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Pidge Bannin

bannin_pidge.jpg“I am so grateful Debbie took the time to spend time with a messed-up little girl pretending to be in control of her life,” says Barbara “Pidge” Bannin. “God used her mightily. She has been the topic of many papers in my leadership classes; she is one of the best coaches and mentors I have ever met. Thirty-two years later and she is still influencing some of the very basic Christian principles I adhere to.”

Today, Pidge and her husband of 29 years, Bernie, are students at Regent University in Virginia, where Pidge is a doctoral candidate. She also serves as administrative support for the Regent University School of Divinity. “We have been in fulltime ministry for almost 12 years, six in youth ministry, two and a half in a church replant and three years at a revitalization attempt. Our normal level of activity in our church is extensive, on worship teams, kids ministry, adult ministry, outreach, and so on.” Pidge and Bernie have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law and a “grand-puppy.”

Pidge’s encounter with the CCO didn’t come on a college campus, but at church. “My home church, Sunset Hills Presbyterian, sponsored Debbie Smiley during her CCO years,” says Pidge. “In return, she rallied the college kids during the holidays. I was one of those college kids.

“Looking for Christian fellowship was the furthest thing from my mind. I was looking for the easiest route to numb and escape reality. My first encounter with Debbie was Christmas 1975. When I came home for the summer, I ended up working very closely with her on social projects at the church. She was relentless in her unassuming, confronting and challenging way. She pursued with questions that really made me stop and think about who I was and what I was choosing. I didn’t realize it then, but I was being discipled.”

During that summer, Pidge went with Debbie to a conference at RC Sproul’s camp in the Laurel Mountains. “It was about the Christian and the media—how lighting, music, and words affect our feelings and emotions,” remembers Pidge. “The weekend culminated with a trip to the movies to watch The Omen and analyze all the aspects we had been studying. To my knowledge, I was the only one who was not a Christian in our group, and the people sitting on either side of me had my nails digging into their arms. I was scared—very scared!

“The movie finally ended and we headed home, through the mountains, on very, very dark roads. Again, I was very scared. There were five of us in the car; Debbie was driving and I was in the middle in the back seat. All of a sudden, the only guy riding with us said, ‘I sense a spirit of fear in the car. We should pray.’ As they began to pray, God began to speak to me. The words I heard included questions about the path I was on. He made it clear that I had a choice about the journey—I could choose life or I could choose death. The choice was simple, and I chose life.”

Within two weeks after Pidge made that decision, her life was completely different. Even the college where she was planning to return closed, which she believes was a good thing, as there was no Christian influence on the campus or in the town. Ultimately, she chose to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, from where she graduated in 1983 with a degree in deaf education.

“Becoming a Christian was probably the most difficult decision I have made and yet that moment lives on in my heart. It gives me the strength to face life’s issues and overcome fear. My faith has challenged me through every step of motherhood, helped me come up with creative solutions and model to my kids that life is a blast with Jesus.

“The path I was on before my encounter with Debbie Smiley was extremely destructive. I honestly believe I would have been dead by 1980 if I hadn’t encountered her. I owe her a lot. The fact that I have been able to stay married to one person, have children who love me, are relatively healthy, and have a practicing faith never ceases to take my breath away. This is all by the grace of God. My faith is the very air I breathe. It influences everything I do and everything I am. I am a vessel of the Lord’s and I choose to serve Him on a daily basis.”