My name is Tristan Rittenhouse and I am a Sophomore studying Performance and Exercise Science. When I was first asked to write this blog, I had no idea what I was going to say. After juggling some ideas, I have decided to talk about my spiritual journey.
I grew up attending services at Nectar United Methodist church in Cleveland, Alabama. It was not until about 5 years ago that I ever stepped foot into a Church of Christ. Caitlin (my girlfriend of 5 years) asked me to go to church with her one Sunday and being the gentleman I was I said “yes.” I did not really think about the fact that she attended a Church of Christ because I have never really been educated in the differences between all the different religious affiliations, so I just thought “Oh, it’s gonna be just another Sunday,” but boy was I wrong. For me it was a lot different than what I was used to. Obviously the singing kinda threw me for a loop, and then the fact that they took the Lord’s Supper every Sunday literally blew my mind because where I went to church we took it once a month. I’ve always been okay with change and trying new things, so even though it was different I was very intrigued to find out other things that were potentially different compared to what I had grown up my entire life doing and seeing.
I began going back and forth from churches, one Sunday I would go to my church and the next Sunday I would go to the church Caitlin attended, and every once and awhile Caitlin would come with me but she’s not big on change, so I never really pushed her to do so. When I turned 16 I started going to church with Caitlin pretty much every weekend. Caitlin asked me to go to church camp with her the summer I turned 18. I am a very shy person when it comes to meeting new people, I don’t know why but I always have been, so the thought of going to a Christian camp in Mississippi where I would know like 5 people, honestly did not sound fun to me at first. But like I said I’m not afraid to try new things, so I decided I would go. The last thing that I thought would happen would be me getting baptized, but it is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. One thing that was challenging was telling my mom that I had been baptized. Not because I didn’t think that she wouldn’t be happy but because she has been affiliated with different churches, so I felt like she wouldn’t really understand when I told her I wanted to become a part of God’s family. It can be hard to talk about religion with your family when they don’t necessarily see things the same way that you do.
By this point I had already decided that I was going to the University of Alabama, and Caitlin had told me about the Tide for Christ Student Ministry, but again like I said earlier I am a shy person, and Central Church of Christ is a very large church. Needless to say, I was very nervous that first Sunday. I have grown more in these past 2 years of being in Tide 4 Christ than I have in my entire life, and I feel like I continue to grow every day.
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