Testimonies 

HEART: Alex Begg

I came to OMEGA as a two time college dropout. When I was in grade 12 I always felt a lot of pressure to figure out what I wanted to pursue career wise, not so much from my family or friends but from the world. I felt like if I didn’t know right away then I would just end up working as a cashier at Walmart for the rest of my life, so very last minute I applied to a college for radio broadcasting. Why radio broadcasting? Honestly I just wanted to sit in an office and listen to music all day and so I chose the first program that would put me on that path.

After a couple months in this program I realized that this is not at all what I want to do for the rest of my life and I decided that I would instead do a full 180 and apply for nursing. After being in a pre health course for nursing for another couple months I realized that it also was not for me. At this point I had no clue what I was going to do, my grades were dropping and so was my confidence in myself. I started to think that maybe post secondary wasn’t for me and I just wasn’t smart enough or driven enough.

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life or where I wanted to go. I decided that I would dedicate one year of my life to figuring out who I was. Then I heard about Summit. I had a friend who had just come home from the OMEGA program and he told me about the impact it had on his life and I could see it too. I was so excited for him, and I wanted that for myself. I wanted a good year. Even if it was just for one year, I wanted a year that would change me, one that would teach me how to be a student, and one that would strengthen my confidence in God and in myself. That is what OMEGA gave me.

In my own broken eyes, I came to OMEGA as a failure and was sure I probably couldn’t even finish OMEGA. However, with the help of my teachers, my interns, and my peers I graduated OMEGA with honours and a new love for God, others and myself. OMEGA changed the way I learn and it has given me hope and excitement for my future.

OMEGA completely transformed my heart. I came into my OMEGA year expecting to impress others, get some new ministry experience, and have fun. Honestly, I had no expectations of growth and transformation from the inside out. In OMEGA, God met me where I was every day! Through classes, chapels, mentoring, friends and my team Jesus called out greater things in me. He gave me a community to grow, be challenged, and process life safely. OMEGA was the community I never knew I needed as I learned more about myself, God, and others. Growing up in the Church I thought I knew it all. I thought that I knew how to worship, how to lead, how to pray, and how to be the best Christian. It is not that what I knew was invalid, but it was so short sighted and often focused on me. OMEGA pushed me to pursue God to greater lengths and my eyes were opened to so much more; the wonder and beauty of God. I learned to keep my eyes on God and to always come back to the presence of the Father.

Looking back at the arrogant kid that walked into OMEGA makes me so glad that God lead me farther down the road of salvation that year. I know that if I did not receive a wake-up call in the form of OMEGA, I would be very lost. I was stretched, I stumbled, and I saw first hand the goodness of God. He was so patient with me, always spoke lovingly, and provided His grace daily. I grew a lot in my OMEGA year and know that what God did in my life set me up for many other journeys. I still process what He did in my life in those short nine months and I continue to learn new things! I am so grateful for all that God did in my life during OMEGA, and I am so grateful that OMEGA walked me through all I was being taught.

I can confidently say that my OMEGA year was the most transformative year of my life. When I came into OMEGA in September I knew no one, and didn’t really know much about the program never mind what Head, Heart, Hands meant. All I knew was that I was SO excited for what God had in store, and whatever it was I was ready for it! I soon learned that the purpose of the hands was to gain practical ministry experience, but what I didn’t see coming was the incredible impact serving with my hands could have on my heart.

In OMEGA, you will serve at a weekly para-church ministry, at a church on Sunday, and for a month overseas in May. In my OMEGA year I served at Wagner Hills, a women’s addiction recovery home, and Recovery Church at Christian Life Assembly Church. Building relationship with people who have been through addiction was something I would have never pictured myself doing, but Thursday nights at Wagner Hills and Sunday nights at Recovery Church easily became my favourite nights of the week. As my team served in the areas needed at these ministries, God continued a work in my heart to become burdened for His people. Through serving with my hands, my perspective of those walking through addiction was completely changed. When I walk down the street and see homeless people who are caught in addiction, I no longer see lost causes. Instead I see people with stories, people who are broken and people who are in need of Jesus’ love, just like me.

The reason these two nights became my favourite nights of the week is because we were actually created by God to serve! Building relationship and serving with my team brought me incredible joy, and though we were able to impact those we served, I believe I was impacted even more! This transformation, joy and impact is something you can experience too!