Aloha

     Four-and-a-half years ago, Rick Harper asked if I would serve as interim college minister for the 2022 spring semester. Little did I know that saying yes would impact my life forever.
     After building great relationships with students, Kayla and I didn’t want it to be over after just one spring. Once I finished football, I began full-time as college minister and have enjoyed every second. I have loved the hours spent at the Rock House talking and laughing with students and Trish Price, who has been a constant blessing to me and the heart of this ministry for many years now.
     My time here has taught me so much. I have grown as a culture-setter, vision-caster, and disciple-maker-maker. While I have invested in students, they have pushed me to grow probably more than I helped them. I look up to many of them as examples of how to love God and others well. Likewise, I am so grateful for the many elders, families, and members here who show Kayla and me how to be faithful in every stage of life.
     This role also challenged us to live on mission for God. That has been a focus here in Searcy, and it has also opened our eyes to opportunities worldwide. We have loved partnering with the Liras and Borbas at the Brazilian church in Southeast Florida for the past four years. God also used the College Ministry to open doors for our family’s next step in Honolulu, Hawaii, where we will work with the church of Christ at Pearl Harbor.
     We have continually cast a vision for our college ministry to be a training ground from which disciple-makers and church planters are sent throughout the world. Now it is our turn to embody that vision.
     At the same time, we remind students that the church is a global family, and we want to stay connected and help each other walk as lifelong disciples and disciple-makers. So, we don’t view this as goodbye; it’s more like a family extending around the globe.
     Looking back on our time here, we are filled with incredible gratitude for this church family. Looking forward, we are excited to see how God uses Johnny & Hannah Noble to help this college ministry flourish even more, as well as how He continues to write our family’s story and uses us for His glory around the world.