Ben Watson

college minister

As a freshman at ASU in the winter of 2019, I had decided that leaving Oregon to go to college in Arizona was undoubtedly the worst decision of my life. I didn't have a single close friend or family member nearby, and I was struggling to find any sense of friendship or belonging with my college peers. It was the most lonely and depressed I have ever felt. Sitting alone in the cafeteria, my estranged roommate texted and invited me to hang out with a group of people that night.

I had no way of knowing that this was a gathering of people who knew each other through a Christian college ministry at ASU. While expecting a night of drinking and partying my sorrows away, I was shocked to find a community of people that seemed to genuinely care for my wellbeing and knew how to have fun in a healthy, wholesome way. They invited me to Bible studies and church services, which I had absolutely no interest in at the time.

But because of my increasing sense of belonging with these people, I began to occasionally read the Bible and attend church with them (mostly to make atheist arguments and make fun of them behind their back). Through a long winding road of conversations with these college ministers, I began to experience the grace of God and see the beauty of the gospel transform my life. In 2022, I would be baptized as a follower of Christ at Redemption Tempe, where I also met the amazing woman who I get to call my wife, Cali Watson.

If it weren't for the dedication of college ministers to intentionally create a space of belonging for ASU students, I have no idea where my path of isolation would have taken me. By God's grace, I have experienced how impactful college ministry can be in even just one person's life. Because of my story, I have decided to leave my job in higher education to begin this journey as a support-raised college minister at ASU.

If you feel that this is a worthy cause and wish to see other college students experience grace and belonging in the way that I did, I would feel eternally grateful if you considered joining my prayer team, or giving a monthly financial contribution to my ministry through the buttons at the top of this page.

God bless you!