“Turning Point USA” and Charlie Kirk signage covered the walls of Awaken Church Bay Ho for TPUSA at Loma’s first event following its establishment as a group not affiliated with Point Loma Nazarene University. Hats with “47” for President Donald Trump and Constitution booklets were on tables for free, as well as clothing pins that had phrases including “The future is bright” and “Being female isn’t a feeling.” PLNU students and San Diego residents filled in to hear College Avenue Church’s Senior Pastor, Chris Hilken, speak.
On Jan. 22, nearly 100 people gathered at Awaken Church, whose founder and lead pastor’s goal was to influence politics and endorse Trump during the 2024 election. The event, “What Happens When Conviction Meets Compassion?” took place in the evening. Some said they were there to support TPUSA, while others said they were curious to learn more about the organization.
The event opened with worship, followed by a prayer from the group’s spiritual advisor, Ethan Harris, a third-year Christian studies major, who said during the prayer, “This isn’t about politics.”
Ginger Friess, TPUSA at Loma president and first-year biology-chemistry major, gave a brief message before introducing Hilken. She told the group, “It’s OK to love our country,” and concluded with an encouragement to “use our God-given rights to preach truth and love.”
Hilken, a trained apologist, professor and psychologist, opened his sermon by addressing those who questioned why he was speaking at TPUSA, saying “I’m there” to any request to talk about the Bible and Jesus.
“We’ve been incredibly moved by what Chris Hilken has been doing at College Avenue,” Friess said. “He just has a heart for young people; he has a heart for teaching sound biblical theology, and he has such a brilliant mind.”
Hilken spoke from the book of John, chapter four, without mentioning politics, concluding his message by saying Jesus must be the cornerstone in everyone’s life. After the sermon, Hilken did a Q&A with the audience, where students lined up down the aisle for a chance to speak into the microphone.
Friess said that the goal was to gather students interested in hearing from Hilken and in what TPUSA is doing. She also said that the event was for “conservative students to help them feel and see that there truly is a vibrant and awakening community” in the Point Loma area.
Lindley Needelman, a first-year child development major, said she attended because she was excited that there was a TPUSA event and to hear Hilken speak.
“I thought [the event] was really successful,” Needelman said. “I think that it did a really good job of combining the values of Turning Point and Point Loma and not misrepresenting Christ while still putting our conservative values out there.”
She also said she appreciated how, during the Q&A session, Hilken strayed away from taking a political stance and instead focused on God.
At the end of the event, Friess announced that the TPUSA at Loma board will meet on PLNU’s campus weekly, not through the Associated Student Body, but by faculty members, she said.
“We shared with Dr. [Kerry] Fulcher our desire to meet the needs of students on campus, and we understood that it was available under general institutional policy to hold intellectual forums through faculty,” Friess said.
However, Fulcher said that it “all depends on what they’re trying to do,” in an email interview. He clarified that student groups are welcome to gather to discuss topics informally, but in order to host events for others to attend, they must go through an approval process.
He said that university departments or schools are able to host events that they sponsor. Friess wasn’t clear on who would be sponsoring TPUSA at Loma, but Fulcher said individual faculty members cannot host events without approval.
Friess said that future meeting dates on campus are not confirmed yet, and they’re “figuring out what works best for the people that want to come.”
Zoey Peters 
Ava Bailey-Klugh