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CCO Campus Ministry

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Michele Barnes McClendon

mcclendon_michele.jpg“My involvement with the CCO was a HUGE part of my developing and maturing walk with Christ,” says Michele Barnes McClendon. “I had superb discipleship from [CCO staff] Ted Schumacher and Todd McCauley. I had sound guidance, wisdom and advice with every decision I made. I understood that my life was not just about me, but about the greater purposes of God’s kingdom.”

Michele and her husband live in Akron, Ohio, where they are raising two little boys. They are actively involved in the children’s ministry of their church and have also been members of the drama team. Michele is currently a stay-at-home mom, and most recently worked with the CCO with students at The University of Akron.

“I have volunteered as a counselor at a Pregnancy Crisis Center in my old neighborhood, and I have also volunteered at a soup kitchen in my current neighborhood,” Michele says. “I loved it! Now I’m a stay-at-home-mom of a one- and two-year-old, so I don’t have as much flexibility or freedom to do that as I once did. I’m eager to return to it, though, and plan to have the boys volunteer with me when they are big enough.”

Michele made a commitment to Jesus Christ during her freshman year at Kent State University, and soon afterward, she connected with students and staff involved in the CCO’s ministry. Michele attended Jubilee several times and was grateful for the conference. “Jubilee got me really excited about my faith and got me connected with other college students who were also excited about their faith,” she remembers. “During my first Jubilee, I met a girl named Crystal who was from Thiel College in Pennsylvania. We are still good friends today, and we’ve been able to watch each other grow in our faith and mutually encourage one another in our faith journey. That has been such a big blessing.

“My connection with the CCO was a vital part of my student life and spiritual growth. Being a Christian was the center and foundation of my life as a student and I credit my involvement with FCA and Ted Schumacher’s ministry with helping me grow and develop into a mature believer.”

Michele takes joy in sharing her faith, and she learned to do it while she was in college. “Some of those I shared my faith with came to make a decision for Christ,” she says. “One of them, a young man named Courtney Taylor, came to the Lord soon after I shared the gospel with him. He is now in leadership at The House of the Lord, the church I now attend.”

“It was during my time at Kent that I myself began to feel called into ministry. My faith is not just a part of my life; it IS my life. All of my decisions and choices and the way I live my life are based on my relationship with Christ and my service to and for him.”