Testimony

I became a Christian in high school in the midst of a battle with depression.  I deeply longed to find significance and purpose for my life.  At first I tried looking at some various religions, but I found nothing that I could really connect with in any of them.  Eventually I decided to go to a church that was just down the street and give that a try.  Though I never understood the Gospel through the church I did hear the name "Jesus" enough to pique my interest.  I remember sitting in the pew each week looking at that pocket in front of me at this big book that was nestled there.  I figured eventually that this book had to have something to do with God and this Jesus guy.  Eventually I went home and found the only Bible I had, which was one of those King James family Bibles that's about 6 inches thick and written in size 72 font, and began to read in Genesis.  I didn't understand much at first, but then figured I'd try reading this New Testament to see just what was going on.   When I read through the Gospels (all four in a row) I came to the conclusion that there was something important about this Jesus guy.  Reading through the account of Christ's passionate act of grace on the cross I realized that this was the significance and purpose I was longing for.  In Romans 5:8 the Bible says, "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us", and that's just what I needed to hear.  Through this I came to understand that the God who created the universe had come to earth and died to pay the price for my sin.   And He deserved my life.

When I arrived at Kutztown University I had never had anyone to really guide in the Christian life.  Most of what I was learning was through reading the scriptures.  I attended the Kutztown Christian Fellowship meeting my second week at school and I met DiscipleMakers staff worker Craig King that night.  Soon after that Craig began discipling me and showing me what it meant to really give all of my life to the Lord.  Craig continually discipled me throughout my college career, helping me to see the invaluable nature of the Word of God, teaching me how to study it and apply it to my life as he did in his own.   Over time I began to lead Bible studies and eventually engage in one-on-one, life-on-life discipleship with other young men, guiding them in the same way I had been guided.

As I drew closer to my senior year I began to think about the possibility of pursing graduate school and state licensure as a therapist.  Being a psychology major, this was clearly the next step.  While I interned with DM over the summer before my senior year I realized two things that stunted this desire to attend grad school.  The first was the understanding that Christ's ministry was relational, that He interacted with His disciples in this life-on-life manner.  In the counseling setting my relationships would be mostly confined to an hour a week in an office somewhere.  I was eally hoping for more interaction than that.  Jesus worked, ate and lived with His disciples.  There the disciples were able to see Christ's teaching lived out in a day-to-day manner.  The second reason was that Christ calls us to "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations...".  In many cases in the office setting I would be waiting for those who knew they needed help to approach me.  I looked at the Scriptures and saw my calling to go out into the world to make disciples.  DiscipleMakers gave me the opportunity to do that full time.  In praying over and considering this it didn't take long for me to realize that DM was were I was being called to minister.