my story
I grew up in church my whole life, but realized around age 15 that I didn’t actually have a personal relationship with Jesus. My walk with the Lord had been so saturated with community, I didn’t know what it looked like to know Him without it.
This led to a marking encounter with Jesus at summer camp. I was desperate for God, hungry to experience Him in the way I had heard so many people talk about. I cried out to God on the last night of camp, begging Him to tell me what to do to. And the Lord replied so simply, “Abby, all you have to do is surrender.”
That night, I understood the gospel for the first time in my life. I recognized God’s nearness and realized there truly is no ladder to climb to reach Him. I rededicated my life to Jesus and was baptized three days later.
A few months later, a coworker of mine committed suicide. I had worked closely with her for months and had never once mentioned Jesus or shared the gospel with her. At the time, this destroyed me. I was deeply convicted with a burden to evangelize, but I was paralyzed in fear. So I did nothing.
Halfway through my senior year of high school, I stumbled across Circuit Riders’ website. I read about their five month discipleship training school and was captivated by the idea of giving a season of my life to growing in my relationship with the Lord after high school. So I applied on the spot and, to my surprise, I got in! It felt too good to be true, but I went all in with fundraising and flew out to California six months later.
That five month discipleship training school turned out to be the best plot twist of my life. God used that season to break off lies the enemy had convinced me of my entire life, free me from anxiety, insecurity, and fear of man. He burdened my heart for my generation all over again.
And I’ve been running with Circuit Riders ever since! I gave God my “yes” two years ago and it was the best decision of my life. I’m constantly humbled that God wants to use me to reach my generation and I’m so filled with faith that Gen Z will be known for radical pursuit of Jesus.