High School Graduate Receives Ratio Christi’s Highest Honor: Introducing Jorden Berryman

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Jorden Berryman joined our newly formed College Prep chapter over four years ago as one of our original students and a high school freshman. Since then she has been a strong advocate of our chapter and within the last two years has been a strong contributor to the success and visibility of our chapter. She has taught apologetics content such as understanding textual variants and artifacts in the Bible, the reliability of the Bible, the teleological argument for the existence of God, the evidence for the Resurrection, and a presentation of the student’s McDonald Observatory trip and how it demonstrated the existence and glory of God. She has taught 6th grade students, middle school and high school students, adult apologetics students, youth groups at other churches, and is one of the youngest speakers to ever address a chapter of Reasons to Believe, the scientific apologetics organization founded by Hugh Ross. As my teaching assistant, she has crafted three presentation, The Genesis Flood, Transgenderism: Facts and What the Bible Says About It, and Correcting Your Christian Friends, the latter intended for high school students. She manages our social media and coordinates our field trips and special events. This month she begins her studies at Liberty University, with a focus on Christian ministries and beginning in the fall semester she will be responsible for teaching middle school students every week. – Dan Britton, RCCP Texas Hill Country Chapter Director –

  • When did you come to Christ as Lord and Savior, and how did that come about?

I grew up in the church and accepted Christ at a young age, but as I got older I began to think that maybe I don’t know who Christ is; that is until I started going to the apologetics group at Hill Country Fellowship. In my freshman year of high school, I based my worth on my popularity or how many boys liked me. But when I started going to the apologetics group, I learned that in God’s eyes I’m worth so much more.

  • In your high school church youth group, how much did you learn about the Christian faith and reasons to believe?

I started going to a Wednesday night youth group and, at first, I had gotten a lot out of it, but eventually it became repetitive. I wanted to know more about God, and I had so many unanswered questions. So, when I heard about an apologetics group that met on Monday nights, I was intrigued. When I started going, I immediately had some of my major questions getting answered. Without apologetics my faith would not be half as strong as it is now.

  • How did you become interested in apologetics, and how did you get involved with Ratio Christi?

Originally, I started going to Monday night apologetics because that is where all my friends were, but when my questions started getting answered, I wanted to be there all the time. One day my apologetics pastor, Dan Britton, asked the Monday night group if any of us were interested in going to a Reasons to Believe chapter in Austin, Texas. As a high school sophomore who didn’t have a license, I had no plans, so I agreed to go. I learned so much that I went to almost every Reasons to Believe chapter meeting after that.

  • What impact has the Ratio Christi College Prep ministry had on your walk with God and your personal ministry?

If I had not started going to the Ratio Christi chapter in Burnet, I don’t think I’d still be a Christian, because there are so many questions that the typical Sunday service, for me, could not provide answers. Ratio Christi has given me evidence that can’t be denied.

  • What is this RC chapter like? 

Currently, on a typical Monday meeting about 10 youths attend (we had up to 30 prior to COVID-19). We typically have a lesson handout or watch a video from Summit Ministries. These discussions are planned months in advance and are typically well thought out for what the students need at the time. We often look at both sides of an argument to see which side has more evidence; spoiler alert, it’s never really the secular worldview.

  • What were some of your favorite areas of involvement with your local RCCP chapter?

I love that pastor Dan is so passionate about his students, past and present, and how much he wants to give them an “unfair advantage.” He puts his heart and soul into making sure the students are educated and can defend their faith. I also love teaching the middle schoolers that go to Wednesday night apologetics. They have some tough questions, like I did at their age, questions that they deeply want answered.

  • What does the your Legatus Christi award mean to you? 

The Legatus Christi award is going to help me further my career as an apologist. Before, I had very little credibility as an apologist because of my age, but now, I feel confident enough to pursue apologetics as a career with even more conviction.

  • How do you envision taking the apologetics you have learned through Ratio Christi into your future endeavors?

I want to attend Liberty University, so, the apologetics I have learned will give me an edge on graduating. After I graduate, I want to continue teaching apologetics to youth and adults. I also want to carry apologetics with me to help answer questions that people may have or debunk doubts that are festering.

  • What are your short and long-term career/ministry/mission plans?

Short term, I want to attend Liberty University and teach along the way. Long term, I want to continue teaching apologetics but I’m not quite sure how.

  • Would you consider coming back to work with your RC chapter, starting one at another school, or working with RC in any other capacity?

I would love to work at the Burnet RCCP chapter, and maybe, sometime in the future, start a new chapter in a town that has a need for it.

  • What would you say to other students who might be considering getting involved in Ratio Christi, whether they be skeptics, seekers, or believers?

I would encourage them to get involved. At the very least, they would learn some of the truth claims and evidences of the Christian faith. As believers, they would grow stronger in their own faith and as skeptics or seekers, gain a clearer understanding of the Christian faith.

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