Grammy-winning Christian artist Chris Tomlin honored the staff and students from The Covenant School during his popular Good Friday concert over the weekend, bringing members of the Covenant community on stage and announcing a fund that will benefit the needs of the Nashville school that was the target of a mass shooting.
Tomlin invited a Covenant teacher along with five students and two Covenant parents on stage at Bridgestone Arena. He also invited Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake on stage. Tomlin said about 200 Covenant families and 200 families from the Nashville Police Force were at the concert.
Proceeds from the concert, he said, would benefit Covenant families. Proceeds also would benefit a foundation for children and families of fallen police officers and first responders, he said.
“We're setting up a Covenant fund, that we'll be working with the leadership in the coming weeks, in the coming months, for whatever you need … to bless this school,” Tomlin told the members of the Covenant community at the concert as thousands in attendance applauded.
It was the seventh year for the “Good Friday Nashville” concert, which is one of the most popular Christian concerts of the year in Nashville and benefits local charities. Noting the different denominations represented at the concert, Tomlin said there were all “different flavors of the church here tonight” but “we're one -- we're brothers and sisters, we're sons and daughters tonight.”
A local pastor prayed for the Covenant community during the concert.
Drake, the police chief, also addressed the crowd.
“I'm so thankful for not only men and women, for going in immediately and doing the right thing but also for the teachers who followed protocol. They saved kids as well,” Drake said.
“Evil will never win. Where there’s dark, there’s light,” Drake said. “Where there’s despair, there’s hope. We will prevail. We are resilient.”
The school announced last week that it will finish the current academic year at a nearby congregation, Brentwood Hills Church of Christ, according to The Christian Chronicle.
Photo Courtesy: ©UPtv/RobbyKlein
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
