MTP 80: Jay Northington & Mathew Nelson, How 2 Simple Steps Can Connect Christian Professors and Students & Change a Campus

Professor Jay Northington (Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University) and graduate student Mathew Nelson share a simple 2-step strategy any campus can use to start a Bible study connecting professors and students around God's Word:

Step 1: Christian professors make it known that they follow Jesus
Step 2: Christian students find them and initiate ministry ideas

Jay and Mathew discuss why students long for Christian mentors, how faith can transform engineering (and any field of study) into worship, the value of multi-generational discipleship, and how God uses ordinary conversations to create extraordinary ministry opportunities.

Whether you're a Christian professor, college student, campus minister, or someone who simply loves the college campus, you'll discover practical ways to build Christ-centered relationships that can impact an entire campus.

Read more about Jay at: https://meettheprof.com/view/professors/entry/jay-northington/

Resources from Faculty Commons, a Cru ministry:

• Find 500+ Christian professors at https://meettheprof.com/
• Faculty Commons – https://www.facultycommons.org/
• A Grander Story – https://a.co/d/8VoYXSV
• EveryStudent.com – https://www.everystudent.com/

Watch MTP on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@MeetTheProfOfficial/videos

You can support Shane Hartley's ministry with Faculty Commons, a Cru ministry, at this link: ⁠⁠https://give.cru.org/0424344⁠⁠

Transcript

0:01

Hey everybody. Welcome to Meet the Prof. My name is Shane Hartley and I am on staff with Faculty Commons, which is a Cru ministry to faculty staff and grad students. And this is a podcast where we interview Christian professors using questions from college students. And our goal is to encourage Christ-centered conversations on the college campus. Thank you for taking the time to join us, whether you're on YouTube or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other. And if you would please take a minute. One of the big ways you can help us is to take a moment and click on subscribe or follow or like wherever you are. And especially if you leave us a comment, apparently that helps get the word out to other people, other listeners. So we're trying something different for this coming interview. we're gonna interview a professor and a student together at the same time. And it's really more of a conversation. the professor, his name is Jay Northington. He's a professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University. And it's one of his students who's just graduated and is going to grad school.~ his name is Mathew Nelson. we talk about what it's like to have a relationship w between a student and a professor, how they even found out each other's a Christian. how they started a Bible study together with professors and students. We cover some things that frankly I've never heard in any of the interviews. And so we may want to keep up this format and have some more students come on in the future this way. So without any further ado, here is my interview conversation with Jay and Mathew. Well, Jay and Mathew, thank you for joining Meet the Prof. It is great to have you both on here. Brand new format to have a professor and a student on here. So so welcome. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having us. Yep. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Well tell me some about yourselves. Yeah, so I teach mechanical engineering at Clemson University. I've taught there for five years, so I came to Clemson in August of twenty twenty one. Before that I had had a pretty full career as a as an engineer, both a mechanical and an aerospace engineer. that's awesome. So, well Mathew, tell us some about yourself. Like where are you in your education and work and have you had any thoughts of working in aerospace engineering? Actually, you know, funny enough I have but yeah, I ~ I'm from Raleigh, North Carolina d went on down there to Clemson. I studied mechanical engineering there. It's how I got to know Mr. Northington. I graduated back in December of twenty twenty five and I am now pursuing my master's degree there ~ online while I'm working as a mechanical designer. so yeah, yeah, I've been doing that for one semester now and hoping to finish up, you know, over the coming semesters, I guess. Mm. How did you both learn that each other was a Christian? And who learned first that the other was a Christian? I I wanna say Mathew, right? 'Cause Mathew, when you approached me, I wanna say it was from the the list. Is it an Instagram list where we have professors that I had my name on there, professors who profess a faith in Christ. Through Faculty Commons. You know, it's it's funny you say that'cause if I like it it may have been that way, but I remember one time in my the class I had with you sophomore year where I wore a Cru shirt and I think you approached me and said, Do you do Cru? And I said yes. And and you I do Faculty Commons, which is the you know, the faculty variant of Cru, Okay. I guess. and from then on I was like super interested. I'm like, this is this is great. You know, I guess until then it's like my mind hadn't registered that professors Okay. have th these these ministry components as well.