“Listen, I’m never going to do Legacy, so please stop asking me.”
Those are pretty much the exact words I said to Peter years ago when he approached me one last time to consider joining the program. It took me a few years to get up and go, and I couldn’t be happier about the timing of when I finally ended up joining.
I’m pretty sure everyone who reads this will know the basics of what the Legacy Bible Institute is, so I’ll skip the explanation and speak from my heart of experience, which is a challenge to do.
Legacy has made such an impact on my heart, and I mean it. I remember asking previous students about what they thought and they all kind of gave me the same answer about how great it was and how it taught them to deeply study the bible and they recommended it. And honestly, I figured that’s just a cliché answer that pretty much everyone says, but boy was I wrong. No one could have explained to me the DEPTH of detail we pull out when reading each verse of the bible, or the buckets of knowledge the different teachers would pour over us each week, or the love of God and his Word that I would grow to have, or even the sweet, fun, loving, (and sometimes exasperating) friendships that I would come to have with the other students. This isn’t cliché; Legacy has truly been one of my favorite years in life. Sure, it was hard. Keeping up with homework and volunteering on top of working and classes and church activities made me exhausted for, like months straight. But, it was so worth it.
I always admired people who would talk with strangers about the bible, or even have no problem in bringing up the bible with other believers just in random conversations. And although I aspired outwardly to be like that one day, deep down I kind of accepted that my personality wasn’t like that, and I would never get to that point. Well, FORGET THAT mindset… (let me just tell those who maybe don’t know: I grew up as a child of an elder, with a lot of knowledge of God’s Word). I have learned to see God’s Word in a way I LOVE and never have seen before, and I genuinely love telling people about Jesus. Like seriously. I have seen God transform my life and heart now in a way that I think can mostly only happen by devoting this full year to a program that totally saturates your whole self in the gospel, and forces you to break down all of your barriers over the course of each continuing month.
I love that I can now see the Bible as a whole, and truly know the contexts of each book and how it can all tie together, and I am so thankful that this will set up my whole life for a way to grow deeper and deeper in love and knowledge of what I have begun to learn here. I genuinely tell all my friends now how much different this year was than I expected, and I will forever recommend for people to go through a year of their life like this, if not Legacy then some sort of saturated bible program.
Much love, and thanks be to Jesus for this year He has given me! Also, a shout-out to my teachers for handling my sass, debates, and many mid-class giggles. I am thankful for each of you, and you have all made a difference in my life.
– Jennifer J. (written 4/15/20)
Wooster Apostolic Christian Church 