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Jaclyn Beeler

Beeler-Jaclyn.jpg“The CCO helped me look at life in a new way,” says Jaclyn Beeler. “It helped me step out of my comfort zone. The CCO and the Ocean City Beach Project challenged me and helped me open my eyes to what God’s calling is for my life.”

Jaclyn Beeler is a college student at Williamson Christian College in Franklin, Tennessee, and she does not have a CCO ministry on her campus. But several years ago, she went on a mission trip to Mississippi and met CCO staff member Kayla Allen.

“Our groups were staying at the same church, and Kayla and I just hit it off,” Jaclyn remembers. “We started talking and praying together. We kept in touch afterward and she is the one who introduced me to the CCO.” Kayla encouraged Jaclyn to apply to participate in the CCO-sponsored summer leadership program in New Jersey, the Ocean City Beach Project.

“I went to the Beach Project the summer of 2007 and had the most amazing time of my life,” Jaclyn says. “I grew in my walk and my faith so much that summer. I learned how to live with others in community. I overcame my fear of praying in groups and my fear of stepping out of my comfort zone. I also led a Bible study for the first time. I gained some amazing relationships with my fellow housemates and with the CCO staff that were at OCBP that summer.”

Jaclyn changed her major after she left the Beach Project. “I feel called to youth ministry, so I am now majoring in Christian Ministry with a concentration in leadership. I have been given the chance to lead Bible studies at my church for the high school students, and I also work with the middle school youth group.”

Because of her change of major, Jaclyn is now in her sixth year of college, and in addition to her coursework, she is working as a secretary in a small Christian school. “I have the opportunity to mentor the young ladies there,” Jaclyn says. “I share my faith by living out my calling. I have also started a blog recently about my journey through ministry. The other day, I was asked to give my testimony at my former high school to a Christian club.” Jaclyn is actively involved in First Presbyterian Church of Smyrna, and she also serves as a Daisy Girl Scout leader for Kindergarten and first grade girls in her community.

“I never had the privilege to actually be on a campus where the CCO was, but from the time I met Kayla, she began to pour into my life. From there, I went to OCBP and began relationships with Jeff and Linda Leon, Becky McMillen and Scott Szabo, and these four CCO staff started investing in me as well. I formed very close friendships with Becky McMillen and Jeff Leon, and even after the Beach Project, they continue to mentor me via the phone and internet.

“I believe whole-heartedly in what the CCO is doing for college students and I get excited every time I hear that more campuses are being blessed by the CCO’s ministry. CCO staff and my housemates at the Beach Project invested a lot into my life and my faith. My word for the summer of 2007 at OCBP was ‘confidence,’ and I believe that I accomplished my goal with the help of everyone that I lived with in the Ark. I doubt I would have followed my calling into youth ministry, or ministry at all for that matter, if I hadn’t crossed paths with the CCO.”