Affectionately known as “Johnny Mack” during his baseball years at Xavier University, this young man impacted his team and the campus for Jesus Christ.  We have kept in touch, always wondering how the Lord might lead him.  We were delighted when he pulled us aside and told us the following story.  In his own words:

I have somewhat of an unconventional story for someone who has ended up vocationally in the church world, because I was, for my entire life “un-churched”.  I never went to church when I was growing up, never really talked about God with my family, and truly was not a believer, but I came to faith late in high school through Young Life.

So this means that I went to college, very fresh in my faith – and as you can imagine, college is not the easiest environment for a young, green Christian.  To be honest, most peers seemed uninterested, and many professors seem hostile towards faith.  Regarding athletics, it is strictly achievement-based – you are how you perform, and that makes a faith that is founded on the truth “saved by grace” seem foreign, inapplicable, and distant.  And most difficult of all, there are very few places for fellowship.  But AIA gave me a foundation to continue to grow in my faith.  To be honest, I wasn’t the model AIA citizen – I showed up when I could for the first 2 years and probably did not prioritize it the way I would if I could do it all again.  But, looking back, there wasn’t anything more important than having AIA and that foundation of people I knew were in this with me.  I owe so much of the growth in my faith through college to AIA and for that I will forever be grateful.

There was a turning point in my faith in my Junior year, you might call it a reawakening, and all of a sudden, my faith seemed real to me.  It seemed real and present.   I had been elected team captain in the fall and I knew that I was being called to leadership in my faith as well.  With support from Mark and Susie, I started a team Bible study that met once every other week at our house in the fall and winter, and on road trips during the season.  It was the most rewarding thing I had ever done in my faith and I knew at that moment that I was called to some form of vocational ministry.

After spending five years at Abercrombie & Fitch corporate office in International Real Estate and Business Development, God stopped whispering and started yelling, and I knew I had to make a change.  Last fall I became the Executive Pastor at FIVE14 Church in New Albany, OH and I know that I will be in ministry for the rest of my life.  I am about to start a program at Western Seminary to get my Master’s degree in Biblical and Theological Studies.

I am so thankful for the role Mark, Susie and Athletes in Action played in my faith in college and for helping me build a foundation in my faith and giving me a place to really grow.  Through my experience leading a Bible study in college, I started to understand how we can play a significant role in God’s restoration and transformative work here on earth.

John McCambridge

We are back on campus and excited to meet and engage all the new freshman. God is transforming lives. Join with us in praying that enduring impact stories will be written on their hearts.