'It's God-Glorifying': Signs of Revival Breaking Out at Innovative Christian Night Club in Nashville

Night clubs are not often known for their redemptive value, but one faith-based hot spot in Nashville, TN is hoping to change that.

The Cove is an 18-and-up, pop-up Christian nightclub that was started last year by seven Black Christian men in their twenties who sought to build a thriving community and a welcoming space for young adults outside houses of worship.

"My dream for The Cove is to be an inspiration for revival. I believe that revival starts in yourself personally, and then from there, it spreads. So I want this to spread like a wildfire," Eric Diggs, co-founder of The Cove, said. 

There's no smoking or drinking, and the Cove plays exclusively Christian music including hip-hop, bachata, and reggaeton.

The founders launched the nightclub because church attendance has been dwindling since the pandemic. 

This was especially true among Black Protestants – a decline that surveys say is unmatched by any other major religious group. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, the number of Black Protestants who say they attend services monthly has fallen from 61% in 2019 to 46% now.

"We ourselves experienced the pain point of not being able to find community outside of our church, not knowing what to do to have fun without feeling like bad for doing stuff that's conflicting to our values," Diggs expressed. "There wasn't a space to cultivate that. And so we created ourselves out of that pain point, you know, the loneliness, the anxiety, depression." 

The founders set a goal to launch their first event in November and their marketing strategy was to gain 1,000 followers on social media by that time. 

"We ended up getting more than 10,000 followers before our first event, which was insane," said Eric's brother, Jordan Diggs, 22, who manages the club's social media presence.

"Christians get a rep for being corny," he added. "We want to show that Christians can be normal, can be cool. And they can have fun."

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Each month the club holds an event and it has continued to grow exponentially in popularity. 

"What surprised me the most is the diversity, honestly," said Aaron Dews, one of the club founders. "With us being seven Black guys, just seeing the expansion of the type of people that we can bring in, and the unification around one idea has been incredibly encouraging."

One couple traveled all the way from Brisbane, Australia to attend an event that took place in February. 

"We thought, this is cool — it's God-glorifying," Haynza Posala, 23, said. 

"It's surreal," said Kim Posala, 24. "It's a community and that's what church is about."

Even among the club's high praise, there has been criticism by some who say that dancing and worship don't go together — or even see it as a sin. "It sounds oxymoronic — a Christian dance club," said Nicholas Oldham, who manages the club's business.

But what has often happened is the club-like atmosphere turns into a revival of sorts.

"People have their hands lifted up. People crying and weeping and other people praying for each other. It really shows that there's something different happening," said another of the seven co-founders, Shem Rivera. "It's not just about a nightclub. It's not just The Cove nightclub. This is bigger than that."

The club founders hope to go on tour across America and inspire the creation of other dance and worship clubs for young people of faith across the world.

Until then, they are preparing for another nightclub event on March 16. The theme is March Madness and attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite team's jersey.