RICHMOND, Ky. – For the past six years, Jake Hancock has led Baptist Campus Ministry groups from Eastern Kentucky University to serve in Beach Reach evangelistic outreach.
But his connection to that ministry really began 17 years ago under very different circumstances. As a freshman at the University of Kentucky in 2009, Hancock experienced Beach Reach not as a leader but as a student on spring break.
“I used to be that kid at the beach,” he said. “It’s part of my testimony.”
At the time, Hancock – who identified as a Christian and regularly attended church – was spending time on the beach with his fraternity when two college students approached him carrying a sack of bottled water and asked if they could share the Gospel. While holding a Keystone Light beer, he told them, sure, that he was a Christian, too. Though he was familiar with the message, Hancock admits his life did not reflect it.
“I told them, ‘You guys are so bold, keep sharing your faith on the beach,’” he said. “I started walking away and one guy grabbed my arm. He said, ‘You say you’re a Christian. Why don’t you look like one?’ It was that moment for me. I was claiming to be a Christian, but you couldn’t tell. It was like a rock in the shoe for that whole semester.”
That encounter lingered with him, creating a sense of conviction he couldn’t ignore. Though the interaction may have appeared unsuccessful to the students who approached him, Hancock said God used the moment to begin transforming his heart.
“When it all kind of clicked for me, I was impacted by the same group of students like we took this year only I was on the other end,” he said. “Later in the semester, I gave my life to Christ. I share that with students who get rejected (when sharing the Gospel). You may have just witnessed to a future missionary, church planter or pastor. God is still at work. It’s not about being fruitful but being faithful.”
Now serving in ministry, Hancock recently led 86 students to Panama City for Beach Reach. He noted the full-circle nature of the experience, recalling that his life-changing conversation happened just a quarter mile from where his group ministered last week – sharing the Gospel with more than 400 students, praying with more than 800, and seeing nine people come to faith in Christ.
Hancock reflected that if the Beach Reach team he encountered in 2009 had been focused only on their own spring break, his life might look very different today. Instead, their willingness to share the Gospel made a lasting impact – one he now seeks to pass on through his leadership at BCM at EKU.
This article originally appeared in Kentucky Today.
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