Matthew (right) on a mission trip to South Africa after his senior year
Matthew was like many kids who grew up in Christian homes. He went to church and youth group, read his Bible, and prayed.
Yet, Matthew’s faith had never become his own. When he left home and went to college, Matthew started to make his own decisions. He soon found himself busy with studying and other college activities, so the Christian things Matthew had done in the past had now become inconvenient. While he believes he had a relationship with God, he wasn’t living it out.
“I was just moving through life passively. It became quite disconcerting and frightening. I felt as if I had no direction and nothing to hold onto or aspire for when things got tough.”
In the middle of his junior year, Matthew began to come to Cru’s weekly meeting with some friends and found that he was enjoying the community. Yet, he says he still had the mentality of checking his “Christian box, so to speak”. It was in those weekly meetings that God began to correct Matthew’s thinking, helping him realize that following Christ wasn’t just something simply to add on to one’s life, but the thing dictated and permeated through all of life. Matthew began to attend church later that year in addition to going to Cru, where his understanding grew even more.
That summer, Matthew began to think, pray, and reflect. “I came to the realization that while I may have asked Christ to be my savior many years ago, I had never devoted myself to him and asked Him to be Lord.” Matthew surrendered his life to the Lord and has seen many changes since. Here are a few that he mentioned:
“I’ve recognized the importance of evangelism and that it’s not just a thing for ‘those’ kind of people, but for all Christians.”
“Even though I still struggle with engaging in it, I see the absolute necessity of community.”
“I’ve found myself not only reading the Bible much more, but enjoying it and studying it.”
“Most encouraging however, is that I now have no doubt about a sense of direction and purpose. While I don’t know all the details of what God has planned for me, I know that there is a plan and that I can move forward each day, week, month, and year following in that and that there is no ‘waste’ or ‘pointlessness’.
Matthew is involved in many “Christian things” again. What I love, however, is that these activities come not from a need to check a box on a to-do list, but from his realization that God is good and loving. Matthew is surrendered.
Matthew is currently completing work on his teaching credential. His dream is to teach missionary kids overseas, but he is holding his plans with an open hand in case God were to call him to something else instead.
Thank you for your partnership in helping kids from Christian homes, like Matthew, make their faith their own!
Prayer Requests
Thank God for working in Matthew!
As the school year winds down, pray that our staff and students would finish well, with energy from the Lord.
Pray for the funding of the many UC Davis students going on summer trips in the US and around the world.