So Much More: Tommy and Madison’s Story

Tommy grew up attending a Lutheran church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but God wasn’t his priority. He became curious about having genuine faith after a trip with his church before his senior year, but a real relationship with God? That wasn’t something he knew was available to him.

He almost didn’t go to college at all, until his mom made a deal with him: just give it one year. 

That year would change his life.

His first week in his dorm, Tommy met Noah. They realized they were both Christians, but it was clear to Tommy that Noah took his faith more seriously, like he’d experienced something Tommy hadn’t. They decided to look for a campus ministry together and they ran into Chi Alpha handing out pamphlets during Welcome Week. This led to them going to Chi Alpha’s Block Party, Monday Night Live, then joining a life group. By the end of freshman year, Tommy was learning how to spend time daily in prayer and Scripture, turning away from patterns of sin, and for the first time, experiencing what it was like to walk with God.

“It just started going up from there,” he says. There was so much more to life with God than he’d known. 

Madison’s story took a different path. She grew up in Colorado, then moved to Pennsylvania, attending church consistently until around age 12. While her grandmother kept encouraging her to pray and read the Bible, Madison wrestled with whether God was real at all.

“I was at the age when you’re trying to figure out your identity, and what’s real, and who am I?” Madison said. “I eventually decided I might believe in God, but I didn’t know what to do with that.” 

It wasn’t until a painful breakup during her junior year of high school, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she found herself isolated and at her lowest, that she started praying out of desperation and encountered the presence of God more than ever before. 

“I was like, oh, He’s real. This is insane.” 

Eager to grow in her faith, she got involved in Christian community when she started college in Florida. But then she visited Tommy at Behrend during a Chi Alpha all-nighter and sensed something was different about this community. 

“Behrend had actually been another option for me for college, and I already felt like God wanted me to transfer there,” she says. “And then when I visited, I realized, God wants me to be in this community. He has a plan for me here.” 

She transferred to Behrend after her freshman year, and through joining the Chi Alpha group there  she would begin to see that there was so much more to life with God than what she’d experienced on her own.

So Much More to Community

Both Tommy and Madison felt that the community around them didn’t just point them toward God: it slowly formed in them a new understanding of who they were because of Him. 

For Madison, identity had always been tied to external things. “I feel like my identity was in so many different things, like how I looked,” she shared. Tommy, meanwhile, had struggled to separate himself from his sin and brokenness, as if his failures were the truest thing about him. 

But through shared life in Chi Alpha, both of them began to understand themselves differently. Whether it was during a life group in a hard week, in a warm welcome as soon as you walked into a large group service, accountability that was stretching, or grace that felt undeserved, their community helped them see the truth of who they are in Christ. 

Tommy now understands himself as a child of God.“There were two ways my life could’ve gone during college, and God saved me from so much,” he reflects. “Now I can live a life that’s full of joy with the Lord.” 

Madison also came to understand that she doesn’t have to be alone in her faith; she can lean on her community and be uplifted, encouraged, and ask for accountability.

Community, they learned, isn’t just a nice addition to the Christian life – it was the place where so much of the Christian life actually happens. 

So Much More Through Them

They also began to see that there was so much more that God wanted to do through them, as they began to lead life groups themselves. “It’s so exciting,” Madison said. “These people are helping you grow, and you can also give back.” 

During a worship night, a friend’s name kept coming to Tommy’s mind. He tried to brush it off at first, but it didn’t go away. Eventually, he walked over to this friend and offered to pray for him. 

This friend was on the prayer team for that night, so he asked Tommy what he needed prayer for when Tommy approached him. 

“I’m like, ‘Well, actually, I feel like God put you on my mind, so I wanted to come over and pray for you,” Tommy recalled. “And he started getting emotional.” 

This friend shared with Tommy about a situation weighing on him and how he needed the strength to pray for others. Reflecting on moments like this, Tommy said, “God has us here for each other.” 

They were learning to respond to God and starting to see that God actually works through them. The closer they drew to Him, the more they began to care about what He cares about. 

“I want God to change others’ lives in the same way He changed mine,” Madison declared. Tommy agreed, “if people don’t come to know the Lord, not only will they not get eternal life with Him, but they won’t get the joy, love, and fulfillment that’s available now.”

So Much More Ahead

Tommy and Madison got married last year, and as they prepare to graduate, they are simultaneously preparing to move to Bethel, Alaska to serve with Alaska Student Partnership.

It started as an idea at a SALT Conference, during a breakout session about opportunities to serve in rural Alaska. 

Madison, a nursing student, had learned about underserved Alaskan Native communities throughout her program. Her heart broke learning about the chronic mental health and substance abuse issues. The Alaska Student Partnership peaked both their interests, and over the next few years, they separately began to process the possibility of going to Alaska before making the decision together. 

“God was so intentional with showing us the things we needed to see to discern that we needed to apply for this.” Madison shared.

Tommy and Madison will have the opportunity to become certified teachers in a village while receiving training in discipleship, ministry, and Alaskan culture. After receiving their certification, they will serve as teachers in a nearby village, where Madison also hopes to use her nursing skills to serve the community. But in so many ways, it will be a continuation of what they’ve learned at Behrend: taking small steps of obedience, trusting that God can do so much more with their obedience than they could ever plan for. 

Jesus’ vision for reaching the world – disciples who make disciples – is something Tommy and Madison embody as a natural overflow of lives that have been and continue to be transformed by Christ. During their time with Behrend Chi Alpha, they discovered that following Jesus is so much more than simply attending church: it’s knowing Him personally, being transformed in community, and participating in His work. 

And as they prepare to go to Alaska, they’re filled with anticipation, because they know God can do so much more than they can ever imagine.