August 6, 2024 • 38 mins
In this episode, we dive into a gap year experiences at Impact360 Institute with a longtime friend, Knox Casey. We discuss how the institute, founded by John and Trudy White, has grown from a small classroom to a thriving community of Christian leaders. Our guest shares his journey of faith, discipleship, and leadership; highlighting the unique opportunities and challenges faced during his time at Impact 360.
From mission trips to Brazil and Utah, to the day-to-day life of fellowship and learning, this conversation provides a deep insight into how Impact360 shapes the lives of young Christians. Discover how the institute's gap year program, residency opportunities, and service teams contribute to personal and spiritual growth, preparing students for a life of kingdom influence.
Join us as we explore the significance of living a life of intentionality, the importance of community, and the profound impact of learning to serve others in the name of Christ. Whether you're considering a gap year program or looking for inspiration in your own faith journey, this episode offers valuable lessons and heartfelt reflections.
Topics:
- Experiences at Impact 360, a gap year program
- Discipleship and leadership training
- Benefits of taking a gap year
- Character transformation
- Encouragement for parents
- Academic rigor and critical thinking development
- Educational aspirations
- Daily life and community activities
- Personal growth and new interests
- Christian worldview in education and community building
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:55):
So how have you been, man? I noticed that we have on the exact same fit,
pretty much. We got the brown shoes.
We got these pretty much the same shirt. Look at that. Great minds think alike,
I guess. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
How have you been? Like what has been going on in your life since we last talked?
It's been a minute. We just got back from our trip to Brazil about a month ago.
(01:17):
I've been down in Pine Mountain, Georgia at Impact 360 Institute,
having a blast learning about the Lord, you know, and his word and what he says
about discipleship. So making great friendships.
But yeah, it's great to be back and excited to get to catch up with you.
I've known Knox for about, I'd say, 14 years now. It's crazy. It flies by.
(01:38):
Hasn't been long enough. Also, just above and beyond, he is the best friend
that anyone could ever ask for.
And just an amazing man of God. So with that, is there anything else that you
would like to tell us about you, Knox?
Thank you for the introduction. I think you kind of hit some of the main things.
And so I'm just excited to get to dive into this.
(01:58):
I heard you're doing a podcast and I was like, this is the coolest thing ever.
Thank you, man. Thank you so much. Yes.
I'm excited about it. So would you mind telling us just a little bit about Impact360
and what made you choose that path?
So Impact360 was an institute that got started by John and Trudy Cathy.
So about 18 years ago, go, they were looking for a way to kind of just raise
(02:20):
up the next generation of Christian leaders and kind of train them in discipleship
and different things in order to change the world for the glory of God.
And so they kind of took what they had and started class number one,
which was about 20 fellows in a small classroom in Pine Mountain,
Georgia, in the middle of nowhere.
And so it continued to grow. The Lord has blessed them.
(02:43):
And now we're in class 18 and we have 84 four students and they're looking to grow to 100 next year.
And so yeah, the Lord has really just worked through this. It's such a cool opportunity.
But not only is it a gap year program, but it's also a residency program.
There's several residents that are on campus that are discipling us that are
earning their master's program.
(03:04):
Impact has kind of turned into this big greenhouse effect of learning through
the fellows and the residents.
And we also have about five professors on campus. And so, yeah,
in Pine Mountain, Georgia, in the middle of nowhere, Impact's kind of grown
to this big, just like huge learning environment, which is super cool.
And so, yeah, that's a little bit about Impact. Perfect.
Yeah. So with impact, I heard you talking about residency and that sort of thing.
(03:29):
So are those previous class members like class of 17, class of 16 that have
come back and now they're educating y'all as well?
So there's a good balance of both really. So there's several fellows that have come back to do it.
And there's also a lot of students who are looking to either go into full-time
ministry or are really interested just in apologetics and worldview that are
(03:51):
looking to grow in that before going into the workforce.
A big part of impact is the know-be-live mantra that we live under.
And so it's really knowing Jesus more deeply, being
transformed in character and living a life of kingdom influence and so that
mantra kind of brings a lot of master's program students in who want to kind
(04:11):
of learn to see what that looks like going into the workforce so that's how
they get a lot of their recruiting done for impact is through that nobody live mantra.
I love that. Now, I keep hearing you say the word fellows. So for someone that
wouldn't be as familiar with Impact360, would you mind explaining what that
is and maybe like meaning behind it?
Absolutely. Yeah. And so the fellows program is a program for students who are
(04:34):
looking to take a gap year, either most of the students are coming out of high
school and going into college.
And so they're really looking to be pupils of the Impact staff and really see
what it looks it's like to live a life of kingdom influence leading into college.
And so yeah, the fellows is a gap year program in the Impact 360 Institute.
Really the fellows meaning is really just to be learners for Christ through
(04:58):
that. And so there's about 84 of us.
Most of us are coming out of high school, but there's also a couple that have
gone to college for a couple years and then have come back and decided they
want to take this gap year in between
college to really solidify what they believe and why they believe it.
It's a great greenhouse learning environment for sure. Nice.
Perfect. Yes. I love that.
(05:18):
And I had no idea that people came back from college to do this gap year program as well.
But with that, I'm kind of curious, what is something that you would encourage
a parent who isn't as sure like, oh, because gap year programs weren't like as popular 20 years ago.
So if they have a kid that's just now getting into like the college or they're
in college and they want to take the gap year program, what's something that
(05:41):
you would say to encourage them?
Or what's something that you've learned from this gap year program that you're
like, this has prepared me better for college, or this has prepared me better for life in general?
What's something that you can say to encourage them in going to Impact360?
I would say really going into a gap year program, it can seem a lot of times,
especially after high school, that a year is a long time.
(06:03):
But if we look at the grand scheme of life, like a year can be a very short
time, but it's a really great time for growth, especially coming out of high school.
And so I would say a specific thing would be the discipleship aspect.
Really learning what it means to be a disciple and to disciple others and learn
how to be discipled going into college is a big deal.
(06:24):
Impact really follows the idea of what Jesus did and how he discipled his apostles.
And so I would say learning how to learn and learning how to follow as well as learning how to lead.
And so I think for a parent, they can really rest assured that these ideas will
really be poured into the students.
And it'll really be a growing time for the students as they look to grow both
(06:44):
spiritually and academically through different worldview, apologetics,
and kind of learning what they believe and why they believe it.
And so there's so many great aspects. For sure. Yes.
And I know we're going to get into this later on in the episode,
but I just want to ask for the parents sake, you know, like gap year, it is not a break.
So what exactly academically is it as challenging as high school,
(07:08):
more challenging than high school?
Are you feeling that you're being prepared for college pretty much through this?
I would say it's very different from high school. Like you said, it's not a break.
Yes. It is not a break. We do a lot of reading, a lot of writing.
And so the point of impact is to teach us to learn how to gather our thoughts
well, learn how to think well, become thinkers of Christ and really use that to make a difference.
(07:31):
And so we'll do a lot of writing. We do a lot of praises on different books
we read, articles we read that both analyzes a writer's work,
which is very important to understand where the writer's coming from,
what the writer means by the work that they're accomplishing,
but also what does it look like to look at this from a Christian worldview?
What does it look like to analyze this with our certain worldview and our certain
(07:54):
understanding of what we know about the Bible?
And so I think the impact, it really just depends on the week as far as workload,
but I think as a whole, it definitely is very intentional in showing us how
to think well and how to do that well.
It's not an overwhelming schedule at all. I think for students,
you don't need to worry about that. It's a good amount of reading,
but the homework is not overwhelming at all.
It's really meant to grow you, but not to exhaust you.
(08:19):
So bouncing off of that question as well and what you just responded with,
I remember one time me, you and Clay, we had like a late night Chili's conversation
and we were there and we were discussing Impact 360 and what you were going
to do once you completed the program.
And I remember that that kind of shifted your focus a little bit from what I'm
(08:40):
thinking, at least, because originally, I think you were saying Samford mainly.
And then after Impact 360, you were mainly thinking Georgia.
Has that shifted again? Like, what were you thinking? Yeah, absolutely.
So going into Impact, I was really set on Samford University in Birmingham.
