NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥 The young crowd at a Nashville nightclub was ready to dance under the strobe lights to a throbbing mix of hip-hop, rap and Latin beats. But first they gathered to pray and praise God.
The rules were announced on the dance floor by a mic-carrying emcee to more than 200 : 鈥漅ule No. 1: No twerking. Second rule: No drinking. And a third rule: No smoking.鈥 The last unspoken rule seemed obvious by then: No secular music 鈥 the playlist would be all Christian.
Welcome to .
The pop-up, 18-and-up Christian nightclub was launched last year by seven Black Christian men in their 20s 鈥 among them an Ivy League-educated financial analyst, musicians and social media experts 鈥 who sought to build a thriving community and a welcoming space for young Christians outside . The launch comes at a , especially among that surveys say is unmatched by any other major religious group.
鈥淲e ourselves experienced a pain point of not being able to find community outside of our church, not knowing what to do to have fun without feeling bad for doing stuff that鈥檚 conflicting to our values,鈥 said Eric Diggs, The Cove's 24-year-old CEO.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a space to cultivate that. So, we created it ourselves out of that pain point 鈥 the loneliness, the anxiety, depression, COVID, and the long quarantine.
PROVING THAT CHRISTIANS CAN BE COOL 鈥 NOT CORNY
Before their first monthly party in November, they set an ambitious goal: get 1,000 followers on social media. 鈥淲e ended up getting more than 10,000 followers before our first event, which was insane,鈥 said Eric's brother, Jordan Diggs, 22, who manages the club鈥檚 social media presence.
鈥淐hristians get a rep for being corny. And we want to show that Christians can be normal, can be cool. And they can have fun.鈥
A second equally popular event was timed to ring in the New Year. A third was held in February.
For weeks, on its 鈥 under hashtags like #jesuschrist #nightclubs 鈥 club organizers asked people to be ready to dance the worship night away and look their best: 鈥淲hen you pull up, we expect to see you in your Holiest Drip.鈥
At the mid-February event, many in the racially and ethnically diverse crowd wore a rainbow of vivid colors 鈥 fluorescent turquoise, electric orange, neon pink 鈥 in their Nike, Adidas and New Balance sneakers. Or hoodies with images of and varsity jackets with Scripture from the .
鈥淲hat surprised me the most is the diversity, honestly," said Aaron Dews, one of the club founders. 鈥淲ith us being seven Black guys, just seeing the expansion of the type of people that we can bring in, and the unification around one idea has been incredibly encouraging.鈥
Food trucks in the parking lot awaited hungry clubbers. Inside, Benji Shuler sold vintage clothes with religious messages that hung from racks. A white T-shirt with the iconic Pepsi logo read: 鈥淛esus: The Choice of a New Generation,鈥 echoing the soda company鈥檚 tagline from decades ago.
In lieu of alcohol, vendors sold sports drinks, bottled water and soda. Organizers cheerfully set up early. They hung Christmas-style lights from ceilings, sang a cappella and rehearsed their best choreographed moves.
CLUB BECOMES A DESTINATION FOR CHRISTIANS NEAR AND FAR
Before he impressed everyone with his dance moves, Garrett Bland, 20, listened on his phone to 鈥淒eliver Me,鈥 by gospel singer Donald Lawrence. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about letting the Lord into your life,鈥 he said, wearing a gold medallion around his neck inscribed with the Lord鈥檚 Prayer and a beige hoodie that read: 鈥淕od first.鈥
He admired what The Cove's founders are trying to do, saying, 鈥渢hey want to create a space for believers who want to come to the faith and have fun.鈥
Wearing a blue hoodie embroidered in white with 鈥測oung sons of God,鈥 Eric Diggs asked organizers and volunteers to join him in prayer. 鈥淒ear God, thank you for this night,鈥 he said. 鈥淎men!鈥 the group said in unison before the huddled like a basketball team before a game 鈥 and yelled: 鈥淭he Cove!鈥
Nia Gant, 18, attended the club for the first time. She moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan, four months ago and said she had been praying to make like-minded friends. 鈥淚 think joy and can go together,鈥 said Gant, who wore nose piercings, Air Jordans and ripped jeans. 鈥淕od,鈥 she said, 鈥渋s joy.鈥
Soon after, a line of people who had bought tickets in advance snaked outside to enter the nightclub. At the door, security officers in bullet-proof vests frisked clubgoers. Inside, they chatted, laughed and greeted each other with high fives.
Word quickly spread around that a couple had traveled 9,000-plus miles from their home in Brisbane, Australia, to the Christian club in the Tennessee capital known as Music City. It was true: Haynza Posala, 23, and his wife, Kim Posala, 24, heard about The Cove through a co-hosted by Darin Starks, one of the club鈥檚 founders.
鈥淲e thought, this is cool 鈥 it鈥檚 God glorifying,鈥 Haynza Posala said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 surreal,鈥 said Kim Posala, looking around as people in trucker hats, berets and baseball caps streamed into the club and were handed bracelets of different colors. 鈥淚t鈥檚 community and that鈥檚 what church is about.鈥
Mic in hand, Carlton Batts Jr., a musician who is one of the founders and who was the designated DJ and emcee, asked people on the dance floor questions, dividing them into groups: 鈥淚f you like prefer listening to music, come over here,鈥 he said pointing to one side. 鈥淚f you prefer podcasts, over here."
鈥淚n church people can be really cliquey," Batts said. 鈥淪o here, we give them prompts, so when we start the DJ set people are really comfortable dancing.鈥
The crowd went wild when the DJ played 鈥淎lacazam,鈥 by rapper Caleb Gordon, who has grown popular for his , especially . They gasped and cheered when 21-year-old Dillan Runions, a former competition dancer, performed a back flip on the dance floor.
DANCE PARTY BLENDS INTO AN EMOTIONAL WORSHIP SERVICE
Eventually, it turned into a revival of sorts: Some wept or knelt with . Whispering, someone in a small group asked God 鈥渢o keep away negative suicidal thoughts.鈥
Many belted out a gospel song that everyone seemed to know by heart: 鈥淎 God like you鈥 by choir director, rapper and songwriter Kirk Franklin.
The feedback has been mostly positive. Club founders have also faced criticism on TikTok from some who say that dancing and worship don鈥檛 go together 鈥 or even see it as a sin. Jordan Diggs says he embraces the attention, good or bad 鈥 鈥渏ust the words Christian and nightclub is going to start a lot of conversation.鈥
Other generations are noticing. At some point, Shem Rivera, 26, a worship leader and a founder walked up to 18-year-old Noah Moon on the dance floor, and asked him how he had heard about The Cove.
鈥淢y mom told me about it 鈥 she sent me a video on Instagram," said Moon, who had just moved from Kansas to Nashville the day before. 鈥淭hat's fire!鈥 Rivera responded smiling.
At the end, they all silently prayed. 鈥淚t sounds oxymoronic 鈥 a Christian dance club,鈥 said Nicholas Oldham, who manages the club鈥檚 business. He was initially skeptical and even wondered if it was sacrilegious.
鈥淔un is the lure; it鈥檚 bait," he said, adding that what happens on the dance floor is so much more than that.
鈥淲hat it says for old fogies like me, is that the young are hungry for the word of God,鈥 said Oldham, who is in his 40s. 鈥淭he church isn鈥檛 the building, and these young people are catching up to that.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
