As the year comes to a close, we have one final story of transformation we are excited to share with you.

Jack Kraatz grew up in Keller, Texas, without church, faith, or any sense that God had a claim on his life. Like many young men, he chased what the world promised would satisfy. By his late teens, that pursuit had turned into a pattern of parties and alcohol, a way of living that followed him into college.

In the fall of 2022, Jack began his freshman year at Oklahoma State University. His new freedom carried consequences he couldn’t escape.  He began living for the next way to numb what he could not name.

Then came a night that brought everything to a halt.

After learning his girlfriend had been unfaithful, Jack spiraled into a moment of complete recklessness. Totally overwhelmed, he drank himself into oblivion. Passed out and at rock bottom, both physically and emotionally, Jack heard something he could not explain. An audible voice told him to get up and go to church.

“I knew it wasn’t my own thought,” Jack recalled. “I shouldn’t have even been awake. But I didn’t know what else to do but go to church.”

Confused and shaken, Jack walked into Life.Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. “As I heard the message, it was as if it was specifically for me.”

One by one, Jack invited his friends to join him. Each was deeply impacted by the message they heard. What began as a single act of obedience quickly became a shared awakening, drawing Jack and his friends into a season of serving the church and learning what it meant to follow Jesus.

Near the end of the semester, Jack sensed a new leading. God was calling him back to Keller to pursue Him without distraction. Jack took a year off and worked while trusting God to light his next path. A simple search for seminaries near him revealed that The King’s University was is his own backyard.

While God was reshaping Jack’s heart, He was also working in his family. Watching the visible change in their son, Jack’s parents began attending church, asking questions, and serving regularly. The ripple effect of that one audible word extended far beyond Jack himself. “When God speaks, He doesn’t just restore one life,” Jack reflected. “He restores families.”

Jack enrolled at The King’s University in January of 2024 as a Biblical and Theological Studies major. At The King’s, he found grounded theology, a Spirit-formed community, and leaders who recognized both his calling and his need for continued formation.

It was also here that Jack met Anna Dalton, a Biblical Counseling student whose heart for people and commitment to Jesus matched his own. “We’re getting married in May,” Jack said. “God has used this season at The King’s to shape both our faith and our future.”

As Jack continued to grow in his calling, doors to ministry began to open. Through the encouragement and recommendation of Dr. Frazier, Jack now serves as the youth pastor at New Life Assemblies of God in Hurst, Texas. After their wedding in May, Jack plans to continue his studies at The King’s while faithfully serving the next generation.

What once looked like an irreversible downward spiral became the beginning of many lives transformed. At The King’s University, Jack found the equipping he needed as God redirected his story for His glory.

This is the power of Jesus, the One whose birth we celebrate this season. One Word spoken in the darkness. One life changed. And a light that continues to spread.

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