July 27, 2020 by

Hello Future Yellow Jackets,

My name is Cam Sardano. I am from Hanover, Massachusetts, which is due south of Boston and 15 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. I have awesome parents and three sweet older sisters, and I am the proud uncle of one niece and five nephews. I love hiking, reading, and both making and drinking coffee.

My time at Cedarville started in 2018, when I transferred into the B.A./M.Div. program after completing two years at Word of Life Bible Institute (more on that in a bit!). I decided to go to Cedarville primarily because of its heartbeat for the Gospel and grounding in God’s Word, which were very evident to me from afar. What I expected from the outset I have experienced time and again since being a Jacket. Cedarville is unique in that it unites the  preparing us for a career and maturing us as disciples of Christ. Further, the culture on campus is molded by a diverse plethora of people who bear one another burdens, strive to know and love God, and live for His glory. I have been impacted by this culture in my dorm, my friendships, my D-Group, with my Global Outreach team in Peru, and serving as an RA in Brock Hall.

This coming school year, I have the sweet privilege of serving as the Student Body Chaplain. In this role, I have the crazy opportunity to preach God’s Word and walk alongside my fellow students as we seek to know and enjoy God. I am particularly excited for our chapel series working through the book of Colossians. As we do so, we will seek to learn more of who Jesus is, who we are in Him, and how every aspect of our lives is to be directed and empowered by Him. In sum, our vision is that we would together Walk in Christ (Col. 2:6,7).

Though I am now a Jacket at the ‘Ville, my freshman and sophomore years were spent as a Huskie at Word of Life Bible Institute. These first college years were incredibly formative in my relationship with Jesus. During this period, the Lord taught me many sweet lessons, but I’d love to share with you just three: 

  1. I have learned through experience that daily time set aside to spend in the Word and prayer is a habit that is both our crucial need and delightful devotion as Christ- followers. This habit has hands down been the most transformative activity in my life.
  2. The Lord showed me the importance of deep, transparent, and authentic relationships with friends and people who were a little older and more mature in their faith. These relationships are one of the chief fruits of the Gospel and one of the main ways God has ordained for us to grow as believers.
  3. The chief purpose we exist is to glorify God, and the most satisfying and joy-filled life is one that is lived in line with this purpose. This means that pursuing God’s glory and pursuing our good are not separate, but united aims! We glorify God when we trust and treasure Him, and this always overflows in us striving for others to trust and treasure Christ.

As I reflect on when I was an incoming freshman, I believe there are several simple but impactful exhortations that can help prepare your heart now for what God has in store.

  1. Embrace your utter desperation and let that lead you to total dependence on Christ (John 15:5; 1 Cor. 12:9,10). Until we understand that our growth is not able to be muscled by our own strength, we will never grow, because God desires our trust, not our strength.
  2. Seek to live with an open hand, allowing the Lord to freely give and take away any thing, person, or opportunity in your life (Prov. 3:5-6; Phil 4:11-13). What you believe is better for you and what God knows is better for you are often not the same, and what He knows is better is always best.
  3. Join me in praying on a regular basis Psalm 19:12-14 and 139:23-24. Both of these prayers highlight our deep need for God to reveal to us the ugly sin in our hearts and a longing for Him to give us a heart that loves and delights in Him. This is a prayer that God delights to answer, and I have found is especially timely in periods of transition.

I am so excited at how God wants to work in your life at Cedarville in the future. This is truly a special place to grow your relationship with the Lord along with thousands of others, pulling toward that same goal. 

God has a plan for your life, don’t try to know it; just seek to know the One who does!

As a beggar who has found the Bread,

Cam | SGA Chaplain

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