Paulina Pirveysian | Banner Hayley McCarthy (right), office of Spiritual Life graduate assistant, talks at her desk with Morgan Chambers, staff member of OSL and Challenge.
The transformation of the life of Hayley McCarthy has impacted her peers and those across the world as she uses her testimony in spreading the message of the gospel to those she encounters.
McCarthy, graduate assistant in the Office of Spiritual Life, was raised in the another faith other than Christianity from the age of three.
She faithfully attended worship services and seminar classes before her daily school sessions, but after years of
being immersed in that faith, McCarthy said she re-evaluated her beliefs.
“Before I turned 16, my mom started going to a Christian church to learn more about Jesus and she asked me a lot of questions, so I started wondering if what I believed was true,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said she was unable to avoid feeling there
might be contradicting facts in what she was learning.
“I was always taught it was a sin to question (my faith), so I never really questioned it before,” McCarthy said. “As I decided this was not true, I didn’t know what was true, so there were two years in which I was unsure and really confused.”
During this time, McCarthy decided to attend college and chose California Baptist University because of its close proximity to her hometown.
She moved onto campus, where she heard the gospel for the first time from her resident adviser and residence director.
“That was the first time I really understood grace,” McCarthy said. “In (the other religion), you work for your salvation and I didn’t understand I can never earn my salvation. Only through Jesus could I be saved, so that was when my life was changed.”
After accepting Christ into her life, McCarthy said she started to understand God’s heart for the nations and wanted to be a part of God’s love for the world.
McCarthy joined the Southern Baptist Journeyman program. The program provides two years of overseas service for college graduates. She said she felt a need to share the gospel with people from another country.
While in South Asia, she formed strong relationships with women who became followers of Jesus.
Elise Lutz, junior nursing major, met McCarthy while overseas and said she was inspired by her passion and ability to reach out topeople.
“I have been struck with how genuine she is, I know she doesn’t fake it,” Lutz said. “This was easy to see in her interactions with (the people). She talked with them so casually and honestly, not seeming to see them as a project, but seeing them as people.”
Lindsay Vacek, One-Stop student advisor in Online and Professional Studies at CBU and alumnus of Journeyman, said McCarthy seeks to make Christ’s name known under all circumstances, in order to bring glory to him.
“Hayley serves out of obedience to the Lord and with a passion to make disciples among the nations, wherever she may be,” Vacek said.
McCarthy is now using her story in the United States to connect with students at CBU who are eager to grow in their faith or show an interest in someday moving overseas. She said being a part of the staff has also given her a platform to help students with any personal problems they may be facing.
“When I was a student I understood what God was doing among the nations and how
important it was to go and share the gospel, but now being back here I have a desire to invest in students so they have that desire as well,” McCarthy said. “I’m thankful for this season of life I get to be in America, disciple students and share the gospel in my own language.”
