Jacob Tanner disciples college students through internship with RUF
Jacob Tanner is a busy person, not unlike when he was a student at Loganville Christian Academy.
Today, Jacob (LCA class of 2020) serves as an intern with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. In this role, Jacob focuses on relational ministry, event planning, leading small groups, and fundraising.
Having the ability to be proficient in this avenue — particularly when it comes to discussing Christ with students one-on-one — is a credit to his 11 years spent at LCA.
“I think LCA really equipped me to talk to people who grew up Christian, but might not be religious,” Jacob said. “I hear a lot of people who have walked away from the faith, they’re always like, ‘Yeah, I went through a Christian school, you know how that is.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I went to a Christian school and I’m in ministry. Obviously something’s different.’ It really helps me empathize and understand how to work with those people.
“This is not a knock on a Christian school at all, but maybe [the students] have a bad taste in their mouth from their childhood. Now, they’re not interested and I think I have a good understanding of that.”
Jacob originally became involved with RUF while pursuing a political science undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia (UGA).
Additionally, Jacob is married to his wife Kayla and they have a dog named Teddy. They are involved at Christ Presbyterian Church of Cool Springs in Tennessee.
“Learn how your God loves you.
Then you can go really study and
be an effective witness.”
Jacob’s hobbies include playing tennis, hiking, camping, has an affinity for reading and enjoys watching sports. The Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Falcons, and the Atlanta Braves are the teams he actively cheers for throughout the year.
Concerning his long-term career goals, Jacob is praying to see if God wants him in a pastoral role in college ministry.
“I feel a burden for college students who are aimless, because I definitely felt that way going into college,” Jacob said. “I had a very new, fresh faith and I didn’t really know what to do with it. And RUF is a really good opportunity for that. As an intern, one of the big benefits is that every RUF has a campus minister who is ordained in the PCA. I really get to be mentored by him and learn his philosophy of ministry and learn from him about how to teach, about theology, just a wide array of skills I’ll need as a minister.”
Being heavily involved is nothing new for Jacob. While at LCA, Jacob spent his time with an assortment of activities.
He was a member of the Junior Varsity basketball team and played varsity football. Other extracurricular activities include being involved in theater, Beta Club, National Honors Society, concert bands and was the student body president his senior year.
To sum up, Jacob jokingly said he “tried it all.”
Fond memories that flood his mind presently include many LCA educators. He remembers the impact of reading Mere Christianity — a book that Jacob said “punched him in the face by truth” — in Mr. Andrew Martin’s class. There were also the English classes with Mrs. Jennifer Smith and Mrs. Tonya Corrente, history classes with Mrs. Christie Snell, plus playing GeoGuessr with Mr. James Schaffer after school that means a lot to Jacob.
Ultimately, Jacob is appreciative of his decade-plus time spent on the Pridelands.
Now a few years removed from his high school graduation, Jacob recognizes the importance of students being firm in their faith before enrolling in college. It goes hand-in-hand with this school year’s theme of “Rooted and Established.”
“If someone is about to graduate and enter college, if you aren’t sure about what you believe, you need to figure it out right now. College is a think tank and the enemy wants to steal you away. So read Scripture, learn to love God and learn who He is. Scripture is God’s self-revelation about Himself to us. He is more kind and more gracious and more loving than we will ever really know. Scripture says he reveals his immeasurable grace to us and Paul uses a paradox to describe how good He is, because there’s really no way you can really know how good He is.
“Learn how your God loves you. Then you can go really study and be an effective witness.”
