God@Work

My dad was in ministry for 22 years. My four siblings and I were in church at least twice a week for services and youth groups. Being a youth pastor’s kid, my family was involved in numerous activities and outreaches. During the summer when I was just six years old, I came to Christ at a camp after a pastor spoke on salvation. I understood just about all that a six-year-old mind could about going to Heaven by saying a prayer, but I specifically remember how excited the people in my life were and even random people at church and camp! This happiness alone made me even more thrilled about my decision and I ran to tell everyone I could.

I wish I could say this is how my faith played out all the way through until now at age 23. That childlike faith that I was so proud to share with people without any care about what others thought would be tested and stretched in ways I did not imagine back on that summer day. Although I am blessed to have had continuous encounters with God through the years, I also had some very low points where I thought I did not need God and would rather run and hide.

Throughout my middle school and high school years, my family was still heavily involved in the church. In fact, my oldest sister and brother-in-law became missionaries, and one of my brothers became a youth pastor; however, as the youngest sibling, I began to master the double life. I was coasting through school. I was overall a good kid who knew the answers to most Bible questions, but I certainly did not share my faith with others. At church, I was still pegged as a youth pastor’s son who knew all the Bible stories. Thankfully for me, these people did not know how I acted at school! As I got even older, I began battling with lust, which led me down a dark path for several years. By my sophomore year of high school, this battle became stronger and really desensitized me to other sins like underage drinking and smoking weed. I would be out partying on Saturdays and then be at church worshiping God with my family on Sunday mornings.

Two months before my high school graduation, I was arrested for smoking weed in the woods. I am certain that six-year-old me who found God and prayed that prayer could not fathom how my life would unravel as a young adult. The disappointment from my family alone killed me. Through God’s grace, the situation did not escalate. I was able to graduate and from there began a major life change.

During my high school years, I turned from God and thought I could do things my own way. Thankfully, it was made clear to me time and time again that I certainly could not. Although I still struggled with my relationship with God during the first few years of college, I was growing day by day and investing time into my relationship with God. One of the best parts to this was that I wanted to search for that relationship. I wanted answers. I wanted the relationship, the love, the forgiveness, and grace from God.

On my search for my true identity in Christ, I got connected in 2016 to Venture, the young adults group at FAC. The more involved I got in the group, the more my passion for young adults grew.

Through my struggles with faith in high school and the beginning of college, I knew I had to come to the decision: Am I going to continue to please myself or am I going to pursue God’s plan for my life? Three years later, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a leader at Venture and help fellow young adults navigate their faith as we pursue God together.