From Rebel to Disciple
Matt, a senior Design Major at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), grew up in a religious family and even went to a Christian high school for one semester. He resented studying the Bible as an academic exercise, became rebellious, and began drinking heavily at the age of 12. Despite his drinking, Matt worked to develop his ability for running long distances. Last year, he qualified for the NCAA nationals in cross-country.
“Once I came to school, though I still ran, I was drunk one out of every four nights and cursed like a sailor.
Matt, a senior Design Major at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), grew up in a religious family and even went to a Christian high school for one semester. He resented studying the Bible as an academic exercise, became rebellious, and began drinking heavily at the age of 12. Despite his drinking, Matt worked to develop his ability for running long distances. Last year, he qualified for the NCAA nationals in cross-country.
“Once I came to school, though I still ran, I was drunk one out of every four nights and cursed like a sailor. I did some things I’m not proud of, and I should be dead. I can think of at least two times when I should have been killed because of the stupid things I did, but I can see that even then the Holy Spirit was protecting me,” Matt said.
During his freshman year, Matt was given a Bible by the Gideon’s. He never read it, but he also never threw it away. During his sophomore year, Matt lost two grandparents. Around that time, he met some InterVarsity students. These students prayed every week for Matt, all year long.
The following year Matt gave the eulogy at the funeral of his Christian grandmother. “I felt lonelier than I’d ever been, and I felt God’s presence in the desire to find what it was that grandma had when she passed away,” Matt said.
As Matt’s new InterVarsity friends continued to pray that he would be open to Christ’s love in his life, his friend Hilary, then the President of the InterVarsity chapter on campus, challenged him to seek God. Matt began to read his Bible. Hilary invited Matt to attend Allegheny Center Alliance Church for his first Easter away from home. “Pastor Rock spoke in a way that was understandable to me. He spoke in a way that gave a human face to Jesus,” Matt said.
“My whole life I had been generally happy and well off, but there was always this inexplicable feeling of loneliness. Towards the middle of the service, Pastor Rock asked those who were seeking salvation to confess their sins and to declare Jesus Christ as their Savior. At that point, I wasn’t sure if anything would happen or not, but after listening to Pastor Rock I wasn’t afraid to try. I confessed Jesus as my Savior and hoped with all my heart that he could be. Somewhere along the line I got the idea that you had to be perfect before coming to God, so there was still some doubt in me when I confessed.”
After the church service, Matt got to know many of Hilary’s InterVarsity friends during the Easter dinner InterVarsity hosted for International students and friends. When some InterVarsity students learned that Matt had just accepted Christ, they invited him to join their Bible study, focusing on Discipleship Essentials. Matt also began to meet with Chloe Papke, InterVarsity staff at Carnegie Mellon University, to pray for his non-Christian friends to accept Christ.
Today, Matt attends large group InterVarsity meetings regularly. He is involved in a small group and continues to meet with Chloe to discuss his faith. Matt also has been praying for his non-Christian friends, particularly those on the cross-country team, to come to know Jesus Christ. God has really given Matt an enthusiastic, evangelistic heart.