I was a senior in high school when ProjectEx visited my home church. I had heard about CCF from my youth minister who attended ECU and was involved in CCF there.  I knew CCF was a campus ministry that was focused on winning disciples for Christ on a secular college campus. I also knew that I wanted to attend NC State University and not a bible college because I wanted a degree in English Education, so it seemed like CCF was the place I needed to be.  The only problem was that I did not know anyone from CCF at NC State, I had no idea where they met, and I really didn’t know much about the campus.  As a typical high school senior from a small school, I needed guidance, especially since NC State was a HUGE school compared to my high school of 500.

One Wednesday night bible study, our small groups met together for a presentation from ProjectEx. This group’s purpose was to connect high school juniors and seniors to college campus ministries, particularly CCF. I was excited because I wanted more information about NC State and their ministry and how I could get plugged in. Mike Wesner, one of the leaders of the program, spoke to our group on the importance of keeping a freshman in college connected to a group of believers. He also gave us many surprising statistics that represented the typical senior falling away from their beliefs when they go to college. The main statistic that stuck in my mind was that 9 out of 10 high school seniors will fall away from the church when they attend a secular university. I was stunned because I knew the number was pretty steep but I had not realized it was that serious.

Right after he said that, I was determined to not be a statistic, to beat the odds and stay true to my faith and to my Lord and Savior.  Mike also showed videos of the different campus ministers and the program of CCF as a whole. This presentation was the deal closer that secured my desire to go to NC State and be involved with CCF. Without this presentation, I may not have heard what I needed to know about CCF at NC State and I may not have found some of the most faithful Christians I know and some of my best friends.  I am so grateful that programs like ProjectEx and CCF exist because they provide a challenging secular campus mission field while still staying true to the doctrine and God’s Word by making disciples and building up the leaders of tomorrow’s church.

Mandi Harding
Freshman at NC State University
Daughter of God and not a statistic