⁓ Yeah. And so I think that's kind of where it started, but then I was looking on the list and I noticed that I had you again and ~ and stuff kind of just kicked off from there. one thing that was really helpful is I I think that for professors that Faculty Commons and then coupled with Cru. that that that really provides an avenue for me at least as a professor to be able to proclaim your faith. And one of the things that and Shane, I don't know if we have that, if this is nationally at other organizations, but at least at Clemson, there's a list of professors ⁓ that you Mm-hmm. can say that you're a professor that believes in following Christ. And I think that goes to the Cru students and they can pick up on that list as well. Yeah. We'd love that to be on all the campuses. There are a lot of campuses where the Christian professors do that, but not all of We need that. It was super helpful for me 'cause I was able I was able to swipe through that list and and I pretty much went straight to mechanical engineering and I would just I found, you know, Mr. Northington, Rick Scott, Dr. Wilson was so I I found all these professors that I had that were on that list and like it gave me even before I stepped into the classroom, I already knew something about them that I I would connect with them on and have the chance to talk to them about. So Mathew, why was that so important to you as a student to know that your professor was a Christian? Yeah, I would say, I mean, honestly, even just starting out that sophomore year, I was kind of I was still in a state where I was struggling to find community. I had found some community on campus. You know, I moved from Raleigh, so I was I was new. I was I was a new person on campus. I knew one person when I came there freshman year, and I was slowly starting to develop community there, meeting different students and everything. but the that first semester, first year was still a little bit rough. You know, you don't know anybody there, it's a new place. and so when I stepped on campus sophomore year. I was able to meet, you know, a couple of students through Cru and I was able to start to get plugged in there. And for Mr. Northington to approach me and say, Hey, like, do you do Cru or we have this thing called called Faculty Commons here, even just knowing that it's not just students also on campus that want to live out their faith, but the professors as well, that was super helpful. And from that moment I was almost like it clicked that professors are trying to live out their faith on campus as well. And I found that list I was able to swipe through and I would see, you know, Dr. Wilson, you know, Mr. Northington, all these people that I would have as professors that I could go up and talk to in class and you know, meet them, say hey to them, talk about their personal lives a little bit, which just deepened that relationship with them and it made what I was learning also more influential because I had a personal relationship with that professor. Mm-hmm. What a great perspective. Jay, are you surprised at all to hear that it would encourage a student that much to learn some professors are Christians? Yeah, I think it initially did. I heard some of that some students who were in the Bible study that we had on campus that Mathew and I kind of initiated. That some students mentioned one or two times in the Bible study that you know one of the most meaningful things to us is is of course it's important to study scripture and all that, but to know that there's professors who are believers who will sit down and take the time to share this time with us as students who are pursuing their faith. It just on a fundamental level, that student was indicating to me how important that was. And I think that's when it did dawn on me a little bit. I don't know if it was a surprise, but it was a It was really nice to hear and it was really, you know, as a professor it makes you feel like you are playing an important role there as a Christian professor and that you Mm-hmm. can interact with students in a very good way with regard to their faith. Sometimes on campus there can be like between college students and a professor, there's a disconnect there where students are coming from high school where they're they it's just maybe a smaller environment, they're closer to their teachers, and then and then they go to college and it seems to kind of have a you know a split there. It's a little bit of a different, you know, relationship or like environment. and I think having that that personal, you know, relationship is so important that it's, you know, we actually crave that. We actually want to, you know, be able to to, you know, talk to, you know, get to know the professors that we have in our classes, but it just feels different when you step into college. I appreciate Mathew you saying that because students, other students have mentioned that they actually appreciate that knowing of their names and so forth. And and one thing about that is it it's helpful to the professor, the students who do come after class or to office hours. and talk to you, that's where it's easier to remember the name than if it's a student maybe that's not