Heavy beats, hands in the air and jumping crowds of students wouldn’t make you think of much outside of a hopping night club, or at best a pretty successful middle school dance. However, in this case, it is just the opposite.

Instead of following the traditional interpretation of a Christian service, UnAshamed of Tuscaloosa offers a modern, younger version of Christian worship.

UnAshamed is a “student-led ministry” that meets every Thursday night at 8 at the Daystar Family Church in Tuscaloosa, according to their Facebook page.

Tyler Guice, a senior majoring in communication studies and one of the student leaders of UnAshamed, describes UnAshamed as a place for students to worship without the attachments of any particular denomination.

“UnAshamed offers students a place to worship freely and intimately with Jesus,” Guice said. “The cool thing about this ministry is that it is not attached to a particular church or denomination. This means there are hundreds of Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. together worshipping one God in their own way.”

The purpose of UnAshamed is to see young people changed by Christian worship, Guice said.

“We are here to show people that Jesus loves them exactly like they are and He wants to change their life forever,” he said. “Our purpose is to see young people saved and then plug them into the local church.”

What makes UnAshamed especially different from other Christian organizations on campus is the fact that UnAshamed is student-led, Guice said.

“Though there is a ministry and the gospel is preached, there is no staff or pastors who make UnAshamed happen,” he said. “It is completely run by a large group of students who volunteer their time and energy to see people impacted by Jesus Christ at UnAshamed.”

Any student is invited to come and worship no matter faith or denomination, Guice said.

Deirdra Drinkard, a senior majoring in journalism, said she attends UnAshamed for that very reason. The worship service makes it worth the visit, she said.

“UnAshamed is a great ministry that welcomes people from all denominations of the Christian faith,” Drinkard said. “The worship experience is indescribable. During worship, you will see hands up, eyes closed — hundreds of voices sing out in true praise.”

UnAshamed began in the fall of 2007 with 10 people who started a worship service in a friend’s backyard on Thursday nights, Guice said.

“God was moving, and by December of that year there were over 150 people at ‘The Backyard’ on Thursday nights,” he said. “The following spring, this move of God moved indoors and UnAshamed was birthed.”

Guice said popularity kept increasing.

“There are around 1,000 students that attend weekly,” he said. “This is due to the fact that God is moving, people are being impacted and they are spreading the word like crazy. Also, this ministry is different and that draws people to it. Many people are turned off by church services and want to have nothing to do with religion. UnAshamed’s services are not your average church services and it’s definitely something that young people can connect with.”

However, Guice said he does not necessarily define the success of UnAshamed as “how many people attend” or “how well-liked it is at UA.”

“Instead we define success as lives being changed and disciples of Jesus being made,” Guice said. “This is definitely happening. People e-mail us all the time with stories and testimonies of what God has done in their life at UnAshamed. This is what motivates us to touch this city for Jesus.”

Outside of the main UnAshamed service, he said there are a variety of other activities and events.

There is a discipleship program called “Equip U” for people who want to be “discipled” and be heavily involved with UnAshamed, Guice said. There is also a program called “Serve U” for students who want to help out and get involved with the ministry.

There are a variety of community outreach programs including feeding the homeless, serving at soup kitchens, providing canned food, participating in coat drives and more, Guice said.

“I know lives are touched each Thursday,” Drinkard said. “I am thankful there are ministries like this available to the Tuscaloosa area. It truly is an awesome experience.”