“I think the verse in the main building, says it all: ‘I am surrounded in so great a cloud of witnesses.’” shares SCS student, Sam Cradoct. “The Lord has put me at SCS so I can be surrounded by an incredible community and can grow to be more like Christ.”
Sam’s story begins in La Plata, Maryland where he grew up with his family. “My mom and dad have always been very active in the church,” he says. “Ever since a young age, I knew all of the right answers in Sunday school. However, when we moved to Corpus to be closer to family, the parts of me that did not reflect Christ started coming to the forefront.”
As his family settled into Corpus, Sam began fighting with his mom. “I would fight her on every little thing,” he mentions. “This went on for a few years, and I began to see the underlying issue. There was a disconnect between who I said I was and who I actually was. I was telling the world that I was a Christian, but in my private life I failed to choose Him first. This caused me to become very irritated over everything.” However, God began showing Sam what Christ did for him on the cross, and Sam’s heart started changing for good.
“As I began to understand God’s love for me, I started feeling called to change my own life and serve others in His name,” Sam tells us. “I feel called to work with youth, because when I was in high school, I saw people with so many issues at home and nowhere to turn. Their families did not go to church, and many even had issues with the church. I want to reach out to this group and share God’s faithfulness. God was faithful in my time of wandering, and I want to tell them He is faithful in their lives too.”
Sam started taking classes at SCS in order to help answer this call. “My favorite class I have taken is Methods of Biblical Interpretation. That class has taught me what it really means to interpret the Bible which will help me in all of my ministry endeavors,” Sam says. “SCS is such a great place to grow in your knowledge of the Bible and connect with people from many different churches.” Sam also currently serves as an intern at the Corpus Christi campus.
Outside of SCS, you can find Sam at Lexington Baptist Church where he plays the drums for the praise team and is a member of the youth and music search committees.