asking a lot of questions. So, you know, as as far as to students who are out there listening, when you interact with your professor, if if you would like to, that can that can help the professor as well a lot to get to know you and know who you are and and professors appreciate that interest that you're taking in being willing to take the time to speak with and talk about the class and other things. Tell me more about this Bible study that you mentioned. Yo you were in together. Like how did that get started? What did you do? I believe it was the first class of the semester of that fall. And so I was having the first lecture, I had introduced myself and you know, I had been at Clemson then I guess for three years it was important me for me to seek his guidance on whether I should stay kind of working as an engineer or come and teach. And he gave me peace about coming to teach. So the reason I'm saying that is that I feel like a really important part of that was God guiding me up here. And so I felt like there was a reason. It was for me to to share with students not only my engineering knowledge, but for students who were interested to share issues of faith. And so I felt like I was struggling how to do that for the first three years or so. And that's when Mathew came up to me ⁓ and said, Hey Professor Northington, I think I think you did, Mathew, you mentioned seeing my name on that list as well, that that we talked about the Cru and Faculty Commons list. And Mathew was just very energetic and you know, very he just had a light in his eyes about about his faith and so forth. And he came up and he was totally excited and he said, you know, I'd really like to do something with faculty, with Christian faculty and students and getting together and doing some of that activity. And like twenty seconds before he said that, I had finished the class and it was just running through my mind. I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing with doing a ministry or anything. And then up walks Mathew. So it was just a divine appointment. Mm-hmm. I knew it immediately in my mind and like that. So, Matt, I don't know if you wanna No, you hit the nail on the head there. I think yeah, it it was definitely I remember starting out, Yeah. I was thinking a really cool connection would be going between Cru and Faculty Commons, kind of seeing like a merger between the two. You know, we have our big Cru meetings on Thursday nights and so I was like maybe we could get some, you know, professors in there to talk on stage about, you know, what it's like to live out their faith as a professor. but I I again I think it was God's hand kind of leading, guiding us towards just a Bible study, just something simple to open up the Word together. me as a student, you know, Mr. Northington as a professor, bringing other professors in, bringing other students in and just breaking down God's Word together. I think that's, you know, that was where it was meant to go, you know, for now at least. and I like, you know, I started bringing some Cru students, you know, a couple other professors started coming. and it was just a great way to connect outside of the classroom. and and talk about something more than just engineering or even you know connecting engineering and theology. It was a great way just to see, you know, all of God's creation, you know, how that ties into worshiping him, and just learning more about him, I guess. it was it was a great time, Hmm. honestly. And again, it really picked up we you know, we started to meet in that in that core dining hall. And then we I think we switched over to a coffee shop, a local coffee shop. And and we would meet there a little bit and then we switched over. So it it moved around a lot. We had a lot of of different people coming in. It was different people each week. it was a it was a really cool environment, a really cool place that kind of just you know, started out spur the moment, I guess, and it it really started to pick up and gain traction and it was it was amazing. It was a great time. Wow. Mathew, were you nervous at all when you first went up to Jay in class to talk about doing some stuff together? Do you remember what you were feeling? I was somewhat nervous. I was a l not I was a little bit nervous again, like I hadn't really talked to too many, you know, professors before, but Mr. Northington kind of gives off a where he's very approachable, where it's easy to come up and talk to him. again, seeing that list knowing that he was a Christian, someone that that was trying to live, you know, on mission on campus, that gave, you know, there was immediately a connection. We had a, you know, similarity there. and again it's it's the most important similarity to have. You know, we were we both are the most important things in our lives we shared together. So That is super profound to think about.