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Religion
Page 5 • Tuesday, August 31, 1999
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Highway
ourtesyof
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Breaking Away
[Thousands of students gather on Tuesday nights to meet Jesus
J Y can best bej
isic should m
'liatric Tenne
more like
Stoiy by Stephanie Dube • Photos Courtesy of Breakaway Ministries
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ife left me lot
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"Father 1 Km
the
mg on Bingi
them in ma
onight, the heart of Texas A&M will
be overflowing with praises to Jesus
Christ.
k r B'h° usan ds of students will meet in
s P lav Judder Auditorium to seek God at one of
‘ ''Peractivdke ia r g es t college Bible studies in the na-
01 ion. The Breakaway Bible study attracts
Meats ranging from Catholics to Protes
ts, from those who have a close walk
th God to those who just have a lot of
juesdons. All have one goal — to learn
Â¥re about Jesus Christ.
.Gregg Matte, Class of ’92 and director
f Breakaway Ministries, speaks at Break-
n]y tea: May every Tltesday.
â– Students can show up in caps and
i never have!?B rts ’” Matte said. “A girls’ soccer team
Sd to come after practice with their shin-
lards still on and mud on their knees. We
â– ly want anyone to feel comfortable
lining.”
Breakaway began 10 years ago in Mat
e’s apartment. Back then, the Bible study
â– not even have a name. But over time,
â– nds invited friends, and the study out-
r s, libraries and churches.
bs King leads worship at Breakaway
5very Tuesday night. His band plays popu-
â– jpraise-and-worship songs.
Matte said the ministry can help stu
dents focus on what is important in life.
“All throughout college, students are
continually bombarded with syllabuses,
but most students don’t take the time to
ask what is the syllabus of life,” he said.
“Breakaway gives students the opportuni
ty to discover that Jesus is the true un
shakable foundation to build their life
upon.”
Today, Breakaway includes a band fea
turing singers, a guitarist, percussionist
and keyboardist. The band leads worship
for the study’s first 30 minutes, and Mat
te speaks for the second half.
“The music and message relate direct
ly to student life,” said Texas A&M head
baseball coach Mark Johnson, who gave
a 10-minute testimony at Breakaway two
years ago. “The audience is an active, alive
group responding to God’s message. It’s
really fun to watch.”
Staci King, Class of ’95 and a singer in
the Breakaway band, said the band tries
to use the worship time to help students
focus on Jesus.
“Nothing you can invest your life in
will bring you more hope than investing
your life in Christ,” she said. “Nothing else
I put my trust in can fulfill me.”
Breakaway will host a ministry fair
tonight. At least 40 different churches and
Christian student organizations will set up
tables outside the auditorium to answer
questions and help students find min
istries to plug into, Matte said.
“I think it’s exciting to have Breakaway
on campus, especially with inviting other
Christian organizations to participate,” Dr.
Steve McDaniel, a member of Breakaway’s
Board of Directors and a marketing pro
fessor at A&M said. “Breakaway is not in
competition with other organizations but
is meant to complement them and facili
tate what others are doing.”
For the first three weeks of this semes
ter, Breakaway will be held in Rudder Au
ditorium at 7 and 9 p.m. This on-campus
location will give new students and those
who normally do not attend a- chance to
see what Breakaway is all about. King
said. Beginning Sept. 21, Breakaway will
return to its home at Central Baptist
Church, which donates its facilities to the
nondenominational ministry.
Breakaway Ministries includes more
than the Tuesday night Bible study. Tapes
of Matte’s talks and CDs of the worship are
sold throughout the United States and in
10 foreign countries. Almost 90 student
volunteers help run the ministry.
Cliff Dugosh, assistant director in the
Memorial Student Center and Class of ’86,
said Breakaway’s popularity makes it one
of the newest A&M traditions.
“Students know Break
away is on Tuesday nights, 4m;
so they even schedule V
things around it,” he said. “1
lived in San Antonio for the
last nine years and came to
A&M on Tuesday night seven
or eight times just to go to
Breakaway. It’s affecting a
good number of people on a
consistent basis.”
Michael O’Toole, a senior
marketing major who volun
teers for Breakaway, said God
used the ministry to change his
life.
“Breakaway is where I first
met God face-to-face,” he said.
“I went to church my whole
life, but once I came to A&M, I
quit going.
“My walk with God was
never consistent, but when I
went to Breakaway, it woke a
sleeping college student up. I
began to grow in Jesus Christ.”
Ali Still, a sophomore health
and kinesiology major, said she meets God
at Breakaway.
“Every week, 1 know God’s going to say
something I totally need to hear,” she said.
Matte said the ministry is based on 1
Corinthians 2:4-5: “My message and my
preaching were not with wise and persua
sive words, but with a demonstration of the Texas A&M students worship God through
Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not songs during the first half of Breakaway,
rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s pow
er.”
Matte said this verse shows the true fo
cus of Breakaway.
“Breakaway is not about a certain de
nomination or a club. It is about a rela
tionship with Jesus Christ,” he said.
The Breakaway band encourages students to have the freedom to worship however they want,
from standing with their hands raised to singing in their seats.
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