We continue our new grad series with Luke Walker, a recent UChicago graduate who's now finishing his Master's in Humanities at UChicago. He reflects on his journey from being a student in our ministry to becoming a team apprentice (a role we totally made up in Chicago). He opens up about the perspective shift of moving behind the scenes—from realizing the tech and planning that goes into service, to learning thankless roles like ProPresenter. Luke discusses how pouring out in ministry has forced him to craft stronger personal spiritual disciplines and the blessings he’s found in a deeper level of Christian service.

We kick off our new grad series with Aaron Besa, who recently graduated from Illinois Tech. Aaron reflects on his upbringing in Chicago, the shift from serving in the church as a "hobby" to developing a personal conviction, and the practical impact that living in a close-knit Christian community has had on his post-grad life.

In this BTS episode, Ruben shares how signing up for a baptism class led him to an unexpected realization: he wasn’t actually a Christian.

Ruben grew up going to church in Brazil and knew all the right habits and language. But when church leaders asked him simple questions about Jesus and how his faith showed up in everyday life, he realized he had never truly surrendered control to Christ. Instead of pretending, he chose to step away from church altogether.

In this conversation, Ruben talks about dechurching during COVID, moving to Chicago for grad school at Northwestern, and how a random flyer and a welcoming community slowly drew him back. He reflects on the difference between inherited faith and personal faith, and what changed when following Jesus stopped being a habit and became a real commitment.