Paradigm celebrates over 100 salvations

BY BETHANY KILPATRICK

Multimedia Journalist

Some call it a revival, others call it a movement of God. Regardless of what it should be called, something undeniable is happening in Stephenville, Texas.

Paradigm is a college ministry that is one of many ministries of the First Baptist Church in Stephenville. It is designed to spread the Gospel message to college-age students in the surrounding areas. Beginning in August 2024, the ministry set a goal of seeing 100 students receive the gift of salvation, and on Feb. 6, 2025, that goal was surpassed. 

Drake Wayland is the college minister at the First Baptist Church in Stephenville and has held that position since Dec. 2023.

“We are on a mission to reach Tarleton students,” Wayland said. 

Every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Paradigm hosts its weekly gathering that includes a time of worship, a message given by Wayland or Christ Hurt, a visiting pastor from Frisco, Texas, that focuses on teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and time to converse and meet new people within the community. 

Wayland and other Paradigm leaders followed the calling they believed that God was putting on their hearts at the beginning of the fall semester in Aug. 2024. They designed a sign that read, “Jesus,” with 100 push lights positioned strategically around the letters. Each light was designed to be turned on when a student accepted salvation.

To accept salvation means to admit to God that one is a sinner, along with their personal belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God, who lived a perfect life and died out of love to atone for humanity’s sins — changing the sinner’s destiny from an eternal separation from God in Hell to one spent in Heaven rejoicing in all of God’s glory. One would then confess their faith in God.  

Salvation is often referred to as a gift, as it is the acceptance of forgiveness of one’s wrongdoings that also results in a promise of eternity in Heaven. While the cost for God to offer this gift to humans was his son’s death on the cross, the cost of one accepting the gift of salvation is free. 

The Holy Bible is Christianity’s reference point and source for all of its teachings. There are 66 books in the Bible, Romans being one of them.

“For the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23, “But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”   

The idea behind the sign Wayland and other leaders designed was to eventually see it fully lit up, representing 100 salvations.

“We have the idea that Jesus is the light of the world,” Wayland said. “He brings light to the world, and we get to be the light of the world. That is what he commands in Matthew chapter five.”

The tie between light and salvation has significant meaning to the vision that Wayland claimed God laid on his heart. 

“Light represents something with that person where they are like, ‘I am at the end of myself. I need to place my faith in Jesus,’” Wayland said. “If self is the problem, then self can not be the answer. It is Jesus that is the answer. That is what each one of those lights represents. It is salvation — a moment where those students pass from death to life, when they pass from the dead of this world to eternal life with Jesus.”

Wayland described the pure joy and bliss that is experienced when one student flips on a light, representing their personal decision to place their faith and trust in Jesus.

“I think the best thing that is happening in Stephenville, Texas, on a Thursday night is whenever one person makes a decision to follow Jesus,” Wayland said. “And (then) goes and turns that light on to represent their salvation, and the entire room erupts in cheering and chanting that person on. It is amazing. It is such a cool cool thing to be a part of.”

On Feb. 6, 2025, the first night of Paradigm’s meeting in the First Baptist Church of Stephenville’s sanctuary due to the outgrowth of their previous meeting location, Wayland brought two students on stage to announce their salvation and allowed them to flip on the last two remaining lights.

“I was wearing a hat,” Wayland said. “And the first thing that had to happen is I had to take it off because I could not believe how loving God really is.”

Caio Pereira is a student at Tarleton, originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who is one of the many students who accepted salvation at Paradigm.

“My first night at Paradigm,” Pereira said, “Drake (Wayland) gave a sermon describing Christianity as a race. It was really the perfect sermon for me to hear as it alleviated the stress of understanding what it is like to be a Christian by relating to an interest of mine.”

On Nov. 13, 2024, Pereira made the decision to accept God’s gift of salvation into his life.

“Drake spoke of boldness, and that we are called to be bold in our faith,” Pereira said. “At the end, he challenged those who weren’t yet saved to raise their hands if they were ready to accept Jesus Christ as their savior, and I was one of those who did.”

Pereira recalls the feeling that immediately accompanied his decision. 

“Although raising my hand felt like a leap of boldness, with everything else that followed, I felt a supreme confidence,” Pereira said. “Turning on that light switch in front of a crowd would normally make me feel embarrassed and self-conscious, but in that moment I felt a strength and a drive that made me look past the judgment and look to God with open arms.”

Pereira attended Paradigm the night all of the lights on the sign had been turned on.

“I felt such an internal joy,” Pereira said, “knowing the feeling of being in their shoes and knowing that they have made the most important decision of their life, coming into the Kingdom of God.”

After services that evening, more students declared their choice of accepting salvation, but there were no more lights to be turned on. Leaders brought the students on stage and handed them confetti poppers to pop as an alternative. 

To further continue rejoicing over the surpassing of 100 salvations, 100 confetti poppers were dispersed to students within the crowd and were shot all at the same time. Paradigm’s worship band began to play, “I Thank God” by Maverick City Music, and the room erupted into a time of fellowship, celebration and praise.

In order to continue the celebration and representation of students’ salvations, 50 additional lights have since been added to the sign to be turned on when a student is saved. 

“We have shifted the goal from 100 salvations to 150,” Wayland said. “And that is not to where we can just hit a certain number and feel good about ourselves, that is because we have never seen anything like this, and we want God to continue to move, and we want to get out of his way.”

Paradigm will continue to hold its weekly gatherings at 334 Green St., Stephenville, Texas 76401.