Small Christian school, great school, but kind of seeing what it looks like
to learn through that discipleship model.
(09:02):
Model and really seeing, we had a trip to Auburn at the beginning of the year
where we did some spiritual surveys
and seeing what it looks like to be a Christian in a big secular school.
It's something that really excited me and showed me there is a great ministry here.
And there's also a great ministry opportunity as soon as you step on campus.
And so learning through that discipleship model, yeah, it really changed my
(09:24):
focus. And I'm actually headed to Athens.
Let's go. Yes. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Yeah.
So I'll be headed there and really just excited to be able to use these tools
right off the bat in a secular school, but also a school that has a lot of great
Christian community as well.
And so Impact definitely did kind of shift my focus a little bit as far as that goes.
(09:45):
That's so awesome, man. Like, I'm so happy for you and that sort of thing.
Like, I was happy for you when you were going to Stanford too,
don't get me wrong, but then go Dawgs. Yeah. Go Dawgs. Yes, sir.
Yeah. The fact that you have found where you feel like you're being called, right? Like to go to UGA?
Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. That is so awesome, man. Like, I'm so happy for
you. I'm going to be praying for you because I know that you're going to have
(10:07):
like a massive influence there.
And I'm so happy that you're just a wonderful man of God.
So with that, I'm just curious at Impact360, what is that typical day like?
Of course. Yeah, that's a great question.
Usually we have breakfast at around eight, so not too early of a wake up, not too bad.
But after breakfast, we have this really cool program called Life Together.
(10:28):
And so we'll take kind of the first 30 minutes of our day and we'll do different
kind of exercises that are focused on really glorifying the Lord with like our first part of the day.
And so what that looks like is depending on the day, we might have worship led
by students where we just kind of get together and praise the Lord and thank
Him for what He's done. We also have prayer groups.
(10:51):
And so we have like five to six fellows that come together and we'll take prayer
requests, but we're also going through the Lord's prayer and the different aspects
of that and kind of praying for that individually.
And then we also have a scripture study. And so depending on the day,
we may do our triad of scripture study or the other options.
And it's really, really a unique way to set our minds focused on what we're
(11:14):
going to do with the day and how we're going to glorify the Lord with it.
And so it's such a blessing.
One of my favorite parts of the fellows program is the Life Together aspect.
Life Together, that's really neat. I don't know of any other program that does that.
And that's absolutely amazing. We don't have that at Belmont is what I'm trying
to say. So I definitely think that we should implement something like that, but that's fantastic.
(11:36):
So what programs or activities are involved with Impact360?
Because I know like when you think of college, you think, oh,
you know, you're off on your own and you're having a great time and everything.
And I know for me, it's not like the stereotypical college thing.
But you know, I still have a great time playing cards with my friends and swing dancing.
So what type of things do y'all do for fun at Impact360?
(11:57):
Absolutely. That is a fantastic question. So on Monday afternoons,
we actually have our intramurals between houses.
And so we have three houses kind of like Harry Potter style a little bit. Okay.
And so we got sorted into those and we will have intramurals between the three
houses every Monday. It's a.
But we'll also do different things. Like we had a swing dancing night the other
(12:18):
night, which I know you love very much, which is awesome.
Last night we had a casino night. And so we have like different things.
We played a ton of cards, just events and stuff that are put on by the fellows.
The campus is very intentionally balanced so that there's a lot of different
interests that you can have and really be able to thrive in those.
So we have people that are playing music all the time in active commons,
(12:40):
ping pong tournaments, basketball games, different stuff like that.
There's a lot of board games going on.
And so I think anywhere you go on campus, there's just somebody doing something
that you're interested in.
It's definitely kind of a, like I've said before, a greenhouse effect of learning
and growing and also having fun together.
With everything that's going on, has there been anything that you've been like,
I never thought that I would be interested in this, but all of a sudden I love curling.
(13:05):
Like what is your thing that you've gotten into? to? I would say for me, I didn't love music.
I mean, I played a little bit of guitar and piano, but there's been such a great
music community at Impact where we've kind of taught each other how to play guitar and piano.
And there's somebody that said they would teach me how to play violin.
And so just getting to kind of get involved in that and also help out with worship
(13:28):
is something that going into Impact, I was like, never thought I would do,
but there's been so many encouraging people that have taught me and grown me.
And so being able to help out with worship is something that has been an absolute blast.
That's fantastic. Yes. So do you play guitar or do you sing? Yes, I'll go guitar.
I haven't gotten into the singing yet. We'll see how that goes.
(13:48):
But yeah, guitar is awesome.
It's a fun time. Yeah. We kind of have like a similar thing going on at Belmont
with music stuff as far as like helping each other out and that sort of thing.
We'll teach each other new things that we're learning and especially like with
production techniques and whatnot.
We're always just going back and forth on that, just bouncing ideas.
And it's super fun. So I know exactly what you're talking about with that. And it's so cool.
(14:12):
So other than that, can you tell us about the study abroad with going to Brazil?
So the fellows were split into two different trips. So half of us went to Brazil,
and the other half went to South Africa.
I got the opportunity to go to Brazil this past January for a whole month.
We partnered with a group called LifeShape, which was also a group that's affiliated
(14:35):
with John and Trudy White.
We flew into Sao Paulo, got to kind of tour the city.
And then we went to Brasilia for our four projects. We were kind of on a Brazil
team learning together.
And the first project we had, we actually got to help start a church in Brasilia, which was incredible.
There was a couple that was looking to start a church, a pastor and his wife.
And so we got to go there, kind of help out with fixing the church up.
(14:59):
And then we actually went out, did some evangelism in the street with some translators.
And we passed out flyers and we put on a kid's camp, which was super cool to
kind of get to connect with the community there to go walk door to door and
just get to know people in the community and then put on a kid's camp for their
kids, which was an amazing opportunity.
And then we also did a church service for the family where we shared the gospel
(15:21):
with families in the area as they came. We served them dinner.
And so that was amazing start to the trip.
And then after that, we went and we did a career fair for kids in the Brasilia area as well.
Followed by, we painted and cleaned a church.
We helped out with our church service. And then we also went back out with translators and worked on,
(15:42):
you know, sharing the gospel with people in the community and doing some evangelism
and just asking them, you know, kind of what they believed and why they believed
it and kind of seeing what worship looked like in Brazil.
Which was incredible. We got to go to this thing called conference,
where it was basically kind of like their passion.
Oh, wow. They had guest pastors, guest speakers come in, and they also had some
(16:04):
really big like Christian bands.
They came in and kind of, you know, put on a week of worship and learning.
And we got to do some workshops in Portuguese, which was a blast.
So yeah, it was an amazing trip. And we got to debrief in Agua Viva.
Funny story at the end of it. So Brazil is kind of known for their soccer.
Yeah, at the end, we got to go to a Brazilian soccer match.
(16:28):
And kind of experienced like the soccer community there, which was an absolute blast.
There was actually kind of a little bit of a fight that broke out in the stands.
Oh, okay. And pepper spray and tear gas was sprayed out. So we got the whole
Brazil experience, I guess. You did, wow.
Evangelism as well as, you know, pepper spray.
(16:48):
So Brazil was a blast though. The Lord definitely grew us all and challenged
us all, but also was really, really amazing to all of us. So it was an incredible
trip. That's fantastic.
Hey, I'm just glad you didn't get pepper spray for evangelizing. Amen.
So with the languages and that sort of thing, you had to learn a new language,
(17:10):
right? Yeah, absolutely.
And so we kind of had a few introductory classes.
We did a little bit of Duolingo. But we came in basically just knowing,
you know, how to greet people, how to say hi, and different stuff like that.
But by the end of the trip, being around it, you know, 24-7,
obviously we had some translators with us that could help us out a little bit.
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But by the end of it, we actually got to like go around an airport,
order our own food, kind of walk through the city and ask small questions about
where we're going, what we're doing.
And so we were able to kind of incorporate our forties there a little bit,
which was an absolute blast. Definitely cool learning experience.
For sure. That's fantastic. So now I'm just curious because we both had two
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years of high school Latin and throughout life, we've just been learning Latin
because we went to the private school and that sort of thing.
