Student Stories
Student's Voice | Testimonies | Staff
Alex Kilpatrick - LSA, Graduate
The beginning of my college career was not a time
of deep spiritual growth. Now, I didn’t
fall away from my faith, but I wasn’t really going anywhere: my faith was
stagnant. On top of that, I didn’t really like the church I was attending at
the time; so it was an all-around bad experience.
A couple months into the
semester, I was starting to get really frustrated. I felt like I was one of the
only Christians on campus. Shy as I am, I wasn’t one to just go out in search
of friends or Christian groups on campus (although that probably would have
been a good idea). Thankfully, God had a plan for me, and I started to become
friends with some of the guys at the end of my hallway. Before long, one of them
told me about this group called UCO; soon thereafter, I attended my first
prayer meeting.
This first prayer meeting was
a pretty weird experience for me. I grew up going to a small Catholic church
way out in the country; so the whole charismatic style of worship was very
foreign to me. The main thing that I did take away from that prayer meeting,
though, was how nice the people were. I didn’t really know any of them, but
they immediately made me feel right at home. After break I came back and
started attending UCO on a regular basis, and I slowly became accustomed to the
way they worshipped. I had never really prayed out loud before I attended UCO,
but when I really opened up and started to sing and pray out loud at the prayer
meetings, I found out that it had a huge impact on my prayer life in
general.
I quickly realized that this
UCO was a good thing and so started to become more involved. This year I joined
a men’s group, which has been a great way to grow deeper in my faith along with
my brothers in Christ. This summer I plan on living with a bunch of my UCO
brothers in summer household.
All in all, the thing that struck me the
most about UCO was the amazing amount of love that we have for all people (and
their various traditions). I am so blessed that God has made me a part of this
amazing organization, and I’m excited to see in what ways the Lord is going to
work among us in the next few years.
Kathleen Wright - UM Graduate
I am from Ann Arbor, but left during high school for a boarding school in Virginia. Following graduation I wanted to enter a professional ballet company in Milwaukee...but God had other plans for me. I ended up at the University of Michigan and reluctantly came "home" for college (but only to further my training then go back to the company).
I knew of UCO and I had grown up around the community, but I felt it was not right for me. I was never going to stay in the area; I had already gone to Christian schools and youth groups...basically a bunch of bad excuses. My freshman orientation was eye-opening for me. I realized where I was going to be potentially for the next four years - in a small, but very secular department of a university holding very different ideals than I had. I started to feel alone and worried that I would lose my Christian identity. When I was invited to UCO that summer before my first semester, I was surprisingly open. It immediately felt right - that I was in a place where I could not only maintain my Christian identity, but grow in it and have fun!
That was over 3 years ago. I look at the work God has done in my life and am amazed. I am now a triple major in Dance Performance, English and Elementary Education and I'm planning on staying in the Ann Arbor area for teaching. I have learned to discern God's will for my life with the support of my peers and leaders in UCO. Small groups, dorm evangelization, and living in a Christian women's household have stretched me and brought me to a higher standard for my life. The friends I have met in UCO will be life-long because they are deeply rooted in Christ and His love. I know I will always have a source for advice, encouragement and prayer. This makes being a Christian in the arts world, in the U of M world, a lot easier. I am excited for where the Holy Spirit will lead me, and will lead UCO, in the years to come.
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