Fall conference

Bennett's Story

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 17:16:15 +0000

Gordon Govier

Bennett's Story

When the Dickinson College ��ñ�� chapter solicited questions about God, in exchange for a grilled cheese sandwich, freshman Bennett Briante was curious.

“Doesn’t your religion depend on where you were born?” He thought.

Bennett got the sandwich and an answer to his question. He signed up to get more information about ��ñ��, but every time Campus Staff Minister Andrew Berg invited him to the chapter’s activities, Bennett was no longer interested.

What Bennett was interested in was the party scene at Dickinson. He spent his time partying and hanging out with his baseball teammate Chris.

Then, on Halloween, Chris got in trouble. He had his ROTC scholarship revoked and dropped out.

A Friend that Changed His Life

The next April, Chris came back to visit the campus, and Bennett was surprised at how much he had changed.

“The last time I had seen him he had been in a very low place,” Bennett recalled. “Six months later, seeing him in the most incredible, peaceful, happy state, I said, ‘Chris, what happened?’ and he explained to me about God and Jesus. And I said, ‘I want that.’”

That summer Bennett stayed with Chris for a month. His time with him confirmed that he wanted to follow Jesus himself.

When Bennett arrived back on campus to start his sophomore year, he knew he had to make some changes, but he wasn’t sure how. Then he discovered that he still had Andrew’s number on his phone.

Bennett gave Andrew a call and started going to Bible study.

This time, Bennett responded to Andrew’s invitations and plugged into ��ñ��, and by his junior year, he was a member of the leadership team. He led prayer events, shared his faith with his friends, and also, ironically, led the grilled cheese outreach that first introduced him to ��ñ��.

Changing Someone Else's Life

In his senior year Bennett signed up to go to Fall Conference for the first time, after avoiding it for two years.

“This fall, I really felt the Holy Spirit say, ‘You should go to this one.’ I did, and by God’s grace this amazing thing happened.”

Bennett found himself in a small group at Fall Conference that included a student from Penn State Mont Alto named Carlos, who wasn’t a believer. Reminded of where he was himself a couple of years earlier, Bennett invited Carlos on a hike where he made his own decision to follw Jesus.

The New Bennett

Bennett looks back to where he was two-and-a-half years ago. People that knew him back then even refer to when he was the "Old Bennett" verses now as the "New Bennett".

“��ñ�� created a friendly environment, allowing me to meet Christians and have friendships with them for the first time," Bennett said. "It’s so incredible what has transpired over the past three years and how rapidly my faith has grown, and how rapidly my life has changed. The things that I used to do I don’t do any longer. It’s been a total 180. Everything has changed.”

��ñ�� wants to see more students, like Bennett, hear about the good new of Jesus and experience his love for them. But more than half of the college campuses in our country don't have a witnessing community of Christians. That's why God has given us the 2030 Calling, to reach every corner of every campus. You can be a part of it by giving a generous gift to ��ñ��. Click the button below for more information.

Give to the 2030 Calling

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Thankful for a Faithful Friend

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:37:20 +0000

News

Thankful for a Faithful Friend

Through a friend’s invitation, one student from the University of Iowa decided to attend an ��ñ�� Fall Conference. Here’s his story:

Growing up, my relationship with Jesus was basically nonexistent. I went to church on Sundays because of my parents and that was about it. In high school, I began hanging out with the wrong crowd and never really left. It started with drinking and smoking and quickly progressed to just about everything else. It got to a point where it consumed me, it was what I surrounded myself with, and it was all I wanted to do. My friends became more like people I did drugs with and I pushed away the very few people who tried to help and care for me.

I knew it was bad. I knew it would cause problems in the long run, but I didn’t care. I had plenty of opportunities to stop. I saw my friends overdose, I saw what my lifestyle turned people into, and I saw friends pass away because of drugs. Looking back, I had so many warning signs to change, but the drugs blinded me. Getting “messed up” was my life every day.

Although I thought it made me happy, it slowly put me in a miserable and dark place. And when I was sad, I went to the only thing I knew to help—more drugs. This cycle left me deeply depressed, alone, anti-social, and most of all empty. This went on for years before I realized what I was doing to myself. I quit taking hard drugs, but the depression didn’t leave; it just set in harder. I was so unfulfilled and in need of help, just living every day with no motivation or real happiness.

Through all of this, one person stuck by me and continued to try and help even when I wouldn’t listen. She told me about ��ñ��’s Fall Conference, and told me I should really consider going. This was definitely not the first offer to go to something like this, but it was the first one I considered. It took me until the day of Fall Conference—an hour before my ride left—to finally decide to go.

From Awkward to Awestruck

I had not pursued any relationship with God before this, and things were weird and awkward at first. Everyone was nice and caring, but after the first night, all I could think was, “Why am I here? This is just not me.” I figured I would just have to stick it out, do the minimum, and return home to the same old thing.

The next day, I went to the sessions, open to the experience, but nothing came out of it until that night. Halfway through one of the sessions, something happened after my friend prayed over me. For the first time in a long time, I felt okay. I felt truly weightless, like all of my burdens were lifted in an instant and everything was okay.

I broke down in joy right there and was so happy. For the first time in awhile, I didn’t have to put something in my system to be happy or force a smile to appear okay. I had finally accepted God into my life and I was fulfilled.

The whole night I was in awe and continued to talk to God. This is where my relationship with the Lord began. My friend who invited me told me that if I put myself out there to God, He would meet me half-way. This came true for me, and it was an experience I could not have gone without.

My experience at Fall Conference was truly amazing. It was where I found God and started my relationship with him, which is the best thing I could have asked for. Without realizing it, I had also gained an amazing, positive community and some new friends along the way, who still help me learn and explore God further.

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University of Iowa

Fall conference