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