~ you know, you are sharing with each other what's most meaningful to you, what's most important to you both. And so that is automatically going to knock down some barriers. An interesting thing is when we were meeting in the dining hall was I I was thinking about this and conscious of the fact that we were intentionally doing a Bible study and as I began to notice there were these other round tables with groups of students and some adults and they were doing Bible studies. Really? And it was just really encouraging and one or two of I would go up and just, you know, tell them, speak to them and just, you know, mention that that was great. but that was very encouraging because it was like a spirit going around of, you know, that the God was doing something there. Uh-huh. I think going off what you're saying a little bit, I think 'cause part of what I learned, I guess, through that and I'm still kind of learning, it's it's interesting to note, is like how it looks for a professor to live, you know, on mission or have ministry on campus. and it has to look different because again, there's there's you know, you you have to be a little more careful or a little more, I guess, wary of that because if you you can't fully approach the students in that way all the time. But you can make it clear exactly, you know, hey, I'm the you know, first and foremost, I'm a believer in Christ. And then it kind of falls on the student where it's like, hey, the student can then approach you and talk to you and and want to talk about that more, I guess. so the invitation is then open and then it's on the student to kind of go up and and and talk to the professor, get to know them, meet them. And I think that's how these things kind of you know roll on and and keep going, I guess. the invitation's open, the student has to take that and then talk to the professor, and you know, that's that's a great way to do it. And and I do think that's where groups like Faculty Commons play a super important role 'cause it it forms that information bridge between Right, right. the faculty and the student with Cru to be able to do that. It was a learning experience for me and still is. And so, ⁓ you know, I I went into it Mm-hmm. saying, well, I'm gonna learn a lot here, you know, I'm I'm kind of a student here.⁓ And, you know, learning about how to do that and learning from the students. And and one of the things that amazed me with Mathew and the other students is their biblical knowledge. Like ⁓ Mathew could we would be talking about in Romans and he would bring it over to Timothy and maybe to some Old Testament verse that was just awesome. I mean it was so encouraging to see that and and it and it really drove it. And I think that's one of the benefits of a Bible study like that, Yeah. because, you know, some scripture here that I've seen or it's it's it it's called to memory, maybe not by me, but by the Holy Spirit. other students are able to share stories, personal testimonies in their lives. And then ~ Mr. Northington ~ Dr. Wilson, they have a lot of theological knowledge of of doctrine, of things that I don't know much about. And as it all ties together, it's it's a great perspective. Yeah. When you have a Bible study of only students like I've I've had with Cru, it's fantastic and and you get a lot of perspectives there. But having something that's that's you know multi-generational where you have someone that has gone through industry that has has worked, you know, different careers and has come to teach or has gone through graduate school and then come to teach now. in just different stages of their life, you get a lot different pieces of wisdom and stuff. And it's just great to learn from as everyone emphasizes Mm. and and appreciates different things. I think that's a great way to learn from each other. Mm-hmm. Mathew, can you remember anything specifically that God did either in your or in some of the other students' lives during one of those mornings or through through some of the Bible studies? I mean, I would say one of the biggest things I learned or my biggest takeaway Romans, was something out of Romans one that Mr. Northington talked about, where you had mentioned bringing, you know, combining natural law and God's law and how how those two correlated together. how, you know, the physical laws that we have to obey, you know, even bringing engineering into it with you know, fluid flow or gravity, just small things like that, how it kind of you know worships God and it's it's still part of God's creation. and you made a comment that I I was that I I really liked a lot. You said someone that is not fully a believer or does not believe in God is missing a component of every one of those pieces of study. So if I'm studying engineering, but I don't bring into account the fact that God created this, that He created these laws, that He set these things into motion just by speaking, then you're missing a component of it. And so that then your knowledge of that concept is not fully complete because missing the creation aspect of it. and then I started to realize from that comment that you made that that works in every part of life. You know, and so I think that was the biggest my biggest takeaway was that and I've I've of held on to that. Like that's been a great motivation for studying engineering, for continuing to learn ~ even through my work here, through my studies in grad school. It's like the aspect of of this being God's creation, like He created this. When you understand that view, that that completes the whole story, you know, you're able to understand the concept better because of it.'cause then it it turns from just understanding