As I entered College, I did not have a firm grasp on what it meant to be a Christian. I had an idea that it was something beneficial and different from the worldly lifestyle I was living in high school, but I did not understand why. I began my journey in the dorms of Finley Hall here at Oregon State University. I still possessed the same characteristics that I had shown from high school, but I was forcing myself to live a lifestyle for Christ. I did have a lot of fun in the dorms; some of the best times of my life so far, but it was difficult in an environment like that to stray from temptation.
As freshman year came to a close and I began to branch out into the more self reliant world, becoming a sophomore, I decided to move into an apartment with two of my closest friends. At this point I was starting to grow with my relationship with Christ, but I continued to live a lifestyle that resembled my high school days. Both my friends, although still two of my closest friends, were not exactly friends that would guide me in the right direction. Towards the end of Sophomore year, we decided to split apart and each live in separate houses. I moved into a 6 bedroom house at the beginning of Spring term of 2011. This house was the first thing you could imagine, when the words “Animal House” came to mind. It was dirty, cluttered, filled with dogs, filled with alcohol and filled with 5 dudes that each could bench press me 100 times. I told myself this home was temporary until I found a home that would be more beneficial for my spiritual growth.
But in the summer of 2011, the head of that house told me everyone was moving out and asked if I wanted to take over. This was my chance to bring friends into my house that wanted to live for Christ. I instead decided to bring my closest friends into the house from my freshman year. My junior year, I began to realize the impact Christ had in my life. I had dated a girl that was very influential in my growth and somewhere along the lines of that relationship, I found that the life I was living in that house was not perfect. I was still surrounding myself with temptation. One of my closest friends in the house, who I had brought to Real Life changed his life around and it was because of him I finally noticed the environment I was putting myself through. It was around this time I had become really close to Clay Lent, who had lived in Antioch House and he told me about the awesome group of guys that lived there.
In April of 2012, I decided to move into Antioch and it was the best decision I could make. As I have lived in this house, I have seen the love that Christ calls us to show. Each individual in this house has been such an encouragement to me and I am glad I have found a house that can help me grow in my relationship with Christ.
Chris Peterson