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Lively worship led by ��ݮ��Ƶ gospel choir director and American Idol top 12 finalist Roman Collins ushered Biola students, staff and faculty into Biola’s Fall 2024 Convocation Chapel. Hailing from 48 countries and 45 states, more than 1,650 undergraduate and graduate students started classes at Biola on Tuesday, Sept. 3. This is the largest incoming class since Fall 2019.

“��ݮ��Ƶ’s vision is to be an exemplary Christian university, characterized as a community abiding in truth, abounding with grace and compelled by Christ’s love to be a relevant and redemptive voice in a changing world,” said Biola President Barry H. Corey in his welcome remarks. “We are pleased this day to invite you, both new faculty and new students, into this community.”

On Wednesday, first-year students and seven new faculty members received special welcomes at Biola’s Convocation chapel, where Corey addressed the community alongside other university leaders.

Corey shared a message about how Jesus Christ’s love compels the Christian, which was a launching pad for the rest of Biola chapels this year, which will be themed “Compelled” based on the apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Corey brought to light the antithesis of the Corinthians when referring to the Christian recipients of Paul’s letters.

“The bottom line is this: Christians said they believed the gospel, but their behavior said they didn’t,” said Corey. “And that’s a shallow faith — a faith without depth. And Christians said that they were united in Christ, but their discord said they weren’t. And that’s a narrow faith — a faith without breadth.”

Corey concluded his message with a charge forward.

“And I don’t know why some of these same issues are perplexing Christians now as much as they did then,” he said. “Too many settle for narrow or shallow, skimping on the profound depth of the gospel, and missing the beautiful breadth of God’s people. So this year, we’re going to find out why.”

Students can view the full chapel schedule and read more about chapel opportunities on campus by visiting the Chapel Schedule. The Convocation chapel can be watched on channel.

Prior to the first week of classes, students experienced a concierge move-in experience followed by a warm Biola welcome ceremony concluded with the special tradition of communion for families. Tomorrow, Biola breaks ground on the state-of-the-art 45,463 square-foot studio facility for students in the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts. Set to be completed in 2026, the building will feature a 3,000-square-foot soundstage, 285-seat theater, collaborative editing spaces and much more. Additionally, Biola is officially launching its AI Lab with the very first EngageX series on Sept. 12 featuring Biola’s own associate dean of technology, Dr. Yohan Lee, as the keynote speaker on a redemptive AI future.

Written by Sarah Dougher, media relations specialist. For more information, contact media.relations@biola.edu.