it to actually that's then of the Creator, I guess. so in in in my life, that was the most influential thing, I guess, from that study that I learned. but I could I'm sure I could tell you so many stories of students that I would Yeah. I would say, Hey, this is a you know, a a Bible study we have here. They would, you know, come on out to it and they would just love it. It was a great time just to so many of them would would come out and say, Hey, like I had no idea that these professors were Christian. Jay, how does that feel to you as a professor to hear a student like Mathew not just lecture material that they learned something practical, but sharing these spiritual truths that they were actually learning something God through God using you? How how does that feel? Well, I I it's a little hard to put in words, I mean, 'cause it's just profound. I mean it's a amazingly encouraging and so forth. And I really y you know, as I've I'll say this, as I've taught, you know, we label generations and the current they call it Gen Z and so forth like that, but I've been really impressed, frankly. I mean, I'm really I think that this generation who's in college and right out of college right now. have encouraged me because they're really looking for deeper meaning into things, just just in a broad sense and in general. So when Mathew says that, I I I the the integration of your faith with your work, because when you're any kind of career, but you know, when you're doing engineering, you're so into the mathematics and the physics and so forth It just takes a lot of mental energy and all that and it takes a lot of heart energy too. And so I struggled when I was out of college and in college and in my early part of my career. I struggled to integrate that with my faith and see how it is. And the way Mathew just expressed it was like more better than I could have expressed it at all. Like, you know, how that comes together and how you're seeing an aspect of that I I I think that's that's what's super important because you said when you came out of college, you kind of struggled to see that, but you learned that over the years. And then I was able to learn that from you, where I I'm coming out of college entering into a design role. Well, it's a different design role, it's still similar to how you started your career. and it's like I already have that that wisdom that you that you taught me. So I'm able to keep that in my mind. and so that's I think that's part of the importance again of of having that multi generational, you know, professors to students kind of, you know, making sure that that that those connections are established. Mm-hmm. And then hopefully one day I can continue that on. Yeah, well I I appreciate that. I mean it's just very heartwarming because it's really, you know, you're you can look back as a teacher and and I think it's important to look back at when you were in college and say, you know, what was it that I was struggling with or whatever and to try to pull that forward and say, Well, as a teacher I have an actual opportunity here And really most the exciting thing about teaching to me is what you're is not so much you've learned a lot of the equations, but you're learning now how different people learn and how they look and struggle with different things. So just I just think Mathew, I just think he's you know, you Mathew are very good at that. I mean he's got a lot of personality qualities. the energy and the willingness to come forward and to express himself that just gonna take him far. So yeah. Appreciate that. Thank you. do either of you know of any other ways that God worked through the Bible study? Maybe in some of the students' lives, or do you ever even see a student come to Christ? Yeah, I I should have mentioned we had started having it on Friday morning at 7 a.m., which was pretty early in the campus Starbucks, okay. That is early. Yeah. right? and so I think even just waking up early, getting to campus on Friday morning, getting there and talking about the Word I saw relationships like deepen and form through that Bible study. where the same guys that were coming were were growing closer together and we're growing off of each other. I mean the amount of times I would go to this Bible study, we would talk on on Friday mornings at 7 a.m. And then I would leave and so I would stay in the same building. I'll just walk to a different table and sit down. Other people had to go to their classes, but I had nothing going on. Me and two of the guys that I was leading Would then talk for three hours. I mean, we would talk for three hours about theology, about different things that's going on in our lives. So the Bible study provided an avenue with professors, but also with the other students that I had in my Bible study to get to know them more and to kind of deepen those relationships more. that's that's really good and and the same thing really with the professors. So I think Mathew, you mentioned him earlier, Doctor Wilson ⁓ is another professor there and he joined us w Mm-hmm. the second semester when it really got rolling, he joined us as well. So we had two professors there. And that was really good because if I ever missed because I had things that were pulling me away or whatever, you know, he