Curry and his teams work to expand students’ understanding of the global Christian community, implementing a variety of worship styles from around the world.

In a sense, the Worship Community at Messiah is no different from our athletic teams,” said Curry. “Players come in with skills and abilities, but they need to grow. They need to learn how and why they play on this team.

While styles and forms of worship shift over time, today’s Worship Community maintains staples of worship, such as hymns. The hymn sings have become an engaging, popular event on campus, according to Curry.

While Powerhouse has grown through the decades, the weekly event continues as a timeless part of the Messiah experience for students to engage in traditional and modern styles of Christian worship to celebrate the story of God through music.

- Jake Miaczynski ’20