Clark Lanning

I spent my entire life leading up to college in Church, but the only thing that I ever learned was how to look like a Christian while doing anything that my flesh desired. 

My “faith” was rooted in my parents' beliefs and rules so that when I moved away from them, nothing was there to stop me. I spent the first year and a half in college trying to find fulfillment in sin. Going deeper and deeper, yet still coming up empty. 

Through the Lord's mercy, I had a friend named Austin that loved me like Jesus through all of it. Austin met me my first night on a college campus. He was a student leader for Chi Alpha leading a bible study group, but I never felt like a number. I was a soul that he loved and cared deeply about where I was going. One night through Austin’s love for Jesus, I saw who it was I needed to live a fulfilled life. Jesus became everything and gave me joy in hardships and hope where many would only find despair.

God began to call me out and move me from glory to glory. My final year as a college student, He called me to take responsibility for souls and to become a soul winner for the kingdom of God. I took a discipleship training class to become a bible study group leader. I followed in obedience to Him and led a small group for my first time, but there was one thing that I was unwilling to surrender - My career.

For an entire semester of struggling to lead a bible study small group and find a job in a field which many companies had promised positions that seemed to mysteriously vanish, I came to God. It was a worship night where he brought me to my knees and asked me to offer up my future to Him in full surrender. On this night, He spoke to me and called me out of marketplace into full-time missions as a campus missionary. 

I quickly found that peace and joy flowed from a fully surrendered heart  to Jesus. The Lord took me many times overseas to the beautiful country of Japan, where He only furthered my calling to full time campus ministry in the near future. I am so grateful that God has led my wife, Mia, and me to UTA in our journey of serving His kingdom. We look to help move this ministry forward and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and see Jesus glorified on the campus of UT- Arlington.