Student Testimony: Austin McDonald

My name is Austin McDonald. I am a freshman engineering student at Louisiana Tech. I’m from Calico Rock, Arkansas, a small town of about 1,000 residents 45 minutes away from the Missouri state line, and about a 5 ½ hour drive from here. Despite living so far, I’m pretty familiar with this area. I’ve had family in North Louisiana, namely Haynesville and Ruston, my entire life. I enjoy basketball, nature, and a fondness for books & literature. Finally, I am a sinner, and this year I have re-established my faith and restarted my walk with Christ.  

This is my testimony.

I was born into a Methodist family. Baptized and Christened as a baby. The earliest memories I have, I lived across from a church.  My parents both worked in public schools, which they still do, and they made a big effort to make sure we (my sister and I) still got a good Christian experience. We went to church every Sunday, made the Wednesday evening service every week, were involved in different smaller groups, and more. My family moved a couple of times, me in tow to new beginnings. But even then, church was still a cornerstone for me for about the first decade or so of my life. 

Now, when I was about 11  years old, something changed. To this day, I’m still not fully sure of the reason, but my family slowly stopped going to church. This wasn’t a one-day decision, either. First, we went about every other week, then about once a month, and then not at all. With that, we, as a family, got way less involved, I felt less connected to some of my peers, and it really felt like something was missing that I had before. I think it’s important to note that I didn’t stop believing in God, but I had fallen out of Christianity, and away from Christ during this period. 

This continued on for a few years, until about 2020. Of course, the COVID pandemic brought a lot of hardship and a lot of isolation. This was a double-edged sword for me spiritually. On one hand, I questioned how God could bring this disease, this suffering, into the world. However, I was thinking about God, and that was a start. With that, I became aware, even if just a little bit, about God and what He put on this Earth. About the people who were carrying out His Word, helping those within the storm, and about the believers who were suffering, and how they still found faith during deep trouble. 

Also in 2020, I transferred schools again. I was going into 8th grade in the fall of 2020, and was going through it, both spiritually and not. I had little to no friends, a big lack of direction, and felt as though I was just going through the motions day-by-day. It was a consistent depressive state for me.  After a while, I had a revelation. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the Lord talking to me. But, within that message was something important: that I had more to me, more in me, than what I thought. So, I followed the Lord. As I went into high school, I started to connect with people. I played varsity basketball, and within the team, I started to find some community with Christ. First off, my school started an FCA chapter. FCA stands for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, if you didn’t know. It was my first step back into a formal Christian setting, and pretty formative to me and my faith. FCA wasn’t a very big thing, usually a 20-ish minute devotional and discussion on scripture. Entirely student-led, in addition. But, nevertheless, I felt good about it. 

Secondly, through some other friends and teammates, I started returning to actual church through a Wednesday night youth group. There, I finally felt as though I could call myself a Christian again. Through this church, I rediscovered the nature of Christ, how God helps the world, and gained a firm foundation to build on. All this started during my freshman and sophomore years of high school (2021-2023).

Now, I had made progress, but that’s where I stalled out. I still wasn’t attending church on the regular, and didn’t make any attempts to further the things and the experiences that I already had. So, through the rest of high school, I hit this wall, and never moved forward. But, as I became an upperclassman, I had something else I needed to look at: college. There are plenty of colleges in Arkansas, and I toured and asked questions, sat down and talked with people and whatnot, but none of them were really jumping out at me. My grandfather, who lives in Ruston and graduated from Louisiana Tech, mentioned I should look there when I told him I wanted to be an engineer. Reluctantly, I listened, signed up for a tour, came down on a blistering summer day, and was enamored with the campus. From that point, I decided I was coming to Louisiana Tech. 

After that was settled, I finished high school, graduated, and worked all summer at a restaurant/resort. While working, I spent most of the time thinking about my future, and I had another revelation come to me. I was going to fully return to God. So, I came down to Ruston, got settled in, and hit the ground running. Within the first week or two, I found the ACF, and started talking around. I found out they were pretty good at understanding the Word of the Lord, and I decided to hop on board. This year, with the ACF in fact, I took Communion for the first time in 7 years. Furthermore, I attended a Sunday morning church service also for the first time in 7 years. And I intend to join the Discipleship Team at the ACF next year. 

So, that is my testimony. I am still a sinner. I am still far from the “perfect Christian.” But within this past year, I have gained so much better of a community and have grown as a man of God. 

Thank you. May God bless each and every one of you.

Austin McDonald is a freshman at Louisiana Tech majoring in mechanical engineering. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, shooting pool, and exploring Ruston. We are grateful for his wisdom, willingness to serve, and for the opportunity to know him during his first year at Tech! We look forward to the ways the Lord will continue to pursue him.