For two decades, one Nashville tradition has quietly shaped the spiritual lives of young Black scholars across the South. While many college milestones are celebrated with tailgates, homecomings, and stepping on the yard, Mt. Zion Baptist Church created something different—an intentional moment for students to reconnect with God, recharge their purpose, and remember who they are beyond the classroom.
Faith, Fellowship & Future Leaders: Mt. Zion’s College Sunday Marks 20 Years of Keeping Students Covered in Christ Across the South
This year, Mt. Zion’s 20th Annual College Sunday Celebration—VIZN—will welcome students from HBCUs, PWIs, community colleges, and universities across the region on Sunday, November 9. What began as a single church’s outreach has now impacted more than 200,000 students over the past 20 years—a number that speaks not only to attendance, but to the movement College Sunday has become.
A Southern Tradition Rooted in Faith + Future
College Sunday was created with one simple truth in mind: students may leave home for school, but they still need a spiritual home. From Western Kentucky University to Clark Atlanta University, from Memphis to Huntsville, busloads of students make the trip to Nashville each year—not because it’s required, but because the experience feels like coming home.
The day is intentionally curated to feel familiar to students: high-energy praise, choir performances that sound like Sunday and the yard, and preaching that speaks directly to young Black adults navigating purpose, pressure, and identity…