Please enjoy this redemption story and testimonial shared by Ascent College student Autumn Haren, who is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Leadership with a concentration in Christian Counseling, focusing in Psychology.
Ascent College has been such a fantastic part of my journey, from the very first time I reached out to the College in 2020 to the present. Amy Piehl, the Director of Admissions, was so welcoming and encouraging in that first communication I just knew I was where God wanted me to be.
I had many fears and was uncertain about how to get started back into the journey of schooling, but I truly saw the hands and feet of Jesus at work as I communicated with Amy, Dr. Ron DeBerry, and Dr. Rob Rhoden. Today signing up for classes and chipping away at my degree feels easy. I’m excited to learn, and I feel at home in the college.
Addiction has the tendency to leave a person completely broken and feeling useless. I had dreams, but the torn parts of my life had positioned me to think they were unattainable. I heard God’s call on my life, but I didn’t know how to answer it. The team at Beauty for Ashes prayed with me and gave me resources to launch me forward, and Ascent College was one of the greatest next steps I think they ever could have offered me.
Everything they had taught me in the Teen Challenge program I could put into practice and then build upon through this school. I was starting fresh and moving forward. The classes were challenging, but the team of teachers and the schedule made it possible for a working single mom to achieve those dreams she never thought she would.
My journey through Ascent has truly equipped and encouraged me in every way to answer God’s call. My daughter not only has seen the healing and changing power of Jesus Christ through my recovery from addiction at Teen Challenge, but she has also now seen the importance of staying on course through continued education. I am so grateful for the ministry of Beauty for Ashes opening my heart to Jesus and then connecting me to Ascent, where I get to see that those who are in Christ are absolutely a new creation, and because of that, our past WILL NEVER leave us unqualified for answering his calling.