Ashley Overman
I grew up never thinking or talking about the existence of a God. We never went to church. I didn’t know the story of Jesus and I never cared to find out. Immediately all my ambition in life went to pleasing myself. My biggest idols were dating and partying. I was introduced to the church scene when I was a senior in high school. I started going to church with a boyfriend who claimed to be a Christian. As we dated for the next three years, we went to church every Sunday and partied all throughout the week. So this was my view of salvation; that going to church qualifies you to go to heaven. It wasn’t until my third year in college when I was presented with the true Gospel lined out in scripture according to my need. As God began showing me who He really is as Creator and Personal Father as well as my complete waywardness and path to destruction, He lead me to repentance and faith in the perfect work of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was in October 2005 that God gave me His Spirit and made me a new creation. My desire now is for my life to be lived for His glory.
Caroline Wade
Always looking for something that would last and never leave me. I sought security, hope, and satisfaction in relationships and my achievements. I knew of Jesus, but I wasn’t willing to trust him with my life. All the things that I put my trust in fell apart by my senior year of high school. I turned to the bible for answers. I saw that my sin had separated me from God, and that’s why I didn’t have a relationship with him. God revealed to me that even though I didn’t deserve a relationship with him, he made it possible through Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. I realized my only response was to surrender everything and trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. God has been transforming my life ever since. God is continuing to teach me that it’s about loving Him and loving others.
Steven Smith
I grew up in a Christian home and professed to be a Christian because of my religious deeds. I’d heard the what Jesus has done but never knew how it applied to my life. I grew up as a people pleaser and based my identity on how people perceived me. The more I was liked and accepted by people the more satisfied I was in myself. I had to work on my reputation to keep this up through relationships, partying, drinking, and sports. The effort I put into my reputation would backfire on me leaving me empty. Relationships wouldn’t last, friends leave, didn’t meet people’s exceptions etc. There was a point when I realized that I was trying to please man but not God so I began reading the Bible but not applying anything that I was reading. So I tried that while at the same time I was living for myself in pleasing people creating a double life. It carried through college and I met Patrick and heard the Gospel. He took us through the Law and told us to put a check by everything we’d ever done in our life. James 2:10 “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it”. I saw my sin for the first time and knew I was guilty before God, I deserved death. There is nothing I can do that can please Him because I’m sinful. It registered to me why Jesus came, who lived a perfect life and died for me that I may have life. I surrendered my life to Jesus asked Him to change me and trusted Him in Oct 2004. I got a new identity found in Christ, fully justified, forgiven and accepted. I live for the God who made me.
Ashley McKissic
I came to Christ my sophomore year of college at IUPUI. I grew up in a church going home and had an opportunity to hear the Gospel on a weekly basis. I tried to pursue God many times for my own selfish motives and benefits. I could not understand the Gospel because of a prideful, undrawn, independent, hard heart. I desired salvation so that I could escape hell, so I tried to be moral and good and work my way to God. It worked temporarily until I got to college, that is when God allowed me to fail in every aspect of my life; relationships, school, social life, etc. God revealed to me that there was no way that I that I could maintain his standard of perfection alone. He drew my heart by showing me how unfaithful and weak my flesh was. God used many personal disappointments to humble me and at the most crucial point in my life he found me, drew me, and changed my heart. I then realized that all my life I had known who Jesus was but this was the first time I saw who I was: a sinner in need of God’s mercy and His beautiful grace. “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God.” – John Calvin
Patrick & Tara Lewis
I was exposed to the Bible and church growing up and had an intellectual belief in the basic facts of the Bible, but did not have a personal faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior until my sophomore year of college. During that year another student who was involved with Campus Outreach began to befriend me and share the gospel with me. After many conversations, Bible studies, and attending a Christmas Conference I realized I had never trusted in Christ. After graduation from Murray State University in 2000 I helped start Campus Outreach at Arkansas State University and began to work full time with Campus Outreach in 2002 when C.O. Indianapolis first launched.
Deepak Jacob
Growing up, the overarching concern of my life was to pursue my ambition; God was just a footnote who existed to advance my plans. In college, God opened my eyes to the Gospel through students and staff involved with Campus Outreach. As a freshman at IUPUI, I saw the love of Christ on the cross for my sinful self-serving lifestyle and surrendered my life to Him. I was originally planning to go to medical school after undergrad but the Lord changed my plans and I now work with Campus Outreach trusting God to reach men like myself in hopes to see a multiplying movement of worshipping laborers.
Matt & Brittanny Cazee
I didn’t begin investigating Christ until the end of my senior year in High School. After spending a semester studying the scriptures I realized two things. The first that I was incredibly sinful and was in need of a great Savior to make me right with God; the second was that Jesus is that great Savior I needed. Just after graduating High School I placed my trust in Christ’s work on the cross and resolved to follow after Him. In college, Eric Coher (a student with Campus Outreach) came to my dorm room to share with my roommates and I. Five years later, after being discipled and trained to walk with God and make Him known to others, all I wanted to do was share the Gospel and make disciples on the campus. This past May, I got to marry my wife Brittanny and we’ll be continuing to labor at USI.