and I could kind of you know, play tag there. But one thing that I I mentioned to him, like Mathew said, we were doing this at seven AM in the morning but I mean that we thought being early was good because if you're doing it late in the afternoon or night, I don't know, sometimes people are drained more, at least for me, I'm more fr refreshed in the morning and so forth. Mm-hmm. But I noticed something that the way it was working in me personally, and I mentioned this to Doctor Wilson after Bible study one morning, is I felt like my teaching was better that day. And that was a surprise to me. Wow. But it seems like I was getting that energy as well as like Mathew's talking the students, I was really getting that energy from that. And I went into much more in a sense of peace and mental clarity in my teaching on those Fridays and so forth. and he he had the same feeling I think he shared with me, Doctor Wilson did. Yeah. It's it's it's funny you mentioned that'cause I f I remember, you know, I'd been going for a little bit and I'm I remember I was I was texting my mom or calling her or something like that. and I said, Man, like Friday mornings it's a great way to end the week off and s like s like I Fridays felt so much more 'cause you're starting your day with great conversation with learning about God's Word with other people. Starting that off on Friday morning was a great way to like I I felt like Fridays were fantastic. I always felt I had a lot of energy, I felt very peaceful kind of same way that you were saying where you felt that peace and that I felt the same way on those Friday mornings after those studies. Mathew, so Jay has shared online some of his testimony, how he came to Christ. But for you personally, I would love to hear how how did you become a Christian? How did you see God rescue you and bring you to Christ? the start of that really was when I was about thirteen, fourteen years old. I went into a camp, a summer camp, and I really started to understand that, you know, this thing that is a big part of my life, you know, Christianity, God, the whole you know, that the whole the whole concept there, I guess, was more than just a concept, but actual reality. that God was real, that He did send his son to die on the cross. And it started to kind of take root there a little bit. but I didn't really experience I guess a full conversion or submission to God, I guess, until my senior year of high school. or I started going to a Bible study there with that some of the guys that started. Hmm. and I've been struggling with self image, with, you know, kind of who I was, you know, you go throughout high school and middle school and those things are are tough. Like you start to on you know, Mm-hmm. you struggle with who you are, with what people think of you, how they view you. and I would kind of change who I was around different people. I struggled so much with that self image, just trying to be liked. And I went to that Bible study and I found out that other people struggled with the same s same stuff I was struggling with. They were open about it. They confessed to one another and they would learn and grow from that. And I think that was really where it took root and it kind of clicked that this is this is more than just a thing that I proclaimed. This is an actual way of life. that this is my my whole life, you know. I love the themes I hear there too of the role God's Word played at these different times and then community being in Bible study with other do you have any advice for the Christian professors out there? I'll say ~ Dr. Rick Scott, he did some he did the Faculty Commons at Clemson a little and I believe he went to a different school. I had a class with him and and he was he had a presentations slideshow where he was talking about himself, who he was, you got to learn that he has a family, that he has this, you know. that he worked these jobs, he has he has research experience here. But he says, first and foremost, I'm a believer in Christ. I'm a follower of Christ. And so that initially off the bat was like we have something very deep in common right here. And I felt like I was like, Hey, I can go talk to this guy about this. I went introduced myself, told him that I I love that he proclaimed that so freely.~ If it if possible, I'd say just, you know, at the start the start of class, really just make it clear who you are, what you believe, some different parts about you. And students love that, I think. And it's very, it's very inviting for students to go and talk. And then on the student side, be bold and go talk to that professor. You know, whether he's a believer or not, just go talk to your professors. one thing that I'll say about the Bible studies it gave an opportunity for me to talk to different professors. I, you know, I even from that, for you know, some professors that didn't go to the Bible study. But I talked to two or three other ones outside of the Bible study. I would invite them in or talk to them about faith because I had my Bible Hmm. on my desk or something. And they would come and say, Hey, is that a Bible there? And I'll I would then be able to open up and talk to them about this Bible study that we had that I just came from Wow. or church this Sunday. So I think just