GCU Today April Digital Issue 2018

I t’s 9:30 a.m. Do you know where your rock band is? If your rock band is of the typical rock band ilk, then the lead singer, axe man and the rest are likely asleep in a hotel room after an eardrum-decimating concert that ended around midnight. But at 9:30 a.m. on Mondays at Grand Canyon University, with the sun’s rays just spilling over Camelback Mountain, the Lopes know where their band is, though calling it a rock band isn’t at all accurate despite the electric guitars. By that time, the group has dug its heels into the stage at 7,000-capacity GCU Arena, the same stage where the Beach Boys, Casting Crowns and Third Day have played. The musicians are in the midst of Monday morning rehearsal as they prime their vocals, oil their musicianship and smooth out any kinks before the beginning of Chapel, the wonderfully unique thing that happens most Monday mornings at GCU. Unlike most universities, GCU likes to start off its week with a 45-minute Chapel service that includes a 25-minute talk by a guest speaker — usually a Phoenix-area pastor — and 20 minutes of praise and worship songs by the Chapel band, or as Spiritual Life Worship Manager Jared Ulrich calls it, the Worship Team. “We try to avoid the word ‘band’ because it suggests a more ‘rock star’ connotation,” Ulrich said. “There’s so much more work that goes into what we do than just a band playing music.” Musicians from one band on the team are on stage for sound check, dressed in jeans and T-shirts, like their fellow GCU students. The technical crew has been at the Arena even earlier, since about 7 a.m. The band is zipping through its set: “Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out 2 2 • GCU MAGAZ I NE Worship Team strikes a chord at Chapel with its weekly inspiration B Y L A N A S W E E T E N - S H U L T S Well-composed TheWorship Team performs at the start of Chapel every Monday in GCU Arena. photo by travis neely Quinn Turner puts her heart into a Chapel song. photo by travis neely