Foothills Church is excited to welcome two new interns to our Youth Ministry Team⏤Luke Walker as our Middle School Youth Director and Isaac Allen as our High School Youth Director. Here Luke shares his story of growing up, learning to trust God, and growing a desire to share God’s word with Middle Schoolers.
I was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1999. My childhood was really defined by three things. First, growing up in a military home, this meant that my family was uprooted every two to four years, and often my dad would need to be gone for months at a time. Second, my vision disability, I was born with a genetic disability called Rod Monochromatism. Long story short, my eyes don’t work right, and I can’t see very well. This made school very difficult for me when I was young, and I had to learn to adapt. Most of all though, both of these things taught me to rely on God.
The third thing that defined my childhood was The Church. My parents were both Christians, so my three sisters and I grew up going to church. Growing up I was very legalistic, and I had in my head a list of things that made me good enough. I grew up hearing the gospel every week, and I could explain the gospel to you, but it wasn’t until later that the gospel really penetrated my heart. I became a Christian in 2010 at a summer camp between my 5th and 6th grade years. That night The Holy Spirit told me that I hadn’t been living in a relationship with Him. I’d been trusting in myself for my righteousness, and not Him. I repented and entered into a relationship with Him.
I started volunteering in middle school youth ministry in 2017 as a high school student and I quickly discovered my passion to help middle school students come to a better understanding of who God is, and how He created them to live. I began pursuing my degree at Corban University in the fall of 2018, and in the spring of 2022 I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Christian Ministries. While I was at Corban I met my wife Ayala, and we were married in November of 2022.
I have a lot of hobbies and things I enjoy doing. Especially though, playing disc golf, or watching movies with friends. I’m an avid reader and especially enjoy the works of C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. I enjoy hiking and being outdoors, but I can also be a bit of a homebody at times. Recently, I’ve discovered that I love board games, and have enjoyed time spent playing board games with friends. I’m also an avid sports fan. I especially enjoy watching the NFL (go Chiefs!), and college basketball (Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!).