This article was written by Michael (Mike) Sandusky. Mike is the campus minister for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. He is married to Kecia Stuart Sandusky and they have three daughters.
We live in a time when the college campus is darker than ever before. The college campus is steeped in addictions, pervasive sexual sin and mental health issues, including anxiety and the effects of loneliness. More and more students are closed off to the truth. But that does not mean that the Gospel is not still reaching students or that God is not transforming the lives of college students. The following is a story of a freshman named May.
When May came to Southern Arkansas University (SAU) for her freshman year this past August, a few of her classmates brought her to the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) and indicated that she had just put her faith in Jesus Christ. We connected May to a church and reached out to her through the BCM. She quickly became involved and pretty much showed up for every event. May began to grow in her walk with the Lord at a tremendous rate, and little by little she began to share her story.
May shared with us that she grew up in and out of church, depending on where she was staying each weekend. She came from a broken home with parents that abused drugs and men who abused her mother. There was never a strong father figure in her life modeling love and protection. She developed a fear of men and began to find herself questioning her sexual identity. May knew that homosexuality was a sin, but as she continued to suppress that knowledge and pursue a gay lifestyle she became numb to the guilt.
May faced rejection by everyone close to her and she fell into a deep depression. She had lost all her motivation for life and now she was faced with leaving for college in a very frail state of mind. Before leaving for college, May’s grandmother gave her a Bible and made her promise that she would read it. May said that she never breaks a promise, so she began reading her Bible in hope of finding answers for her life. She was looking for the Jesus that many of her Christian friends had claimed could change lives.
As May began to seek answers, Satan began to tempt her with a homosexual relationship, one that excited her. But she quickly realized that was not what she wanted. She wanted something to give her meaning in life, something that would make her feel alive. She wanted to live again.
May and one of her friends began to do a Bible study, and the first study was over John 4, the woman at the well. May conveyed that this lady who didn’t know Jesus was riddled with sexual sin, like her. God knew everything she had done and still loved her and wanted her to worship Him. May found what she was looking for! May prayed for Jesus to come into her soul, heal her brokenness, and make her pure. She said, “I can’t do this life alone anymore; I need a Father that won’t fail me like mine did.”
May has grown in her faith in an amazing way. Through her involvement in the BCM, she took advantage of the Freshman Bible Study and the Women’s Bible Study. She participated in evangelistic outreaches on campus and is serving this summer in missions. To hear May’s story, there is no doubt that there is a God and that He transforms the lives of those who seek Him.