Josh's Story from Slum Experience

Josh Whitson, IMPACT 360 student, shares his impressions of the Slum Experience at Servants in Faith and Technology in Wedowee, Alabama.

To learn more go to www.sifat.org.

Pine Mountain Catalyst

On Oct. 4, we hosted Pine Mountain Catalyst, an all-day service event. The students picked up trash, planned and held a block party for residents in a government-funded apartment complex, and hosted a community-wide concert on our campus. In the photo above, Brittany Shadburne spends time with a resident at the Pine Lane Apartment Complex. We have been plugging into the local community for the purpose of loving God and loving others.

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IMPACT 360 begins third year, equips students with Biblical worldview

Pine Mountain, Ga. –– Twenty-one students converged on the Pine Mountain, Ga., campus of IMPACT 360 on September 2 for the start of the gap year program’s third year. These high school graduates will spend the next nine months living in Christian community and studying Biblical and opposing worldviews. IMPACT 360 exists to mobilize student leaders for Christ on their college campuses and to impact culture for the rest of their lives.

The founders of Lifeshape Foundation, John and Trudy Cathy White, launched IMPACT 360 in 2006, after they saw a cycle of spiritual poverty among young Christian adults who enter college but are unprepared for the exposure to secular humanism, postmodernism, and challenges to their faith.


“IMPACT 360 students leave here with a large amount of head knowledge, but they are also effective in showing by example how an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ can transform lives,” said IMPACT 360 Director Larry Cox. “We’re proud of our alumni who are impacting their campuses across the country for Christ, and we’re excited to see how God will grow this new class of exceptional young adults to be catalysts for change among their generation.” During their nine months at IMPACT 360, students learn not only how to live in community – working, playing, and studying together – but also how to create an environment that encourages spiritual growth, unity, and that impacts their neighborhoods, communities, schools, and the rest of the world.

IMPACT 360 hosts guest lecturers throughout the year that teach on such topics as calling and vocational understanding, God’s design and mission for the Church, and developing a Biblical life and world view. Past guest professors include J.P. Moreland, Norman Geisler, and Os Guinness. Conversations from the classroom continue throughout the week as students are able to interact with professors during lunch, over coffee, or relaxing in the commons room. IMPACT 360 students are shaped by what they learn in the classroom, but also by the way the staff and guest professors give their time and genuine interest students’ spiritual and emotional growth.

Catherine Holt, a new IMPACT 360 student, was deciding between staying in Wisconsin and starting college or moving to Georgia with her family. At IMPACT 360, she found a way to be stimulated both in her studies and in her spiritual walk.

“I wanted to stay grounded in education but also deepen my relationship with Christ and my effectiveness to share the gospel when I go to college in the future,” Holt said. “I loved how [IMPACT 360] intertwined those two [aspects].”

Cameron Ford, who grew up in Ukraine with his missionary parents, said one aspect of IMPACT 360 that attracted him was the international experience. Students will spend one month in Brazil serving alongside and learning from local Christians and applying their classroom experience.

“We’ve been on the receiving end of that for a long time,” Ford said. “It will be neat to go out and do it myself.”

The IMPACT 360 campus provides a peaceful setting for students to focus and study, but also accommodates extracurricular activities like sand volleyball and basketball, as well as swimming, hiking, and biking at the nearby Callaway Gardens Resort. Students participate in activities with local churches and volunteer with local non-profits and organizations in the Pine Mountain area.

Community founded on Christian faith allows them a safe environment to discuss what they are learning and share their struggles and joys with their peers. This aspect of IMPACT 360 drew student Mark Barrett to consider spending nine months away from the pressures of his secular university with like-minded people who share his faith and would encourage his growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

“I’m looking forward to having a devotion every morning and having a roommate to read the Bible with,” Barrett said. “Meeting other people that share the beliefs that I have, who are willing to take nine months to get to know the Lord better – that’s pretty awesome.”

Students spent their first few days at the IMPACT 360 campus moving in and starting class with the professor and associate director for student learning and living, John Basie. Orientation continued at The Summit in Fort Payne, Ala., where students completed team-building challenges and worshipped together.

IMPACT 360 student Emily Rettig shared how completing a ropes course at The Summit helped bond the students; it taught them how to respond to and encourage each other when challenges arised. Spending time together as a group made the students appreciate each other’s differences and helped them understand important similarities.

“I knew [we] would be a diverse group of people,” Rettig said, “and I enjoy that. They are beyond lukewarm Christians, and they’re very serious about knowing the Lord.”

“Being able to come here and refocus, setting a goal and surrendering our lives to that – it gives you a firm foundation to live life in light of who God is. It’s the basis for the next four years.”

IMPACT 360 invites interested students and parents to attend special preview days on December 5 and 6, 2008. Guests will be able to tour the property, talk with current students, and meet the IMPACT 360 staff.

For more information, please visit www.impact360.net.