A Gilmer High graduate organized dozens of Christian students to chalk the entire Gospel of John on Kennesaw State University sidewalks.
KSU junior Jesse Murillo Hernandez said he was honored to coordinate the Bible verse project, completed on April 2 and 3, to give people a sign of hope or encouragement as they strolled through campus.
While on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in November, he met someone who did a similar project on UNC Charlotte’s campus. Once it got a bit warmer outside, and with continued encouragement from that friend, he decided to reach out to his college ministry with the idea.
“A lot of people were willing to jump in,” he said. “I think that’s the beauty of community and being a part of something bigger than yourself.”
The Gospel of John is lengthy with a total of 879 verses. To complete this project, he needed at least 40 other students, with legible handwriting he added, to each write about 20 verses with the colorful chalk.
“We were able to fill up the entire sidewalk of the green, and we started at 10 p.m. and continued until 1 p.m. the next day,” Murillo Hernandez said.
It wasn’t their goal to associate their own names or ministry with the project, but rather to allow those passing by a chance to access the Gospel.
“That way, no one has to worry about who did what or where it came from,” he explained. “It just appeared, and that’s how people are reached. That’s how people get to hear the Word of the Lord. That’s how people get to encounter Him.”
As volunteers were writing their verses, curious students stopped to learn more about it, giving them a chance to share the Gospel even further. Murillo Hernandez spotted people reading the entire Gospel of John from beginning to end across the green.
“The hope is always Christ magnified and glorified in his people,” he voiced. “When we magnify and exalt God, we actually gain the correct perspective as to how we should live in our day-to-day-lives as followers of Jesus. We just wanted people to hear, encounter and read the Word of the Lord.”
The project didn’t just reach students. Murillo Hernandez said a professor told him that while on his typical run across the chalked sidewalks, certain verses really stuck out to him. Other professors told volunteers how amazed and happy they were to see something like this on campus.
Murillo Hernandez is a member of First Baptist Church of Ellijay. He’s studying business management with a pre-med minor at KSU. He plans to become a physician’s assistant working in pediatrics.