Is
there a College Path which will Prepare me and
Fit into what the Lord is Calling me to do?
Ryan
M Marks
I first heard of CollegePlus!
(CP) during my Junior year
of High School at the CHEF Homeschool conference in St. Louis, MO. Woody
Robinson’s talks on Education the
Founding Fathers Way and A Bachelor Degree
by 18 instantly sparked my interest and I wanted to start the program.
However, my parents wanted me to continue High School and, honoring them, I
did. Hence, I struggled when the time came to choose a college. I wanted to do
CP but my parents weren’t too hip on the idea. So what should I do? I did what
I knew I needed to do: I prayed and submitted to God’s will. If He wanted me to
go to CP He was going to have to move on my parents hearts to make it a
reality. I wanted my parents blessing on my education, and not just do what my
own wisdom told me to do. So I waited on the Lord . . .
Over the course of Senior year of High
School, I was restless and discontented with the idea of going to a brick and mortar
school. Moving away didn’t seem like the right fit for where God had called me
in ministry and I had a deep desire to live in my hometown of Hillsboro or at
least nearby. I also wanted a low cost to be the best steward of my resources.
The timing of moving away to enter college made me nervous, and why should I trade
the life I had some balance in for a party zone? In addition, I knew that I
would have to leave my deep friendships, my beloved church, and my mentors to
work, keep up with my studies, and build a new life. Thus, I sought the counsel
of many and prayed without getting any peace. One of my counselors encouraged
me to analyze the pros and cons of my options so I devised multiple scenarios
of moving away: to a school hours away from my home, schools in St. Louis, and
the local community college. I even considered driving back and forth 45
minutes each way to go to school and work afterward. Nevertheless all these possibilities made me
come face to face with the inefficiency, high cost, physical drain, and lack of
flexibility of a brick and mortar school.
Long story short, my parents came on board
with me on CP
as the school option this past April as we spent a day together talking about
my plans for the summer. My prayers had been answered! I left that meeting with
some peace and spent this past summer after graduating High School running my
own lawn care, pressure washing, and odd job business, as well as, enrolling in
the program I have dreamed of!
Now that I’ve started . . . .
I have been doing Life Purpose Planning; I
have found that all my considerations, goals, and ministry calling are merging
into one stream with many different streamlets. It is exciting to be able to
continue my own business, internships, and ministry training on my
schedule—shifting my study time around when needed—and being able to pursue my
life dream of mentoring a generation of young men and begin to preach and teach
the Word to the Church in America.
As a homeschooler, I love teaching myself
and studying material instead of sitting in the classroom wasting precious
time. I’m on my path to a Communications degree which I’m already putting to
use writing books and building a ministry! Internships and practical experience
are around the corner! The expectation of being a licensed minister in a few
years and the possibility of pursing a Masters in Biblical Studies to teach
Bible at the college level are on the horizon!
Only a few weeks into the program, I’m
excitedly sharing CP
with people. Just last week at a writing conference, I shared the CP program
and my passion surrounding it with an education official as she listened in
wonder and expressed an interest in helping the public schools she works with to
incorporate some of it. And right after I enrolled, I shared with several
friends and one got really, really passionate about being able to do what I was
sharing.
If you are reading this and want flexibility
and freedom to follow the unique path and purpose that you feel God is calling
you to, prayerfully consider CollegePlus! You can get your degree done faster, for less
money, and get a better education with all the internships and real life
experience you can have in a couple of years.
God
bless, and study hard!
