Hundreds of students gathered on the south Campanile lawn on Thursday night to take part in the Salt Company’s fall kickoff event. The event featured live music and speeches from Cornerstone Church members like assistant Salt Company director, Cody Cline.

“The Salt Company is here to tell the good news of Jesus,” Cline said. “In everyone there is the desire to be a part of something great.”

Cline spoke to excited students from freshmen to seniors and even a few Ames community members about the importance of community and establishing connections within one’s faith.

“I thought it was really cool how open everyone is about their faith” said Kristin Cardinal, freshman in animal science who just heard the music and followed the green shirts of the volunteers. “It’s great that we can come together.”

Students streamed in and out of the concert grounds throughout the evening. Many students sat in the grass to enjoy the live music and speeches.

“With the concert and speaker, it’s a unique environment for students to come and get connected and hear that God loves them,” said Jesse Reyes, junior in agriculture business.

However, despite the significant involvement of leadership within the Cornerstone Church, Cline was thrilled with the hard work of the students and said his key to the successful evening was to recruit the best students.

“Our goal was to get our name out there so people could get together and worship God,” said Casey Dague, sophomore in computer engineering who is involved in the international ministry of Cornerstone. “We did a lot of promotion and we got a lot of people here. This is awesome.”

The Salt Company will continue to host events throughout the semester including group Bible studies and Thursday evening worship.