Ben’s Story.
After Ben got out of the military, life quickly went downhill for him. He felt directionless, stagnant, and lost like he didn’t really know what in life he was supposed to hold onto anymore. Ben found himself being dragged along to church with his brother and found that he connected almost instantly with what was being presented to him. A short time later he was baptized and started serving in every area of the church that he could. Later, a pastor friend of Ben’s suggested that he look into taking a couple of classes at PBC after taking the church’s youth group to the annual One Conference that Mannahouse Church puts together in February. He discovered that just about everyone on staff at the church had an affiliation with PBC. A year later he would be attending PBC full-time.
Ben’s Future.
Ben states: “It’s tough to transition into a civilian lifestyle and a civilian mentality after you’ve had military culture rigorously pounded into your essence for years upon years. Having the opportunity to study the Word of God in a collegiate setting, and then allow it to slowly change my worldview, really shifted things for me.” Ben saw that the staff was relentlessly compassionate and truly displayed the essence of the grace of God as a part of PBC culture. The attribute of deep study and the passionate caring staff was the key to unlocking his desire to lean into a love for Jesus that Ben didn’t even know existed.
Ben graduated with his BTh: Bachelor of Theology in May of 2023.
Debt Free.
The VA benefits that Ben received while attending PBC made all of the difference in the world. He was able to spend time studying things in depth as he didn’t have the added stress of rushing off to a job in order to make his tuition payments on time. The staff at PBC made the entire process ridiculously easy for Ben. After the initial semester, all he had to do was simply sign up for the classes that he wanted to take, and then show up when they started. All the financial pieces were taken care of for Ben, behind the scenes.
Message to Future VA Benefits Applicants:
You’ve been given a unique opportunity, use it to its full advantage. Get involved with anything and everything that you even have a remote interest in. Don’t be shy, If you don’t know how to get involved in something, don’t hesitate to ask because at PBC, asking is all it takes to get pointed in the right direction. I had a lifelong desire to learn how to play the guitar but I never had the chance. I didn’t even know if I could get away with it (didn’t know if the VA would approve the extra credits) but one semester I decided to just try to sign up for a guitar lesson. PBC took care of the rest and now I play my own guitar every day.
Ben Allworth