But with that, was that helpful in learning the new language?
Yes, there were definitely some similarities to Latin.
I took a couple years of Spanish right at the end of high school.
And so that kind of translated a little bit.
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But it was funny if I ever tried to like talk just in Spanish or order in Spanish,
the people would be like, no, no, no, we do Portuguese here.
So it was funny to not only try to incorporate Spanish, but also kind of learn
the original Portuguese to that, which was a blast.
But yeah, it did overlap a little bit. Sweet. Well, I'm so glad.
So how has the gap year experience grown you professionally?
(18:35):
So really, one thing that's really, we have this class called Principles of
leadership taught by our professor, Matt D. Awesome dude.
I would definitely recommend going and listening to one of his classes,
but he's really taught us about what it means to be a leader for Christ and
what the biblical view of leadership is.
And so really we've gone through a book called Habitudes and we've also kind
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of looked at Jesus's ministry and seen how does Jesus implement leadership,
but also like how is he a servant leader?
And we've been able to kind of learn how to implement that into our leadership, all of these.
And we have after principles of leadership, we kind of have leadership exercises
with our service teams where we go through exercises to learn how to lead a
team, both in a non-professional and a professional setting with presentations.
(19:21):
That's been super cool. We had a week of class last week, actually,
on the biblical view of work and vocation and calling.
And so we kind of got to go through the Bible and see that work is not a bad thing,
that it was created in the garden and that we've kind of been learning how we
can have a Christian view of vocation and calling and kind of what the Lord
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has for us, but also what steps we need to take as far as that goes.
We're still going through some classes on how to figure that out,
how to completely view that and how to like listen to God's voice in that.
But yeah, we've definitely had a lot of opportunities to grow professionally
and kind of look at the future and see what that looks like. That's fantastic, man.
Yeah. Are there any skills with that that you would say you've gained or outside
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of that, whether it be spiritually or just socially or professionally for that
matter, that you've gained from Impact360 specifically?
Because I know we talked a little bit about guitar. Now we're talking about
how to navigate work biblically. And are there any others that you would like
to mention? Yeah, absolutely.
I would say, first of all, is like boldness, especially in evangelism.
(20:25):
We had an opportunity to go not only to Brazil, but we did it in Utah.
At the end of September, we went to Utah and kind of had conversations with
the Latter-day Saints community on kind of what they believe.
We went to their temple square, which was amazing.
They have really cool churches, but we kind of went and talked to the people
(20:46):
there and asked them what they believe, why they believe it,
and how it differs from Christianity.
And then we were also able to go and talk to kids our age, college kids in Snow
College in BYU and really see, you know, just kind of not only ask them questions,
but challenge what they believe and share the true gospel that we know to be true.
And so boldness with that is definitely something that God has really taught me.
(21:08):
But yeah, as a whole, I would say that Impact has really taught me how to live
in a thriving Christian community.
And I think from the moment that someone steps on campus, this is like super
prevalent, just how tight-knit the community is and how we're all seeking to grow with one another.
And so I think personally, spiritually, professionally, Impact is definitely growing us all a ton.
(21:31):
Sweet. So how has it assisted you in reaching your goals?
And what goals have you come up with since you've been at Impact?
Are there any new goals in your life?
Yeah, it's actually funny that you say that. We're about to go through one of
our Wednesday afternoon classes for the next part of the semester on setting
goals and what that looks like in both a professional and a spiritual standpoint.
(21:53):
And so I would say that one of the goals that Impact has really brought to my
attention, kind of like I said earlier, is how to be a disciple and also be discipled.
We have a thing with the residents where we have one of them that disciples us.
And so we'll meet with them about once every week or two and go through like
these different truths, but also catch up on life and learn from people that
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are a lot older than us, that have a lot more experience, but are also looking to grow with us.
And so I would say that one of my goals is, yes, to be a better disciple of
Christ and to be able to spread his good news, but also like love the lost wherever
I go, whether that be UGA or wherever any of us go.
Another goal is to kind of figure out where the Lord wants me to be,
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what his calling for me is.
I think a lot of us are going through that right now before we kind of build
very long term goals. We're like, God, like, where do you want me to be?
What job do you want me to be in? What kind of ministry?
And so impact has kind of helped us narrow that focus down a little bit of,
hey, like we need to go ahead and set goals, set standards that we want the
students to be able to stick to for the rest of their lives to live a life of kingdom influence.
(23:02):
Impact is definitely directing us but we're about to go through
a lot on that and I feel like that's what gives impact such
a good reputation is because they do want
you to constantly set goals and they're constantly assisting you in yes this
is going to be your short-term goals but ultimately leave the long-term goals
up to him and that's what we all have to learn as Christians and I feel like
(23:23):
with all of us graduating high school there's this big pressure of you have
to know your whole entire life right now. And we don't.
I love it that Impact teaches that, that we just need to give it all to him.
So thank you for saying that. Like, I really appreciate that.
Of course. Yeah. So thank you for listening. Yes. Yeah.
So if you could describe Impact 360 using just one word, what would that one
(23:46):
word be? I would say a greenhouse.
It's kind of something that the professors use a lot, but it's really this institute
as a whole with how tight-knit the the campus is.
It's really just a greenhouse of learning, of growing and of really challenging one another.
The classrooms are all very intentionally built in order to maximize learning,
(24:08):
maximize attention spans, which is something that they really harp on a lot
is our attention span is especially in our generation.
It's the TikTok doom scroll thing. You got 20 seconds of my attention and then you're gone. Exactly.
Yes. The professors make fun of us all the time for that.
But yeah, I would say that it's just a greenhouse of intentionality and community.
(24:31):
And so I think that's something that really stands out.
I love that description of a greenhouse because I wouldn't have thought of that.
But that's very good that they describe it that way, because it is cool seeing
like how it's impacted you and how you've grown.
Like, I'm not saying that you weren't entirely mature spiritually before. I believe that you were.
And then it's just neat seeing how God has blessed that and seen how you've
(24:55):
grown even further in that.
I just, I love seeing how those professors have had an impact on you as well
as the people around you too.
Because I mean, we saw that at Corm Deo, the high school that we went to.
And now at college, we're getting different impacts from different people.
And that's why they call it impact, I'm sure is because yeah,
because of that greenhouse effect.
But that's, that's so awesome. So what has been your greatest challenge with Impact360?
(25:20):
Because I know we've talked a lot about everything that's so great about it.
But what is the biggest challenge for you?
I would say one of them, we talk about it a lot. We read a book a week,
which is like, especially going into impact.
I was like, I mean, I don't mind reading, but a book a week is, it's something.
It is. Yes. So that's probably been one of the more challenging things is staying on top of reading.
(25:41):
I'm really managing the time well with that because it is a lot of reading.
But out of that, I feel like has come a lot of growth because we've gotten to
to absorb so much knowledge in such a short amount of time.
And a cool thing about Impact is a lot of the books we read,
we'll read them for a week and then the author will come in the next week and teach the class.
(26:01):
We get to read this author's work this entire week.
And then we get to really pick their
brain in class and learn more and ask questions based on the reading.
It can seem like a lot, but really when it comes full circle,
it's such a greenhouse place of being able to connect with the author that we
just spent a week reading about and learning from and their ideas. is.
(26:21):
It's been a hard part, but also one of my favorite parts.
Yeah, a book a week. I could not do that. There's no way. I love reading and
everything, but that's a lot. Oh, yeah.
I would think it would make it worth it, though, when you get to see the author
there at the end, because otherwise, if I were reading a book a week,
I would just be like, whatever.
But now, if I were to meet the author, that would be so cool,
(26:44):
because I would then have a reason to read the entirety of of it and then just
like find little minute details that I would be like, okay, so I sort of understand
this concept, but I want to take it one step further.
So this is a question that I can ask. That's awesome that they bring them in though.
It's such a blessing. Yeah. We enjoy it so much. So it does,
you're right. It does help with productivity for sure.
So how do you plan to transition from Impact360 to UGA? Congratulations.
(27:11):
And then after that to work, how do you plan on making that transition?
This is definitely something that we've spent a lot of time reflecting on and prepping for.
