Josiah Cagle
multiplier | Bozeman team
Church has always been a part of my life, but it wasn’t until college that the Gospel became the center of my life. I’ve been all over the place; born in Montana, lived in Kentucky for a little while, but was raised in Western Washington. My first memories of even having friends or fun at all was in church and naturally my entire identity became consumed by the church. Though, as for any kid, it was about how I looked and what people thought about me, not Jesus. It wasn’t until all of this came shattering down in seventh grade that my faith started to become real and my life turned from just knowing about Jesus to knowing Him personally and understanding how desperately I need Him as a savior.
As a little seventh grader just trying to find my step in life, my parents divorced and we stopped going to church simultaneously. Everything I had found my identity in was stripped away; my friends, church family, and even my family at home. To twelve year old me this seemed like the end of the world. But God in His sovereignty knew this would be the moment He would capture my heart and start to shape and mold me into the man He wanted me to be. I met a group of high school guys walking around my middle school who seemed to hold a joy that was completely unknown to me, but they approached me and invited me into their lives. These men shared the gospel with me, showed me what it looks like to know Christ, and model my life after His. My story doesn’t end there because I still had sin I hadn’t handed over to Christ, rather I thought I could power through it and eventually work my way to holiness.
High school was me being prideful and trying to be the best at everything, yet still being insecure in who I really was and where I belonged. Even though I would tell those around me I was Christian, my life didn’t actually reflect Christ by any means. I was pretending and appearing to be confident and rooted in Christ, but in reality I was just fooling myself and everyone around me. God transformed my heart in me realizing that true value comes from finding identity in Him.
The summer after my senior year I was introduced to Resonate while walking into a Starbucks in Ellensburg. That summer was the biggest fork in the road of my life; I either continue trying to prove myself to others around me by what I wear and how good I can catch a ball or disc in college, or hand over everything that I am to Jesus who I knew was my savior.
Since being a part of Resonate; Christ has become the center of everything I am and that understanding of Him and the Gospel has radically changed the trajectory of my life. Being a Missionary for Resonate wasn’t something I planned first coming into college. However, as God continued to reveal himself to me and who I am in Him, my passion for lost college students became the one thing I wanted to do with my entire life.
My prayer is that God continues to work through Resonate to reach college students so that they hear of the hope that lies within each of us and that the Lord takes a hold of their heart so that through them even more may hear about Him.
Myers Briggs: ENTJ