Foundation
Foundation Hall is where I started my time at Georgia College and State University. It was there that some guys were going around asking if anyone would be interested in playing flag football. Having played football from elementary school to high school, I was definitely interested. Little did I know that signing up to join an intramural flag football team my freshman year of college would be something that would have such huge impact on my life.
You see that team was started by Alex Peebles, Eddie Granados, and Carson Baura. All three of those guys were involved with Campus Outreach (CO). Eddie and Alex were students and Carson was on staff. Through the team, I started hanging around them, and they invited me and the rest of the team to a CO meeting. I went-mostly out of not having anything better to do and hung out with them for a bit.
Eventually, after hanging out with them more as the semester went on, Carson asked me to grab lunch with him. One lunch turned into a few lunches, and during these lunches, Carson shared the Gospel with me. God was moving in my heart to allow me to see that I was lost and in need of a savior. That fall of freshman year, I became a Christian.
Soon after, on the bottom floor of Foundation, Carson held a Bible study for a bunch of freshman he had been meeting up with. It was the first Bible study I had ever been a part of, and the core of that first group lasted all the way until graduation, with some guys being added on and others leaving the group.
That D-group had an enormous impact on my life. It was where I learned what it meant to be a Christian. It was where I learned what a D-group should look like. It was where I understood the meaning of fellowship, and experienced friends who were more like brothers.
There were many other amazing memories I had with CO: two Summer Leadership Projects (SLP) that helped grow me as a young Christian, a Cross Cultural Project (CCP) that I could spend way too much time talking about because it was a truly life-changing experience, and all the countless memories of hangouts and events at GCSU.
If, however, I find myself thinking about my time at GCSU, the thing I find that I miss the most is that D-Group. I miss meeting up with those guys, just cutting up, and then five minutes later, going deep about something we were reading or studying in the Bible. I miss having guys I can talk to if I am struggling with something or have a big decision approaching, and I need counsel.
CO has amazing things that can help grow young Christians. SLP, CCP, New Years Conference, and more. But, at least for me, nothing CO has to offer is as valuable as having a D-group. If we are talking about equipping Christians for a lifetime of walking with Christ. It is done in the weekly D-groups back on campus. That is where you build the foundation for a lifetime of walking with Christ.
Austin Simpson graduated from Georgia College in May 2018 and is involved in the Fellows Program in Macon, GA. He plans to attend Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte this summer. He is recently engaged and loves the Atlanta Falcons.