We're going to be doing that in the next part of our classes.
This summer, I'll be working at Windshape Camps again.
It's exciting to kind of get to take what we've learned as far as discipleship
(27:31):
and kind of put it out there a little bit.
Kind of get to use what we've learned like right off the bat at Windshape.
Sharing the gospel with these kids and really just showing them like the love
of Christ and what a Christian community looks like.
There's about like eight, I think eight or nine of us fellows that are all going
together to work there this summer. That's awesome.
That's exciting. Yes. And then UGA, yeah, planning on going there in the fall.
(27:52):
And yeah, Lord willing, trying to just use the strength and the knowledge that
the Lord has given us to apply it and try to make disciples and grow a Christian community together.
A big thing that we kind of harp on is a time of sweet fellowship that we have.
Every other Monday, we get with our sweet. we read a book written by Dietrich
(28:12):
Bonhoeffer about how to build a Christian community together wherever we are in life.
And so really, obviously, we're all taking different steps in the future,
but we get to come together and kind of talk about, hey, what does it look like
to build that community in college?
What does it look like to intentionally use what we've learned as far as community,
what we've experienced,
(28:33):
and kind of recreate that on a place that, there are great college campuses
everywhere, But kind of recreate what we've been able to experience and impact
and kind of put it forth out there and allow others to experience that alongside with us.
I love that. I hadn't thought of that beforehand.
But yeah, just getting to immediately implement that would be absolutely essential.
(28:53):
And that would be like the next step of learning because you know,
like there's learning something and then there's like the deep learning where
then you can teach it to someone.
So that's amazing that they offer you all that opportunity.
It's funny that we're talking about doing all these things, but really being
able to implement it is something that we're all really stoked to do.
Yeah, it's awesome that you get to like implement what you've just been learning at Impact.
(29:15):
But now I'm just kind of curious, is there anything else specifically that you
would want people to know about Impact?
I think that there's kind of an aspect that goes unnoticed sometimes in the
application process and in touring and everything.
And is that really this year we're learning so many skills that will immediately be applied to life.
Like one of the practical ones is we got to at the beginning of Impact,
(29:38):
go church shopping stopping and see what it looks like to go with a group of
like-minded fellows and see what it looks like to go to different churches,
kind of talk about what did we like, you know, what about the message did we
really like, what are we looking for in a church body and kind of seeing what
it means to go meet the pastor for the first time without your family and go
seeing kind of what a church service looks like.
(29:59):
Being able to do practical things like that and looking to join a Bible study
at a local church is something that is really valuable that I didn't know we
would be involved in at all.
But that's been a really unique opportunity is to kind of go church shopping
and learn how to just do life together with other like-minded Christians outside of the home.
I know that that's going to apply not only later on in life,
(30:21):
but specifically at college too, because I mean, at UGA, you're going to have
that same experience. You're going to be going in there.
And I would imagine you already know a lot of people at UGA just with your family
and everything. Y'all love UGA. So go Dawgs.
That's going to be like a bit of a challenge at first, I would imagine,
because just going to a new place anytime.
So I'm glad that they teach that at Impact. I had no idea about that.
(30:44):
Now, I'm just curious. I know I've made a lot of great memories at Belmont,
but what is your favorite memory?
Like, do you have an all-time favorite memory of one thing that's happened at Impact 360?
Or it can be a lot of things. What's your favorite memory? The memory that comes
to mind definitely comes from Brazil.
Okay. We went to this place called Cristalongia right before we were going to
debrief the trip and kind of go to Agua Viva.
(31:07):
And we went, and it's really a place where they take people who are on the streets
with a cocaine addiction.
And so they take them off the streets and they have like a 15 month program
where they really go about how do we reinstate this person back into really
their everyday life and how do we bring them back into society,
(31:27):
but also how do we like teach them the gospel and show them what it means to
be a follower of Christ and live a life that's kingdom influenced. influence.
We got to actually go there and talk to a bunch of the members there,
which was absolutely incredible.
And at the end, we got to see a choir of them who were about to graduate the
program who had overcome all these things.
And we got to see them go up and sing about how they were thankful for having
(31:52):
freedom in Christ and being no longer slaves to sin.
And it was incredible to see that these guys had been through so much,
had been through so much pain, so much suffering.
But on the other side of overcoming that, they were giving all the glory and
the thanks to the Lord, which was so incredible to see.
A lot of times we can take a lot of the trials and the things for granted,
(32:12):
but these guys really took that and gave all the glory to the Lord.
And we're like, thank you, Lord, for bringing us through that so that we could
see your glory in its fullest.
And so that was something that was absolutely incredible.
Definitely an emotional day, but it was incredible to see how the Lord had created
so much heart change, so much life change, and really just to see his goodness
in the faces of those guys and overcoming so many odds by God's grace alone.
(32:37):
It's kind of like a taste of heaven. I'm not going to lie, which was so cool.
Yeah, chills, chills for a week after that. So praise God for that.
It's been my highlight of the fellows experience. And there's been so many,
but that one definitely stands out. Amen. Yeah, that's awesome, man.
So were you expecting to see the choir or how did that happen?
(32:59):
Yeah, we honestly weren't at all. We kind of knew about the program a little bit.
And so we're going to go tour and see what it was like and probably just get
to, you know, talk to the guys, hear their stories, hear their testimonies.
But when the choir went up, it was a complete surprise, but also such a blessing
from the Lord. So we got to see that.
And then we played them in soccer. We won't talk about how that went.
Americans versus Brazilians. It was all in the wind. But yeah,
(33:21):
it was an incredible opportunity that we did not see coming at all.
It's so cool seeing how your favorite memories can sometimes be those that you
have no idea about anything that's coming up.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about Impact 360?
So we have about a two and a half hour class every day after life together.
And then on Thursdays, we actually have this thing called Academy.
(33:45):
And so basically the point of Academy is we get split into four groups and we
have one of our professors.
And the class is about teaching us how to learn how to learn.
So they're walking us through the process of going through these big picture questions.
And so we'll go into Academy, we'll do a little bit of review on logic and kind of what that looks like.
And then we will write questions on the board, big topics that we've been curious
(34:10):
about that we want to know more about.
And we'll vote on which question we want to talk about that day for three hours.
And so basically, then the Academy teacher will walk us through and ask us questions
like, how are we going to go about this?
You know, we've gone through Reformed theology, kind of Calvinism,
like, what does that look like?
What does the Bible say about that? that we've gone through different things
like how do we view pronouns? How do we view things from a Christian mindset?
(34:33):
It's a really cool opportunity to both get us to stretch our attention spans,
but also to just learn how to learn and learn how to think through these big questions in life.
How are we going to do this without an academy teacher, without Matt D,
without Ed Bort, without Katie Marie, without Mitch Yeager?
How are we going to be able to do this in life and really think through these
(34:53):
big questions because it's important? And so that's been something that I think
if you interview, you get to do like a mini academy.
And so if any of y'all are looking to interview, or to visit,
I would definitely suggest staying for that.
It's such a unique opportunity that I had no idea about going into the interview
or going into the visit to fellows. Now at Impact, I hear a lot about price
(35:17):
centered development and that sort of thing.
And one key aspect of that I feel like is service. So with that,
what does Impact do to address that aspect of your life? We actually have this
thing called service team.
And so basically, at the beginning of the year, we all got broken up into certain
service teams about six people, six to seven, and we really just worked together on a job.
(35:39):
So first semester, my service team was on hosting.
And so we actually got the opportunity to host new students that were coming
to interview different people that were friends with either John and Trudy White or just Impact staff.
And we got to just give them tours of campus. We got to give them goodie bags
and just really show them what it looks like to be a fellow,
what a day in the life is. And so we got to walk them through that.
(36:00):
So hosting was awesome. We also have beautification, which is kind of taking
care of the grounds on campus, kind of doing the dirty work,
honestly, doing garbage, mail.
But we love beautification. they do an awesome job.
And we also have lunch, dinner and breakfast service teams.
And so this semester, our service team has the opportunity to serve lunch.
And so we'll go out and do that.
(36:22):
And then we also take part in doing the dishes and just being able to serve those who are eating.
