“South Carolina [School of Leadership] has been the life-altering experience I needed to finally get on track with God like I have always wanted to be. I never knew why I wasn’t one of those people that heard God. I often wondered why I was even alive. Once I spent a very short time at [SCSL], those questions began to be answered. Then, new questions began to replace them. Questions like, “what does God want me to do with my life?” and “What direction do I take to get to the destiny God has for me?” Now that the season of [SCSL] has come to an end for me, I have had both of those questions answered, and many more.
I have a relationship with God better than I could have ever imagined. He is a Father to me, not just a God. I have experienced what a real family is and gained brothers and sisters—people cheering me on to do God’s will. [SCSL] has been the tool God used to improve my relationship with my parents and family at home. I have had the chance to minister to people all over the Midwest and up and down the east coast.
There is nothing as rewarding as being directly in the center of God’s will and walking the path He has laid before me. [SCSL] is the detour from the path that I was making for myself to the path God desires for me to be on. I now live a life of purpose and destiny that only God can provide.”
josh schacht
06-08 Student
Dekalb, Illinois
“A year at [SCSL] was an opportunity to really discover who I am in Christ and take time to discover what He has in store for me. It was a year full of friendships that will last a lifetime, family you will never forget, and memories that I will always cherish. Through Biblical Studies and Life Lessons I learned all of the things I thought I already knew—a major lesson for me was perseverance, to press through even when I didn’t feel like I could. I wouldn’t trade those nine months for anything, and would recommend it to everyone before going to college.”
kiamber bruton
06-07 Student
Decatur, Georgia
“Early on in my year at [SCSL], I wrote a letter to myself, about how much I loved God and all the things that I wanted to be as a man. At the end of the year, I was writing a letter to myself again, but I had totally forgotten what I had written the first time. The difference was that instead of me saying who I wanted to be, I was now writing about who I had become.
It wasn’t the fact that I went to [SCSL] that made an eternal impact on my life—it was the fact that every day, for nine months, my only purpose was to unselfishly fall more and more in love with Jesus and become more like Him. I believe its God’s will for us al to take a season of our lives and completely surrender it to Him. The things I’ve learned and the anointing I left with have kept me growing stronger in who I am and who I am still striving to be.”
matt townsend
06-07 Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
“Through being at [SCSL], I think I’ve experienced a lot. It was my first time living away from my family, being in an apartment with crazy but amazing roommates, and most importantly, developing a solid relationship with Jesus that keeps growing more each day.
At first glance, it may not seem like I have changed that much, but take a deeper look and you will see a new woman. I certainly am still as far from perfection as before, but who could ever be able to relate to perfect? Becoming like Jesus isn’t all about instant miraculous changes, although He sometimes chooses to work like that. It’s the small “right” decisions made each day that lead to a pure heart, one that is truly changed.
I think that’s probably been the biggest thing for me this year. It’s the small choices I’ve made everyday to do the right thing that have caused so many of my mindsets to change and has made me into the person I am now. Change is a process, not something that can be done in an instant.”
hannah hallcom
07-09 Student
Chester, Virginia
“Coming out of high school I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life. There was nothing that I was passionate about, nothing that I felt God wanted me to do. I decided to go to [SCSL] to spend time focusing on God so that He could birth within me what He created me for.
Throughout the whole year I never felt like I really connected with anything; I just didn’t feel like I was finding the thing that God would have me do. But, that was one of the main reasons I chose to come to South Carolina, so I didn’t stop seeking, looking, expecting. Leading up to our mission trip to Honduras I was anxious and excited, and I can remember thinking, “could this be God’s plan for me?” The trip cam and went, but missions was still on my heart. Three days before I left to go home for the summer, I received a prophetic word; the first thing that came out of his mouth was “you’re called to the nations.” I think that was a good way for God to wrap up my first year at [SCSL], showing me a glimpse of His plans for my life, and the main reason I came—to find destiny.”
jesse jones
06-08 Student
Salem, Ohio