both sides being bold and being able to, you know, profess faith and then being bold to actually approach and talk to that the other party, I guess. the professor approached me when I had my Bible on my desk. I wouldn't have known to approach him, but he goes, Is that a Bible? And then we started talking about it. That's all there was to it. Rick and I were able to talk when he was here and really strengthen each other and he really encouraged and strengthened me. So as professors, I I would recommend professors to seek out other professors they think are maybe are believers like that and seek encouragement because one thing about teaching is when you you're you're involved in managing your own class and even if you have a hall full of professors you can really be so focused on that that you don't get a whole lot of interaction. And so I think intentionally Going down the hall and visiting and talking about maybe praying together, those kinds of things can not only give you ideas about campus ministry, but just give you the energy and impetus to and the encouragement to to do that. So What about for students, Jay? What advice would you give to Christian students out there? I would advise them to try not to be intimidated by going to a professor or to their office or a professor after class. Now that may depend on how comfortable they are in the course and the professor and so forth, and I understand that. you'll sometimes see a student that'll struggle all through the semester till the end and if they didn't come and talk to you, then if they come late, they realize that, I should have come early in the semester. And that, you know, the This this professor is not going to be judgmental. They could have really helped if I had had a discussion with them. And so maybe the same thing goes with faith matters as well. Mm. You know, there's professors that I had that, you know, I had professors that again like Mr. Northington or or Dr. Wilson that were believers, but then I had some that were not. And it's I struggled to, you know, approach them. But that's a great ministry opportunity, is that, you know all these campus ministries, they all emphasize ~ evangelism with other but to view a professor as an opportunity to share the gospel is I think a great way to connect with them. Yeah. I know I had a a friend in one of my classes that we were talking about, a professor that we loved, we're like, Man, he's great, yeah, he's awesome. And then we were kind of we were like, Man, we it'd be like we don't know if he knows the gospel or not. We don't know too much about him. Like it'd be great if we did that. And while I never did, like I really hope that the other student that's still on campus does. Well these are good challenges for steps of faith. And ~ is there anything else that either of you want to talk about that we didn't cover? thing too with that sharing is everybody every day, you know, has their struggles and so forth and they're dealing with something. So sometimes just saying to somebody, say, you know, I'm gonna pray pray about that for you or something like that can be a door opener. So Prayer Well, so I would love to close with hearing what each of you think might be your own personal next step of faith. What do you think God might be calling you to to be trusting him in, stepping out into the unknown or uncomfortable? Yeah, I would say here, I found that I've I've started to get more plugged into community, you know, moving back to Raleigh and and starting a job.~ I've got I've started to get plugged into a church here, which is fantastic. And I've started seeking out and going to a multi generational Bible study here where I have a little bit of wisdom from different generations, like I did back at Clemson. So that's been great. but I guess as far as future steps of what I want to do is I have some people you know surrounding me I guess people that I'm with that don't fully know the gospel per se. and so I'd like to to to step out on faith and really, you know, share the gospel with them just to kind of be a light to them daily. Yeah, I mean I think just actually very similar to what Mathew's saying because I'm out and about, you know, not necessarily on campus but different places and coffee shops or stores or whatever like that, what I'm wanting to do is just bring up with people like,"can I pray for you?" more and do that kind of thing and express how important the gospel is to our ultimate reality and ultimate life. That it's there's so many distractions that we live in in this world and so many things to be distracted with. And I would like to learn better how to express in a simple but powerful way why it's so important that we follow Christ. Well, I am just so thankful for you both. And one takeaway I have from this time is you know, sometimes it can feel like the professor world and student worlds are totally separated and there can be no connection socially, especially spiritually. And you've both given the example how God can do anything and especially when he's the center,~ really appreciate you both sharing some of how you've seen God work in your own lives personally, in your relationship and and in your ministry too. So thank you both. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, Shane.