Impact really does a good job of providing intentional ways that we can serve
through those service teams.
But they also encourage us to constantly be looking to serve those around us.
I know we see that a lot in the Chick-fil-A model.
Yeah. They do a fantastic job of that. But yes, a big part of learning how to
(36:46):
be a leader is learning how to be a servant like Christ was.
And so that's been a very unique part of the program is learning how to operate
in those service teams, how to handle conflict and also learn to lead and follow
one another. It's so essential for us to learn how to serve.
That's been a really unique and cool opportunity that if you're interested in
impact, hey, you get to look forward to service teams. So...
Music.
(00:55):
So how have you been, man? I noticed that we have on the exact same fit,
pretty much. We got the brown shoes.
We got these pretty much the same shirt. Look at that. Great minds think alike,
I guess. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
How have you been? Like what has been going on in your life since we last talked?
It's been a minute. We just got back from our trip to Brazil about a month ago.
(01:17):
I've been down in Pine Mountain, Georgia at Impact 360 Institute,
having a blast learning about the Lord, you know, and his word and what he says
about discipleship. So making great friendships.
But yeah, it's great to be back and excited to get to catch up with you.
I've known Knox for about, I'd say, 14 years now. It's crazy. It flies by.
(01:38):
Hasn't been long enough. Also, just above and beyond, he is the best friend
that anyone could ever ask for.
And just an amazing man of God. So with that, is there anything else that you
would like to tell us about you, Knox?
Thank you for the introduction. I think you kind of hit some of the main things.
And so I'm just excited to get to dive into this.
(01:58):
I heard you're doing a podcast and I was like, this is the coolest thing ever.
Thank you, man. Thank you so much. Yes.
I'm excited about it. So would you mind telling us just a little bit about Impact360
and what made you choose that path?
So Impact360 was an institute that got started by John and Trudy Cathy.
So about 18 years ago, go, they were looking for a way to kind of just raise
(02:20):
up the next generation of Christian leaders and kind of train them in discipleship
and different things in order to change the world for the glory of God.
And so they kind of took what they had and started class number one,
which was about 20 fellows in a small classroom in Pine Mountain,
Georgia, in the middle of nowhere.
And so it continued to grow. The Lord has blessed them.
(02:43):
And now we're in class 18 and we have 84 four students and they're looking to grow to 100 next year.
And so yeah, the Lord has really just worked through this. It's such a cool opportunity.
But not only is it a gap year program, but it's also a residency program.
There's several residents that are on campus that are discipling us that are
earning their master's program.
(03:04):
Impact has kind of turned into this big greenhouse effect of learning through
the fellows and the residents.
And we also have about five professors on campus. And so, yeah,
in Pine Mountain, Georgia, in the middle of nowhere, Impact's kind of grown
to this big, just like huge learning environment, which is super cool.
And so, yeah, that's a little bit about Impact. Perfect.
Yeah. So with impact, I heard you talking about residency and that sort of thing.
(03:29):
So are those previous class members like class of 17, class of 16 that have
come back and now they're educating y'all as well?
So there's a good balance of both really. So there's several fellows that have come back to do it.
And there's also a lot of students who are looking to either go into full-time
ministry or are really interested just in apologetics and worldview that are
(03:51):
looking to grow in that before going into the workforce.
A big part of impact is the know-be-live mantra that we live under.
And so it's really knowing Jesus more deeply, being
transformed in character and living a life of kingdom influence and so that
mantra kind of brings a lot of master's program students in who want to kind
(04:11):
of learn to see what that looks like going into the workforce so that's how
they get a lot of their recruiting done for impact is through that nobody live mantra.
I love that. Now, I keep hearing you say the word fellows. So for someone that
wouldn't be as familiar with Impact360, would you mind explaining what that
is and maybe like meaning behind it?
Absolutely. Yeah. And so the fellows program is a program for students who are
(04:34):
looking to take a gap year, either most of the students are coming out of high
school and going into college.
And so they're really looking to be pupils of the Impact staff and really see
what it looks it's like to live a life of kingdom influence leading into college.
And so yeah, the fellows is a gap year program in the Impact 360 Institute.
Really the fellows meaning is really just to be learners for Christ through
(04:58):
that. And so there's about 84 of us.
Most of us are coming out of high school, but there's also a couple that have
gone to college for a couple years and then have come back and decided they
want to take this gap year in between
college to really solidify what they believe and why they believe it.
It's a great greenhouse learning environment for sure. Nice.
Perfect. Yes. I love that.
(05:18):
And I had no idea that people came back from college to do this gap year program as well.
But with that, I'm kind of curious, what is something that you would encourage
a parent who isn't as sure like, oh, because gap year programs weren't like as popular 20 years ago.
So if they have a kid that's just now getting into like the college or they're
in college and they want to take the gap year program, what's something that
(05:41):
you would say to encourage them?
Or what's something that you've learned from this gap year program that you're
like, this has prepared me better for college, or this has prepared me better for life in general?
What's something that you can say to encourage them in going to Impact360?
I would say really going into a gap year program, it can seem a lot of times,
especially after high school, that a year is a long time.
(06:03):
But if we look at the grand scheme of life, like a year can be a very short
time, but it's a really great time for growth, especially coming out of high school.
And so I would say a specific thing would be the discipleship aspect.
Really learning what it means to be a disciple and to disciple others and learn
how to be discipled going into college is a big deal.
(06:24):
Impact really follows the idea of what Jesus did and how he discipled his apostles.
And so I would say learning how to learn and learning how to follow as well as learning how to lead.
And so I think for a parent, they can really rest assured that these ideas will
really be poured into the students.
And it'll really be a growing time for the students as they look to grow both
(06:44):
spiritually and academically through different worldview, apologetics,
and kind of learning what they believe and why they believe it.
And so there's so many great aspects. For sure. Yes.
And I know we're going to get into this later on in the episode,
but I just want to ask for the parents sake, you know, like gap year, it is not a break.
So what exactly academically is it as challenging as high school,
(07:08):
more challenging than high school?
Are you feeling that you're being prepared for college pretty much through this?
I would say it's very different from high school. Like you said, it's not a break.
Yes. It is not a break. We do a lot of reading, a lot of writing.
And so the point of impact is to teach us to learn how to gather our thoughts
well, learn how to think well, become thinkers of Christ and really use that to make a difference.
(07:31):
And so we'll do a lot of writing. We do a lot of praises on different books
we read, articles we read that both analyzes a writer's work,
which is very important to understand where the writer's coming from,
what the writer means by the work that they're accomplishing,
but also what does it look like to look at this from a Christian worldview?
What does it look like to analyze this with our certain worldview and our certain
(07:54):
understanding of what we know about the Bible?
And so I think the impact, it really just depends on the week as far as workload,
but I think as a whole, it definitely is very intentional in showing us how
to think well and how to do that well.
It's not an overwhelming schedule at all. I think for students,
you don't need to worry about that. It's a good amount of reading,
but the homework is not overwhelming at all.
It's really meant to grow you, but not to exhaust you.
(08:19):
So bouncing off of that question as well and what you just responded with,
I remember one time me, you and Clay, we had like a late night Chili's conversation
and we were there and we were discussing Impact 360 and what you were going
to do once you completed the program.
And I remember that that kind of shifted your focus a little bit from what I'm
(08:40):
thinking, at least, because originally, I think you were saying Samford mainly.
And then after Impact 360, you were mainly thinking Georgia.
Has that shifted again? Like, what were you thinking? Yeah, absolutely.
So going into Impact, I was really set on Samford University in Birmingham.
Small Christian school, great school, but kind of seeing what it looks like
to learn through that discipleship model.
(09:02):
Model and really seeing, we had a trip to Auburn at the beginning of the year
where we did some spiritual surveys
and seeing what it looks like to be a Christian in a big secular school.
It's something that really excited me and showed me there is a great ministry here.
And there's also a great ministry opportunity as soon as you step on campus.
And so learning through that discipleship model, yeah, it really changed my
(09:24):
focus. And I'm actually headed to Athens.
Let's go. Yes. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Yeah.
So I'll be headed there and really just excited to be able to use these tools
right off the bat in a secular school, but also a school that has a lot of great
Christian community as well.
