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Kristin Goodwin

goodwin_kristin.jpg“When I was in college, I went through a time when I had a lot of doubt about my faith,” remembers Kristin Goodwin. “I knew that Christianity was more than what I had been taught growing up, but I didn’t understand what was missing. If CCO staff hadn’t been there to answer tough questions, I don’t know that I would have been able to walk through that and come out where I did. They helped me understand that faith in Christ was about my whole life, not just my Sunday church and my weekly fellowship meeting. Their encouragement and teaching helped me to grow through that. Without it, I would probably be a Sunday-only Christian, which is obviously not what God had in mind!”

Kristin first connected to the CCO fellowship during her first year as a student at Ohio Wesleyan University, and that involvement continued through graduation to a decision to serve on CCO staff herself, at The University of Akron. Today, Kristin lives in New York City, where she serves with an HIV/AIDS service organization in Brooklyn.

“If I had not been involved in the CCO, I wouldn’t be working as a social worker or public policy advocate today,” she says. “The CCO helped me to understand my faith as a whole way of living, through my vocation, my relationships, and my involvement in the world. I grew up thinking that being a Christian was about attending church, praying and reading my Bible. The CCO taught me that it is about those things, but it is also about living my life in a holistic and faithful way.”

The CCO-sponsored Jubilee conference was a catalyst for Kristin’s new understanding of her faith. “Jubilee was the place where I first heard people talking about the significance of living the whole of my life in Christ, including my vocation. I was so excited to feel the pieces falling into place, hearing that being a follower of Christ was more than just going to church, praying and reading Scripture. Being a Christian became a whole new world to me, involving everything from where I shop to how I view my role as a public policy advocate in New York City’s budget process. It is about my whole life.”

“As a public policy advocate for people living with AIDS and HIV, I am confronted with situations every day where I am reminded of things I learned in the CCO. If I can do one thing, it is to live my vocation with hope, and live in the peace and justice of God’s Kingdom with every interaction with a client, every rally, every meeting with city council. Thanks to the CCO, the staff I knew in college and in my own time on staff, I can more clearly see the fullness of what God intended for my life, and for His Kingdom.”