‘God is for everybody’

BY BETHANY KILPATRICK

Multimedia Journalist

Adam Medina grew up trying to figure out how to get through the day; however, his life now is centered around pursuing the purpose he believes God has given him. 

Medina is a freshman at Tarleton State University and is involved in Paradigm College Ministry in Stephenville, and is excited to share his faith. However, Medina had to overcome many challenges that were in his path to get to the point he is now.

“My parents divorced before I was born,” Medina said. “I never had any family growing up, and they were both just really abusive. It was really traumatic growing up.”

Medina knew no consistency and moved more than eight times in his childhood. He lived in dangerous areas and was surrounded by individuals involved with drugs and drug dealing from a young age. 

“I started stealing when I was five or six, and I just kept doing that,” Medina said. “I started smoking in middle school, and I was really depressed.”

In his later years of high school, Medina met a boy his age named Andy Moats. Moats and his family took Medina in and explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him. Not long after this, Medina accepted salvation and, a couple of weeks later, declared his decision publicly by being baptized. 

To accept salvation, or to be saved, means to admit that one is a sinner, believe that God sent his son Jesus to die and be the atonement for humanity’s sins and confess openly one’s faith in God.

“I moved in with Andy and their family,” Medina said. “His family took me in, and they're a solid Christian family. I got baptized and just thrown knee deep into Christianity and faith. It was amazing though.”

Medina carried his faith with him to college, but prioritizing it took a little time. 

“I came to college, and I was not, not living for God,” Medina said. “But I definitely just let the immaturity of college get to me a little bit.”

Medina met Tarleton student Floyd Hendrick during the 2024 fall semester, and their friendship kickstarted the passion that dwells in Medina when Hendrick invited Medina to his challenge group.

A challenge group is a small Bible study run through Paradigm. Hendrick was a leader of a group with Avery Killough. Medina also started to attend  Paradigm’s worship nights on Thursdays and church Sunday mornings at First Baptist Church (FBC)  in Stephenville. 

“I met Floyd playing basketball, and I had no idea who Floyd was,” Medina said. “He was just a six [foot] eight guy.  He was hilarious, and I kept making fun of him, and he would make fun of me. And then before I knew it, I went to the big feed that they had in the student center, and FBC was there giving away food. So I went over there and I saw Floyd, and he was like, ‘Bro, you should come to church.’”

Medina agreed to go to church with Hendrick, which led to his involvement in FBC, Paradigm and Hendrick’s challenge group.

Paradigm was going on a mission trip to provide service work in Atlanta, Georgia, over spring break, and Medina decided to join. Once in Atlanta, though, Medina began to feel spiritually drained. He believes that God placed Olivia Findley in his path to give him the encouragement he needed to continue.

Findley and Medina had no knowledge of each other prior to the mission trip. However, every night spent in Atlanta, Liv woke up at 2:07 a.m. and felt as if God was calling her to pray for someone named Adam, even though she did not know anyone named Adam. She continued to follow what she felt called to do, though.

One night during the trip, she noticed Medina seemed drained and burdened. She asked her friend, Ann, who he was, to which Ann responded with, ‘Adam.’”

“Mind you, I didn't find out any of this until days after the mission trip,” Medina said. “So Liv and I had never met. Once we met, I shook her hand, and I just told her, ‘Thank you for praying for me.’”

This experience strengthened Medina’s faith even more and gave him the encouragement he needed to keep pursuing the path he felt God had laid before him. 

“I have seen Adam get involved and start striving to live out his faith in Jesus,” Hendrick said. “It has been so awesome to see Adam go from a guy that not many people at Paradigm knew, to a guy that everyone loves to see and a guy who shares the joy of Christ.”

Since initially being invited to church by Hendrick, Medina began to teach sixth graders on Sunday mornings at FBC, has helped Hendrick teach at his challenge group, is being discipled by a mentor and was just interviewed as part of the application process to lead his own challenge group for next year. 

Medina’s passion to share his faith has only continued to grow. 

“I want to be in ministry,” Medina said. “I don't care what I do. I want to do prison ministry, I want to do refugee ministry, I want to go teach and I want to travel to churches. I want to talk and lead and all of these things.”

Medina is currently studying kinesiology at Tarleton; however, he is switching his major to business in pursuit of a different career path. He feels called to become a pastor, and after conversations in Atlanta with current pastors encouraging Medina to chase his calling to ministry, he feels confident in his decision. 

“I'm just speechless,” Medina said. “I'm here about to change my major. I keep praying about it, and I keep trying to teach. It's like more doors just keep opening and opening. So I'm here now.”

The excitement that Medina has for his life and his faith is noticed by his peers and leaders. Kilough describes the joy that is easily seen in Medina.

“He always greets people with a hug, fist bump or encouraging words,” Kilough said. “When spring semester started up, it was like a brand new Adam was with us. I believe the joy and light we were seeing through Adam was because of his obedience and the time he was spending with the Lord.” 

While Medina has faced many challenges that have led him to where he is now, he claims he would not change anything. 

“This is not a story of Adam, or a story of what Adam has gone through,” Medina said. “This is all God, and everything is literally for his glory. I wouldn't change a single thing about my life. I would relive it a hundred times if it meant that God got to help one person.”

Medina encourages all to know that the God he loves and serves is for everyone. 

“Like John 5:24 says, ‘I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life,’” Medina said. “And that is just so amazing, because I mean, it's for everybody. God is for everybody.”