And so Impact definitely did kind of shift my focus a little bit as far as that goes.
(09:45):
That's so awesome, man. Like, I'm so happy for you and that sort of thing.
Like, I was happy for you when you were going to Stanford too,
don't get me wrong, but then go Dawgs. Yeah. Go Dawgs. Yes, sir.
Yeah. The fact that you have found where you feel like you're being called, right? Like to go to UGA?
Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. That is so awesome, man. Like, I'm so happy for
you. I'm going to be praying for you because I know that you're going to have
(10:07):
like a massive influence there.
And I'm so happy that you're just a wonderful man of God.
So with that, I'm just curious at Impact360, what is that typical day like?
Of course. Yeah, that's a great question.
Usually we have breakfast at around eight, so not too early of a wake up, not too bad.
But after breakfast, we have this really cool program called Life Together.
(10:28):
And so we'll take kind of the first 30 minutes of our day and we'll do different
kind of exercises that are focused on really glorifying the Lord with like our first part of the day.
And so what that looks like is depending on the day, we might have worship led
by students where we just kind of get together and praise the Lord and thank
Him for what He's done. We also have prayer groups.
(10:51):
And so we have like five to six fellows that come together and we'll take prayer
requests, but we're also going through the Lord's prayer and the different aspects
of that and kind of praying for that individually.
And then we also have a scripture study. And so depending on the day,
we may do our triad of scripture study or the other options.
And it's really, really a unique way to set our minds focused on what we're
(11:14):
going to do with the day and how we're going to glorify the Lord with it.
And so it's such a blessing.
One of my favorite parts of the fellows program is the Life Together aspect.
Life Together, that's really neat. I don't know of any other program that does that.
And that's absolutely amazing. We don't have that at Belmont is what I'm trying
to say. So I definitely think that we should implement something like that, but that's fantastic.
(11:36):
So what programs or activities are involved with Impact360?
Because I know like when you think of college, you think, oh,
you know, you're off on your own and you're having a great time and everything.
And I know for me, it's not like the stereotypical college thing.
But you know, I still have a great time playing cards with my friends and swing dancing.
So what type of things do y'all do for fun at Impact360?
(11:57):
Absolutely. That is a fantastic question. So on Monday afternoons,
we actually have our intramurals between houses.
And so we have three houses kind of like Harry Potter style a little bit. Okay.
And so we got sorted into those and we will have intramurals between the three
houses every Monday. It's a.
But we'll also do different things. Like we had a swing dancing night the other
(12:18):
night, which I know you love very much, which is awesome.
Last night we had a casino night. And so we have like different things.
We played a ton of cards, just events and stuff that are put on by the fellows.
The campus is very intentionally balanced so that there's a lot of different
interests that you can have and really be able to thrive in those.
So we have people that are playing music all the time in active commons,
(12:40):
ping pong tournaments, basketball games, different stuff like that.
There's a lot of board games going on.
And so I think anywhere you go on campus, there's just somebody doing something
that you're interested in.
It's definitely kind of a, like I've said before, a greenhouse effect of learning
and growing and also having fun together.
With everything that's going on, has there been anything that you've been like,
I never thought that I would be interested in this, but all of a sudden I love curling.
(13:05):
Like what is your thing that you've gotten into? to? I would say for me, I didn't love music.
I mean, I played a little bit of guitar and piano, but there's been such a great
music community at Impact where we've kind of taught each other how to play guitar and piano.
And there's somebody that said they would teach me how to play violin.
And so just getting to kind of get involved in that and also help out with worship
(13:28):
is something that going into Impact, I was like, never thought I would do,
but there's been so many encouraging people that have taught me and grown me.
And so being able to help out with worship is something that has been an absolute blast.
That's fantastic. Yes. So do you play guitar or do you sing? Yes, I'll go guitar.
I haven't gotten into the singing yet. We'll see how that goes.
(13:48):
But yeah, guitar is awesome.
It's a fun time. Yeah. We kind of have like a similar thing going on at Belmont
with music stuff as far as like helping each other out and that sort of thing.
We'll teach each other new things that we're learning and especially like with
production techniques and whatnot.
We're always just going back and forth on that, just bouncing ideas.
And it's super fun. So I know exactly what you're talking about with that. And it's so cool.
(14:12):
So other than that, can you tell us about the study abroad with going to Brazil?
So the fellows were split into two different trips. So half of us went to Brazil,
and the other half went to South Africa.
I got the opportunity to go to Brazil this past January for a whole month.
We partnered with a group called LifeShape, which was also a group that's affiliated
(14:35):
with John and Trudy White.
We flew into Sao Paulo, got to kind of tour the city.
And then we went to Brasilia for our four projects. We were kind of on a Brazil
team learning together.
And the first project we had, we actually got to help start a church in Brasilia, which was incredible.
There was a couple that was looking to start a church, a pastor and his wife.
And so we got to go there, kind of help out with fixing the church up.
(14:59):
And then we actually went out, did some evangelism in the street with some translators.
And we passed out flyers and we put on a kid's camp, which was super cool to
kind of get to connect with the community there to go walk door to door and
just get to know people in the community and then put on a kid's camp for their
kids, which was an amazing opportunity.
And then we also did a church service for the family where we shared the gospel
(15:21):
with families in the area as they came. We served them dinner.
And so that was amazing start to the trip.
And then after that, we went and we did a career fair for kids in the Brasilia area as well.
Followed by, we painted and cleaned a church.
We helped out with our church service. And then we also went back out with translators and worked on,
(15:42):
you know, sharing the gospel with people in the community and doing some evangelism
and just asking them, you know, kind of what they believed and why they believed
it and kind of seeing what worship looked like in Brazil.
Which was incredible. We got to go to this thing called conference,
where it was basically kind of like their passion.
Oh, wow. They had guest pastors, guest speakers come in, and they also had some
(16:04):
really big like Christian bands.
They came in and kind of, you know, put on a week of worship and learning.
And we got to do some workshops in Portuguese, which was a blast.
So yeah, it was an amazing trip. And we got to debrief in Agua Viva.
Funny story at the end of it. So Brazil is kind of known for their soccer.
Yeah, at the end, we got to go to a Brazilian soccer match.
(16:28):
And kind of experienced like the soccer community there, which was an absolute blast.
There was actually kind of a little bit of a fight that broke out in the stands.
Oh, okay. And pepper spray and tear gas was sprayed out. So we got the whole
Brazil experience, I guess. You did, wow.
Evangelism as well as, you know, pepper spray.
(16:48):
So Brazil was a blast though. The Lord definitely grew us all and challenged
us all, but also was really, really amazing to all of us. So it was an incredible
trip. That's fantastic.
Hey, I'm just glad you didn't get pepper spray for evangelizing. Amen.
So with the languages and that sort of thing, you had to learn a new language,
(17:10):
right? Yeah, absolutely.
And so we kind of had a few introductory classes.
We did a little bit of Duolingo. But we came in basically just knowing,
you know, how to greet people, how to say hi, and different stuff like that.
But by the end of the trip, being around it, you know, 24-7,
obviously we had some translators with us that could help us out a little bit.
(17:30):
But by the end of it, we actually got to like go around an airport,
order our own food, kind of walk through the city and ask small questions about
where we're going, what we're doing.
And so we were able to kind of incorporate our forties there a little bit,
which was an absolute blast. Definitely cool learning experience.
For sure. That's fantastic. So now I'm just curious because we both had two
(17:52):
years of high school Latin and throughout life, we've just been learning Latin
because we went to the private school and that sort of thing.
But with that, was that helpful in learning the new language?
Yes, there were definitely some similarities to Latin.
I took a couple years of Spanish right at the end of high school.
And so that kind of translated a little bit.
(18:12):
But it was funny if I ever tried to like talk just in Spanish or order in Spanish,
the people would be like, no, no, no, we do Portuguese here.
So it was funny to not only try to incorporate Spanish, but also kind of learn
the original Portuguese to that, which was a blast.
But yeah, it did overlap a little bit. Sweet. Well, I'm so glad.
So how has the gap year experience grown you professionally?
(18:35):
So really, one thing that's really, we have this class called Principles of
leadership taught by our professor, Matt D. Awesome dude.
