Destined for Discipleship

As an international student, from China, Steven Yao joined the LCA community during his freshman year. After a year of sleeping on couches, he found his temporary home with Monty Page, one of our LCA coaches. A football injury in October of his junior year began a change only the Lord could have ordained.

His parents flew across the world to be with him during his recovery, and were hosted by the Page family. Steve’s father noticed that Coach Page was spending mornings with his Bible. As the young man was the only one who could translate, Steve found himself at the kitchen table in a five-hour conversation full of his father’s questions about Christ, and this spurred him to ask his own questions. In January, Steven started praying for clarity and asked God to reveal himself if He was real. By February, he and Coach Page were studying John. In March, Steve gave his life fully to Jesus.

With Steve about to hop on a plane back to China, he wanted the chance to be baptized in front of his teammates by Coach Page. Little did the young man know… Members of the Frisco Bible community had been praying since October for his heart to be opened to Christ. On June 6, some 100 of them — wearing masks and practicing social distancing — lined the track and celebrated with Steve during his baptism. Three hours later, he was on his way back to China, but he left Coach Page with this final thought: “My Bible is staying with me whatever the cost. With Christ, what can they take from me?”

Right now, Steve is in China at a boarding school with New Oasis and is continuing the Legacy curriculum through our online academy. Most Thursdays, he calls in to join Coach Page, Coach Scott Smith, and LCA dad Geoff Godsey to pray over the school and the nation.

Because of travel restrictions, Steven will have to stay put for the moment, but we are prayerful that he will be able to finish his senior year on campus with us.

“It was a special day to see Steve baptized this summer. He has been a testimony to us all,” says Coach Smith.