Nathan is a freshman studying Human Biology and Statistics. Fun Fact: Nathan carries around Lactaid pills in his wallet because he is very lactose intolerant.

 I grew up in a Christian household, going to church since before I can remember. To me, church was just like school. You learned some stuff every week, and the teachers liked you more if you answered questions correctly. I developed an enormous sense of religious pride throughout my elementary school Christian experience. I was a good kid in Sunday school and the aunties and uncles loved me, therefore, I was a “good Christian”. 

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I had no real understanding of sin or a sinless savior until I reached my church’s youth group. Once I entered our youth group, I began to see that I had completely misunderstood the entire point of being a Christian. God began to work in my heart through older brothers in the fellowship to see how I had completely twisted who He was and what He wanted for me. Through God’s grace, I understood for the first time that Christianity was not about working towards something, but Christianity was about the finished work of Jesus Christ. God showed me how I was running away from Him in lusts, in pride, in self-righteousness, and in countless other ways. But God also showed me His incredible love for me in sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for my sins, defeat death, and restore the relationship between God the Father and His creation in the way that He intended for us to exist. 

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Since then, God has challenged me repeatedly, and He has shown me more grace than I could imagine. Paul writes this in 1 Timothy 1:15-17: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” God continues to reveal to me the ways I am the foremost of sinners, and the stubbornness in my heart to live for myself instead of for His glory. 

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AACF at USC has been a tremendous blessing for my faith. As I continue to struggle with pride in nearly every area of my life, AACF has provided me with an incredible source of encouragement, accountability, and love. I am incredibly thankful for a group of believers who I can lean on when I constantly fall short, and who can point me back to the cross to see His infinite love and His glorious grace.

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Thank you Nathan! (●´ω｀●)