I would definitely recommend going and listening to one of his classes,
but he's really taught us about what it means to be a leader for Christ and
what the biblical view of leadership is.
And so really we've gone through a book called Habitudes and we've also kind
(18:58):
of looked at Jesus's ministry and seen how does Jesus implement leadership,
but also like how is he a servant leader?
And we've been able to kind of learn how to implement that into our leadership, all of these.
And we have after principles of leadership, we kind of have leadership exercises
with our service teams where we go through exercises to learn how to lead a
team, both in a non-professional and a professional setting with presentations.
(19:21):
That's been super cool. We had a week of class last week, actually,
on the biblical view of work and vocation and calling.
And so we kind of got to go through the Bible and see that work is not a bad thing,
that it was created in the garden and that we've kind of been learning how we
can have a Christian view of vocation and calling and kind of what the Lord
(19:42):
has for us, but also what steps we need to take as far as that goes.
We're still going through some classes on how to figure that out,
how to completely view that and how to like listen to God's voice in that.
But yeah, we've definitely had a lot of opportunities to grow professionally
and kind of look at the future and see what that looks like. That's fantastic, man.
Yeah. Are there any skills with that that you would say you've gained or outside
(20:05):
of that, whether it be spiritually or just socially or professionally for that
matter, that you've gained from Impact360 specifically?
Because I know we talked a little bit about guitar. Now we're talking about
how to navigate work biblically. And are there any others that you would like
to mention? Yeah, absolutely.
I would say, first of all, is like boldness, especially in evangelism.
(20:25):
We had an opportunity to go not only to Brazil, but we did it in Utah.
At the end of September, we went to Utah and kind of had conversations with
the Latter-day Saints community on kind of what they believe.
We went to their temple square, which was amazing.
They have really cool churches, but we kind of went and talked to the people
(20:46):
there and asked them what they believe, why they believe it,
and how it differs from Christianity.
And then we were also able to go and talk to kids our age, college kids in Snow
College in BYU and really see, you know, just kind of not only ask them questions,
but challenge what they believe and share the true gospel that we know to be true.
And so boldness with that is definitely something that God has really taught me.
(21:08):
But yeah, as a whole, I would say that Impact has really taught me how to live
in a thriving Christian community.
And I think from the moment that someone steps on campus, this is like super
prevalent, just how tight-knit the community is and how we're all seeking to grow with one another.
And so I think personally, spiritually, professionally, Impact is definitely growing us all a ton.
(21:31):
Sweet. So how has it assisted you in reaching your goals?
And what goals have you come up with since you've been at Impact?
Are there any new goals in your life?
Yeah, it's actually funny that you say that. We're about to go through one of
our Wednesday afternoon classes for the next part of the semester on setting
goals and what that looks like in both a professional and a spiritual standpoint.
(21:53):
And so I would say that one of the goals that Impact has really brought to my
attention, kind of like I said earlier, is how to be a disciple and also be discipled.
We have a thing with the residents where we have one of them that disciples us.
And so we'll meet with them about once every week or two and go through like
these different truths, but also catch up on life and learn from people that
(22:16):
are a lot older than us, that have a lot more experience, but are also looking to grow with us.
And so I would say that one of my goals is, yes, to be a better disciple of
Christ and to be able to spread his good news, but also like love the lost wherever
I go, whether that be UGA or wherever any of us go.
Another goal is to kind of figure out where the Lord wants me to be,
(22:37):
what his calling for me is.
I think a lot of us are going through that right now before we kind of build
very long term goals. We're like, God, like, where do you want me to be?
What job do you want me to be in? What kind of ministry?
And so impact has kind of helped us narrow that focus down a little bit of,
hey, like we need to go ahead and set goals, set standards that we want the
students to be able to stick to for the rest of their lives to live a life of kingdom influence.
(23:02):
Impact is definitely directing us but we're about to go through
a lot on that and I feel like that's what gives impact such
a good reputation is because they do want
you to constantly set goals and they're constantly assisting you in yes this
is going to be your short-term goals but ultimately leave the long-term goals
up to him and that's what we all have to learn as Christians and I feel like
(23:23):
with all of us graduating high school there's this big pressure of you have
to know your whole entire life right now. And we don't.
I love it that Impact teaches that, that we just need to give it all to him.
So thank you for saying that. Like, I really appreciate that.
Of course. Yeah. So thank you for listening. Yes. Yeah.
So if you could describe Impact 360 using just one word, what would that one
(23:46):
word be? I would say a greenhouse.
It's kind of something that the professors use a lot, but it's really this institute
as a whole with how tight-knit the the campus is.
It's really just a greenhouse of learning, of growing and of really challenging one another.
The classrooms are all very intentionally built in order to maximize learning,
(24:08):
maximize attention spans, which is something that they really harp on a lot
is our attention span is especially in our generation.
It's the TikTok doom scroll thing. You got 20 seconds of my attention and then you're gone. Exactly.
Yes. The professors make fun of us all the time for that.
But yeah, I would say that it's just a greenhouse of intentionality and community.
(24:31):
And so I think that's something that really stands out.
I love that description of a greenhouse because I wouldn't have thought of that.
But that's very good that they describe it that way, because it is cool seeing
like how it's impacted you and how you've grown.
Like, I'm not saying that you weren't entirely mature spiritually before. I believe that you were.
And then it's just neat seeing how God has blessed that and seen how you've
(24:55):
grown even further in that.
I just, I love seeing how those professors have had an impact on you as well
as the people around you too.
Because I mean, we saw that at Corm Deo, the high school that we went to.
And now at college, we're getting different impacts from different people.
And that's why they call it impact, I'm sure is because yeah,
because of that greenhouse effect.
But that's, that's so awesome. So what has been your greatest challenge with Impact360?
(25:20):
Because I know we've talked a lot about everything that's so great about it.
But what is the biggest challenge for you?
I would say one of them, we talk about it a lot. We read a book a week,
which is like, especially going into impact.
I was like, I mean, I don't mind reading, but a book a week is, it's something.
It is. Yes. So that's probably been one of the more challenging things is staying on top of reading.
(25:41):
I'm really managing the time well with that because it is a lot of reading.
But out of that, I feel like has come a lot of growth because we've gotten to
to absorb so much knowledge in such a short amount of time.
And a cool thing about Impact is a lot of the books we read,
we'll read them for a week and then the author will come in the next week and teach the class.
(26:01):
We get to read this author's work this entire week.
And then we get to really pick their
brain in class and learn more and ask questions based on the reading.
It can seem like a lot, but really when it comes full circle,
it's such a greenhouse place of being able to connect with the author that we
just spent a week reading about and learning from and their ideas. is.
(26:21):
It's been a hard part, but also one of my favorite parts.
Yeah, a book a week. I could not do that. There's no way. I love reading and
everything, but that's a lot. Oh, yeah.
I would think it would make it worth it, though, when you get to see the author
there at the end, because otherwise, if I were reading a book a week,
I would just be like, whatever.
But now, if I were to meet the author, that would be so cool,
(26:44):
because I would then have a reason to read the entirety of of it and then just
like find little minute details that I would be like, okay, so I sort of understand
this concept, but I want to take it one step further.
So this is a question that I can ask. That's awesome that they bring them in though.
It's such a blessing. Yeah. We enjoy it so much. So it does,
you're right. It does help with productivity for sure.
So how do you plan to transition from Impact360 to UGA? Congratulations.
(27:11):
And then after that to work, how do you plan on making that transition?
This is definitely something that we've spent a lot of time reflecting on and prepping for.
We're going to be doing that in the next part of our classes.
This summer, I'll be working at Windshape Camps again.
It's exciting to kind of get to take what we've learned as far as discipleship
(27:31):
and kind of put it out there a little bit.
Kind of get to use what we've learned like right off the bat at Windshape.
Sharing the gospel with these kids and really just showing them like the love
of Christ and what a Christian community looks like.
There's about like eight, I think eight or nine of us fellows that are all going
together to work there this summer. That's awesome.
That's exciting. Yes. And then UGA, yeah, planning on going there in the fall.
