"Chi Alpha"
The Assemblies of God Church had a college youth group they called, “Chi Alpha”. I had heard about it from the pastor of the church I had been going to and decided to go and give it a try. The first time I went, I sat outside the meeting room and watched people going in. Someone came up and asked me if I would like to come in too, and I did. My first night at Chi Alpha.
There were about thirty-five or so students in attendance. Most were my age, and it didn’t take long to make friends. The campus pastors lived in the “Chi Alpha” house just a few blocks from campus. It was a daily gathering place for students during their off times from class. We also had meetings and gatherings there as well. Most of the doctrine taught there I had grown up with and I was familiar with; Pentecostal, Evangelical teachings.
A couple months after my Git ‘N Go blast from the Holy Spirit, I ran into a friend of mine who had told me a few months earlier that she had a friend she thought was a perfect match for me and wanted to set me up on a blind date. I had not had a date in over six months, and I agreed to give it a go. I had never been on a blind date before.
We met at the well-known McSalty’s Pizza for dinner. She was a really nice gal and we talked for a bit when she asked me if I partied, code for drink, pot, or “?” I told her about my faith and that I had given up partying. After explaining a bit about Jesus, she responded stating, “That is what I want”.
I explained she could open up to Jesus anywhere but if she would like some privacy we could go back to my apartment where I had a Bible. She chose to follow me back to my place. There I walked her through the basics, and she said a prayer of faith. She left excited and I was so glad to have been able to help her through it.
She was the first person I ever led to the Lord. I got her a Bible a couple weeks later, but I didn’t really know what to do afterward and I didn’t see her again till about six months later. She told me she was enjoying the Holy Spirit in her life and seemed to be doing well. I have always regretted not having done more for her though.
I plunged into the study of eschatology, the study of the end times, asking many questions about this and that and of different views on how the end times would play out. Most of the people at Chi Alpha were what was known as “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” believers of which I was not. The doctrine didn’t line up with what I had come to believe in via my studies and what I had come to believe due to my dreams. But I was always interested in hearing others’ views and would always pick up a gold nugget here and there.
A double date was set up by a friend of mine with two of the Chi Alpha girls. The gal he wanted to go out with would only double date on a first date. I was paired with a friend of hers. We ended up going out and became good friends, my first Christian girlfriend and the shorter, dark-haired girl from my “The Room” dream.