Harmonizing Worship Arts and Design
After visiting Dordt University as a high school junior, Nicole Mahoney recalls telling her mom on the drive home, “If I don’t visit anyplace else, I’d be happy going here.”
The Covid-19 pandemic hit that spring, causing other colleges to cancel their visit days or move them online.
“So, I didn’t visit any other place, and here I am,” says Mahoney.
One of the reasons she picked Dordt was because of its worship arts program. Throughout her years at Dordt, Mahoney became a campus worship leader dedicated to hearing people’s stories and deepening the campus’s understanding of God.
“I think there’s something really powerful about the community at Dordt; we get to do life together and know each other’s stories, and then we get to worship together,” says Mahoney.
Mahoney has also taken part in recording tracks for Dordt Worship, including “Reign Above It All” and “Joy.” She led a short-term mission trip to St. Louis, Missouri, and she’s been a worship team leader for three years. But she’s not in it for the accolades.
“I connect with God through worship and through music, and I think a lot of other people feel that way as well,” says Mahoney. “It’s important really to me that those songs are forming people in a way that’s helpful and effective and makes God's character known.”
Outside Dordt, Mahoney also leads worship at Centerpoint Church in Hawarden, Iowa.
“Coming to college, it was tricky to do the whole ‘church shopping’ thing, because I just wanted to be someplace that already felt like home,” says Mahoney.
After visiting a few churches, Mahoney decided to commit to Centerpoint and become involved there. She attends a life group, a monthly gathering of church members from all ages and stages of life.
“It’s been huge for me, having a church community,” says Mahoney, “Getting to lead worship in two different contexts has been a huge blessing as well, especially in the way that it prepares me for where I want to head [after college].”
Mahoney is double majoring in worship arts and graphic design; she hopes to work in a church after graduation.
“I would love to work in a church and fill both of those shoes, be able to do some worship stuff and some graphic design stuff. The more that I’ve done both, that I’ve lived in both worlds, the more I realized that a lot of churches need both,” says Mahoney.
Mahoney’s professors and mentors have helped her to dig deeper into her faith and to find a solid community.
“At first, it was challenging for me to find a community; coming into freshman year of college, I didn’t have a super solid sense of who I was, what I wanted to do, and who I wanted to be,” says Mahoney.
During her sophomore year, Mahoney became more involved with worship arts and got plugged into the worship arts community at Dordt.
“I found a group of friends that I really loved through worship arts,” Mahoney says.
Mahoney’s classes, including Dr. Justin Bailey’s Leadership and Discipleship class, also challenged her academically and spiritually.
“Professors ask tough questions, but that's helpful for me as I grow and learn,” says Mahoney.
Mahoney feels that Dordt’s worship arts program has equipped her with practical skills for ministry after graduation. Her experience recording music with the Worship Arts program matches the recording process she might follow at other organizations.
“By the time I get to it, the track has already been built, so I essentially have the whole band in my headphones, and then I just sing along with the track,” says Mahoney.
Her experience leading a worship team and preparing worship sets also closely matches the processes that churches use to plan worship.
“I get really practical experience here at Dordt as a worship arts major; what I do here is very similar to what I would do in a church on a weekly basis,” Mahoney says.
