Two brothers.
One community.
One Collective.
Alumnus Jax Lombard and his brother Lawson, a senior, co-founded the Vandegrift Collective. The Lombards began it after helping lead a similar club at Lake Travis.
“We loved serving at LT, but Vandegrift is our home and our people, and they needed Jesus,” Lawson said. “Our goal was to simply give every person an opportunity to know Jesus.”
The monthly student-led Collectives occur in the school cafeteria, usually on Sunday evenings.
“Lots of people come already as believers, and our goal with a group like that is to just bring in more people,” senior Nyla Smith, a member of the lead team, said. “We want there to be a community of Christ followers in our school, to help others find freedom in Jesus, and believe it makes a difference having a church-like gathering in our school.”
Each Collective is structured to begin with 10 minutes of games, followed by a group game, which then leads to a time for worship and students to give sermons.
“The first Collective, I had been really stressing and worried about how many people were going to come because we had put a lot of work into it,” Lawson said. “That night, we had 200 people show up, and it was a moment of reflection and me realizing that this is God’s thing, not mine. I just get to be along for the ride.”
Smith is one of 12 people on the Collective lead team, with her main role as audio setup. Other leads and the Dream Team, a larger group of people that also help maintain Collective, are sorted into smaller groups focused on a certain goal or project.
“Having these designated teams really helps as we have the best people working on each thing,” Smith said. “Me and Lawson are in charge of setting up mics, guitar, and keys that connect into speakers for worship.”
Other groups include setup, a comfort team, which helps take care of volunteers and provides food, a social media team, and greeters.
“Collective offers a place for everyone to come and learn about Jesus, regardless if it’s your first time hearing about Him or your 100th,” junior Sedona Mills said.
Mills is a member of the media team, and her main responsibilities include taking photos, turning them into graphics, and posting on social media.
“I think Collective is important because not only are you surrounded by people who will support you, but people who will motivate you to be the best version of your self,” Mills said. “My favorite Collective memory is when people I invite who have never been show up.”
With the motto of “Imperfect people only,” Collective is open for everyone, but mainly geared towards middle school and high school students.
“I think Collective has affected me by showing me what can happen when you trust God and be obedient to what he has for you,” Lawson said. “I know that this whole thing was from God and it is God-breathed. All I have to do is throw up my sails and let His wind take me.”
