With Much Hope

Before there was there was the official co-op internship program, there were a couple of

individuals who were in or leaving college in Oxford, Mississippi. Those few people felt a deep

longing in their bones that was hard to explain. It was hard to articulate, but a passion stirred

within them. They knew that they were called to something, but they did not know exactly

what that thing was.

I was one of them.

I had spent my four years of college in a whirlwind of experiences. I changed my major multiple

times. I worked in a couple of ministry settings. I interned at a campus ministry. All of these

things certainly helped guide me to where I am now, but as I entered my senior year I still didn’t

know what I was supposed to do next.

I found myself with a deep love for the Church, but I had major reservations to the direction the

Church was heading. I didn’t know where I fit. I knew that I was called by God to be a part of

some sort of Kingdom work in this world, but I did not know how to discern it. I did not know

how to even pursue it. I was still wrestling with faith, calling, and identity.

All I knew was that I wanted authenticity. I did not want to be a mold-fitter. I was not one. I

needed a place and a time to ask tough questions. I needed a time to wrestle. I needed a time

to sort out what God had done in my life and where I felt him calling me.

The opportunity came up one summer for me to do what is now called The Co-op. I was already

on a path the Lord had set before me, but The Co-op was something God used in my call story.

College students who register at all with my experience, I know that God can use it to be

something similar for you.

With much hope,

Thomas Toole