(27:52):
And yeah, Lord willing, trying to just use the strength and the knowledge that
the Lord has given us to apply it and try to make disciples and grow a Christian community together.
A big thing that we kind of harp on is a time of sweet fellowship that we have.
Every other Monday, we get with our sweet. we read a book written by Dietrich
(28:12):
Bonhoeffer about how to build a Christian community together wherever we are in life.
And so really, obviously, we're all taking different steps in the future,
but we get to come together and kind of talk about, hey, what does it look like
to build that community in college?
What does it look like to intentionally use what we've learned as far as community,
what we've experienced,
(28:33):
and kind of recreate that on a place that, there are great college campuses
everywhere, But kind of recreate what we've been able to experience and impact
and kind of put it forth out there and allow others to experience that alongside with us.
I love that. I hadn't thought of that beforehand.
But yeah, just getting to immediately implement that would be absolutely essential.
(28:53):
And that would be like the next step of learning because you know,
like there's learning something and then there's like the deep learning where
then you can teach it to someone.
So that's amazing that they offer you all that opportunity.
It's funny that we're talking about doing all these things, but really being
able to implement it is something that we're all really stoked to do.
Yeah, it's awesome that you get to like implement what you've just been learning at Impact.
(29:15):
But now I'm just kind of curious, is there anything else specifically that you
would want people to know about Impact?
I think that there's kind of an aspect that goes unnoticed sometimes in the
application process and in touring and everything.
And is that really this year we're learning so many skills that will immediately be applied to life.
Like one of the practical ones is we got to at the beginning of Impact,
(29:38):
go church shopping stopping and see what it looks like to go with a group of
like-minded fellows and see what it looks like to go to different churches,
kind of talk about what did we like, you know, what about the message did we
really like, what are we looking for in a church body and kind of seeing what
it means to go meet the pastor for the first time without your family and go
seeing kind of what a church service looks like.
(29:59):
Being able to do practical things like that and looking to join a Bible study
at a local church is something that is really valuable that I didn't know we
would be involved in at all.
But that's been a really unique opportunity is to kind of go church shopping
and learn how to just do life together with other like-minded Christians outside of the home.
I know that that's going to apply not only later on in life,
(30:21):
but specifically at college too, because I mean, at UGA, you're going to have
that same experience. You're going to be going in there.
And I would imagine you already know a lot of people at UGA just with your family
and everything. Y'all love UGA. So go Dawgs.
That's going to be like a bit of a challenge at first, I would imagine,
because just going to a new place anytime.
So I'm glad that they teach that at Impact. I had no idea about that.
(30:44):
Now, I'm just curious. I know I've made a lot of great memories at Belmont,
but what is your favorite memory?
Like, do you have an all-time favorite memory of one thing that's happened at Impact 360?
Or it can be a lot of things. What's your favorite memory? The memory that comes
to mind definitely comes from Brazil.
Okay. We went to this place called Cristalongia right before we were going to
debrief the trip and kind of go to Agua Viva.
(31:07):
And we went, and it's really a place where they take people who are on the streets
with a cocaine addiction.
And so they take them off the streets and they have like a 15 month program
where they really go about how do we reinstate this person back into really
their everyday life and how do we bring them back into society,
(31:27):
but also how do we like teach them the gospel and show them what it means to
be a follower of Christ and live a life that's kingdom influenced. influence.
We got to actually go there and talk to a bunch of the members there,
which was absolutely incredible.
And at the end, we got to see a choir of them who were about to graduate the
program who had overcome all these things.
And we got to see them go up and sing about how they were thankful for having
(31:52):
freedom in Christ and being no longer slaves to sin.
And it was incredible to see that these guys had been through so much,
had been through so much pain, so much suffering.
But on the other side of overcoming that, they were giving all the glory and
the thanks to the Lord, which was so incredible to see.
A lot of times we can take a lot of the trials and the things for granted,
(32:12):
but these guys really took that and gave all the glory to the Lord.
And we're like, thank you, Lord, for bringing us through that so that we could
see your glory in its fullest.
And so that was something that was absolutely incredible.
Definitely an emotional day, but it was incredible to see how the Lord had created
so much heart change, so much life change, and really just to see his goodness
in the faces of those guys and overcoming so many odds by God's grace alone.
(32:37):
It's kind of like a taste of heaven. I'm not going to lie, which was so cool.
Yeah, chills, chills for a week after that. So praise God for that.
It's been my highlight of the fellows experience. And there's been so many,
but that one definitely stands out. Amen. Yeah, that's awesome, man.
So were you expecting to see the choir or how did that happen?
(32:59):
Yeah, we honestly weren't at all. We kind of knew about the program a little bit.
And so we're going to go tour and see what it was like and probably just get
to, you know, talk to the guys, hear their stories, hear their testimonies.
But when the choir went up, it was a complete surprise, but also such a blessing
from the Lord. So we got to see that.
And then we played them in soccer. We won't talk about how that went.
Americans versus Brazilians. It was all in the wind. But yeah,
(33:21):
it was an incredible opportunity that we did not see coming at all.
It's so cool seeing how your favorite memories can sometimes be those that you
have no idea about anything that's coming up.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about Impact 360?
So we have about a two and a half hour class every day after life together.
And then on Thursdays, we actually have this thing called Academy.
(33:45):
And so basically the point of Academy is we get split into four groups and we
have one of our professors.
And the class is about teaching us how to learn how to learn.
So they're walking us through the process of going through these big picture questions.
And so we'll go into Academy, we'll do a little bit of review on logic and kind of what that looks like.
And then we will write questions on the board, big topics that we've been curious
(34:10):
about that we want to know more about.
And we'll vote on which question we want to talk about that day for three hours.
And so basically, then the Academy teacher will walk us through and ask us questions
like, how are we going to go about this?
You know, we've gone through Reformed theology, kind of Calvinism,
like, what does that look like?
What does the Bible say about that? that we've gone through different things
like how do we view pronouns? How do we view things from a Christian mindset?
(34:33):
It's a really cool opportunity to both get us to stretch our attention spans,
but also to just learn how to learn and learn how to think through these big questions in life.
How are we going to do this without an academy teacher, without Matt D,
without Ed Bort, without Katie Marie, without Mitch Yeager?
How are we going to be able to do this in life and really think through these
(34:53):
big questions because it's important? And so that's been something that I think
if you interview, you get to do like a mini academy.
And so if any of y'all are looking to interview, or to visit,
I would definitely suggest staying for that.
It's such a unique opportunity that I had no idea about going into the interview
or going into the visit to fellows. Now at Impact, I hear a lot about price
(35:17):
centered development and that sort of thing.
And one key aspect of that I feel like is service. So with that,
what does Impact do to address that aspect of your life? We actually have this
thing called service team.
And so basically, at the beginning of the year, we all got broken up into certain
service teams about six people, six to seven, and we really just worked together on a job.
(35:39):
So first semester, my service team was on hosting.
And so we actually got the opportunity to host new students that were coming
to interview different people that were friends with either John and Trudy White or just Impact staff.
And we got to just give them tours of campus. We got to give them goodie bags
and just really show them what it looks like to be a fellow,
what a day in the life is. And so we got to walk them through that.
(36:00):
So hosting was awesome. We also have beautification, which is kind of taking
care of the grounds on campus, kind of doing the dirty work,
honestly, doing garbage, mail.
But we love beautification. they do an awesome job.
And we also have lunch, dinner and breakfast service teams.
And so this semester, our service team has the opportunity to serve lunch.
And so we'll go out and do that.
(36:22):
And then we also take part in doing the dishes and just being able to serve those who are eating.
Impact really does a good job of providing intentional ways that we can serve
through those service teams.
But they also encourage us to constantly be looking to serve those around us.
I know we see that a lot in the Chick-fil-A model.
Yeah. They do a fantastic job of that. But yes, a big part of learning how to
(36:46):
be a leader is learning how to be a servant like Christ was.
And so that's been a very unique part of the program is learning how to operate
in those service teams, how to handle conflict and also learn to lead and follow
one another. It's so essential for us to learn how to serve.
That's been a really unique and cool opportunity that if you're interested in
impact, hey, you get to look forward to service teams. So...
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