I grew up as the son of a pastor, so naturally I was involved in my church from the day I could walk until the day I moved out of the house. After graduating from high school, I had the privilege of attending Cedarville University, a very stong Christian school near Dayton, Ohio. During the next three semesters I was surrounded each day by a fellow believers, both in the student body and the faculty. However, despite the overwhelming support I had on campus, I fell spiritually stagnant for most of the time I spent there. I had excellent grades, but mostly because I feared getting involved in any groups or ministries that would take up my time for studying. My musical talents expanded greatly, but I never used them outside of my room. I met a lot a great Christian brothers in my dorm hall, but never took the initiative to experience fellowship with the ones who lived more than a few doors down.

Fortunately, things changed for me when I moved back home during the winter of 2010. For financial reasons, I decided to transfer back to Edinboro University where I could commute from home to save money. Not more than a few days after I had moved back home, I was introduced to the Chi Alpha ministry in Erie. Being somewhat shy in personality, it took me a while to warm up to my new surroundings, but in only a matter of weeks I discovered myself being grafted into the XA worship band and playing almost every week for our group gatherings. The friends I made from my involvement in the band were a huge encouragement to me in the following months. I developed a brand new perspective of how I could use my musical talents to be productive in building up the body of Christ at Chi Alpha.

I can honestly say that my period of spiritual stagnation has now come to a end. I’ve found that God has still blessed me with excellent grades in school, even though I am willing to give up between 5 and 10 hours of studying time per week to be involved in ministry. My musical talents are still expanding, and better yet, they are actually benefiting the Kingdom of God instead of being locked in my room. I have also learned to value fellowship with other believers, especially as I am now at a school where good Christian friends are hard to find. Somehow these lessons had eluded me in the past, even though I had previously been living on a Christ-centered campus.

I feel truly blessed to be a part of the Chi Alpha family! While there are still times when I wish I could have stayed at my former college, I am thankful that God had other plans to revive my spiritual growth in a way that I was not expecting. God used Chi Alpha to get me off the sidelines and back into the game. In football, nobody wants to brag about a Super Bowl ring they earned from sitting on the bench while their teammates were out on the field battling to bring home the championship. Go out and play a part in the victory using whatever talents or treasures God has given you. Don’t settle for just being on the winning team.