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Erin Ferut

ferut-erin.jpg“Jubilee was a huge turning point in my search for answers about my faith,” says Erin Ferut. “I love to sing and it drove me nuts to sing worship music, because I felt like a hypocrite because I did not believe the words. Ted invited me to Jubilee and helped me get there financially. For the first time, I was able to sincerely sing worship songs, and I loved the breakout sessions. I soaked up the different speakers’ every word! About two weeks later, I accepted Christ during a quiet time, reading the book of John.”

Erin was a freshman at Kent State University when she experienced that life-changing moment. Even though she entered college with a lot of faith questions, Erin’s decision to attend Kent State was largely influenced by meeting CCO staff worker Ted Schumacher when she was being recruited to Kent’s track and field team.

“Being introduced to Ted during my recruiting visit had a huge impact on my choice of going to Kent for track,” Erin says. “Without an immediate connection with Ted and also with The Navigators, along with being redshirted from competition my freshman year, I am not sure I would have sought answers to my questions or pursued faith the way God allowed me to, which ultimately resulted in my relationship with Christ.”

During her years in college, Erin met with Ted weekly and attended the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group, as well as The Navigators fellowship group. “I was seeking Christian fellowship, but I came into college doubting my faith and I had a lot of questions,” Erin remembers. “FCA and Navs helped me tremendously in coming to know Christ personally.”

By the time she was a senior, Erin served as president of FCA, and she also led a Bible study for female athletes and mentored younger Christian students one-on-one. Today, she is preparing to move to Los Angeles, where she will serve as a campus missionary herself, with The Navigators.

“Ted challenged me in my leadership and in my faith walk,” Erin says. “I went through a lot of health troubles during my track career at Kent State and he helped by challenging me to use my circumstances in other ways than just winning to further the kingdom. Through FCA, I had a group of friends and support within the athletic community that didn’t just revolve around athletics. It also gave me the passion I have now for athletic ministry through my involvement in leading an athlete Bible study and discipling other girls.”

Erin is also grateful for the influence of CCO staff members Chris Popadich and Kris Herman, with whom she went to church. “Poppy helped me understand daily quiet times and the need for solitude, slowing down, and really listening to God. He also shaped my prayer life through an eight-week study of Mark I did with him and one other student. I wouldn’t be the person I am in Christ without God using them in my life!”

“The CCO’s ministry helped me follow God’s call to full time collegiate ministry,” Erin says. “The CCO helped me understand the idea of a biblical worldview and the importance of a daily quiet time, scripture memory, solitude, fasting from things of this world, being aware of my surroundings, and having a heart for people. The CCO helped me become a Christian and learn the disciplines of the Christian faith and how to do and to lead in these areas. I can’t imagine the last four years of my life as a nonbeliever. God has shaped every decision I have made, the passion I have for ministry, and my purpose in life.”