Today our alumni highlight is very special. This alumnus has hopes of one day ministering in places that are hostile to the Gospel message. For their future safety, they wish to remain anonymous. For this reason, we will not post any pictures or use their name.

Where are you now? 

I am a full-time student with Liberty University’s online program, and I recently started working part-time with a company that teaches life skills to children with disabilities. I will be graduating next spring with my Bachelor’s in Psychology with an emphasis in counseling and I plan to pursue my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. 

What led you to Emmaus?

I heard amazing things about the school from my sister. I looked up to her a lot so I believed her when she talked about how amazing it was. So when I graduated from high school a year early I chose to spend my gap year at Emmaus.

Looking back how did Emmaus affect your relationship with God and the Bible?

Emmaus is where I came to know Christ as my God and Savior and where I found out the Bible is about a lot more than just random Bible stories and rules. I grew up in a missionary family, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with God. I didn’t understand the Gospel, and I barely knew 15% of the Bible. When I started studying God’s precious Word is when I found out all about God’s character and his plan for redemption. I also found out who I was: a child of God. Figuring out this identity has played a key role in shaping the rest of my life. 

How are you still using what you learned at Emmaus?

I love continuing to build on the knowledge gleaned from my time at school. I love being able to track with sermons and Bible studies and finding literary context to go with the passages we are studying. I still love color-coding my Bible and seeing the major words, themes, and statements pop off of the page making the message more clear. I also love having knowledge of the historical background of each book because this has definitely impacted my interpretation. 

Best memory from the school?

It’s hard to pick one so here are a couple:

1. The times I sat at my desk weeping with joy and awe while the magnitude of who Christ is and what he has done sank into my heart. 

2. My meetings/hangouts with my mentor. God really had things planned out because she could identify with me in so many areas. I don’t know if she will ever know the impact she has had on my life. I am so thankful for how much she poured into me and loved me. Thankful for her husband too. They both encouraged me so much and I am beyond thankful for them. 

3. All the fun crazy times with all the staff, students, and staff families. The community aspect of the school was so precious and such a safe place to grow. 

What was your favorite book of the Bible during your SBS and why?

Colossians. That is when the supremacy of Christ hit me full blast. It is still my favorite to this day (besides John, Romans, Mark, Ephesians, etc.). Whenever I randomly ask myself what I want to read it is always Colossians 1:15-23. I will never forget sitting there almost yelling to myself “THIS is God! THIS is who is Lord of the heavens and the earth! THIS is what life is all about! HE is so incredible! It’s JESUS! JESUS IS GOD! NOTHING else matters!”. 

Anything else you want to share or want us to know?

To this day my year at Emmaus has been the best of my life so far. I am only twenty-four and I have had some good years since then but nothing will beat spending so much time inundated with God’s precious word with so few distractions. Jesus and his word are precious and worth spending all the time in the world on and spending all the breath in the world talking about. I am rooting for y’all for sure! Your ministry is so beyond valuable, and I am so stoked God has been keeping it going. 

What sticks out to you the most 3+ years later?

What has stuck with me the most 8 years later is who Christ is. All of life and existence revolves around our King. My relationship with Christ only grows sweeter and sweeter each year since I came to know him during my time at Emmaus Ministries. He is Lord of all, worthy of all honor, glory, and power, and definitely worth living for.

We are so grateful for our wonderful alumni. If you would like to learn more about the program they attended Click Here.