Brittany Warnell
Student Ministry Director of Middle School and Women
I grew up in a loving Christian family and learned all about Jesus in Sunday school. However, I went to sleep every night terrified that I was not “saved.” I knew and believed the story of the gospel, but I thought I had to pray a very specific sinner’s prayer in order to actually be saved. As a pastor’s kid, I was terrified to admit this fear to anyone, so I kept silent.
This fear continued until I went on a youth retreat my senior year of high school. There my youth leaders prompted the seniors to talk about college and future-related fears. I finally admitted my fear of not being a “saved” to my small group, and my leader walked me through the gospel. It finally clicked that all God requires is repentance and faith in His gospel.
In college, I quickly found a church and campus ministry, and God used the relationships in those places to grow and sanctify me. After graduation, a friend wanted to try out High Point. Shortly after we started attending, the Substance series started, and I knew I was in the right place. I was being choked by worldliness and needed a community to help me fight it, graciously strive, and trust God. God is incredibly gracious and His timing is perfect. I cannot thank Him enough for His patience in my stubbornness and His leading in my life. He has given me everything I need for life and godliness, and I want to become more like Him every day (2 Peter 1:3-11).
I am a part of the Student Ministry Team now because I love witnessing the way God uses the family and the church to show His love for students. Research, and my own experience, shows that teenagers need Jesus-loving adults that love them well in order to continue in the faith. My youth leaders helped me see truths that scripture, my parents, and the church had been telling me for years. Now I want to do the same for the students of Madison.