Shane Thompson

gathering coordinator | CREATIVE

I grew up in Renton, WA where my little brother and I were raised by our Dad, Mom, and Stepdad. Our parents got divorced when I was 4 years old. Though it was hard at times, I credit much of the growth in my life to the learning opportunities available to me while balancing time between both houses and helping my brother navigate that as well. All three of them loved us well throughout our childhood and continue to be an amazing support system for us to this day. We would go to a Lutheran church semi-consistently, but it was not a major part of our lifestyle, and looking back now I think a large reason I went was because my friends were going.

As a senior in high school I was receiving scholarship offers to Dive in college, but I tore two ligaments in my ankle and those offers fell through so I ended up at WSU, the school where a majority of my family has gone. I still wanted to partake in athletics so I got involved in Rugby. I also got involved in Residence Life (Resident Advisor), Student Government, and the general college party scene. I thought these things would fill me up. For a while I was able to pretend that they did, but even after becoming Butch T. Cougar my senior year, arguably the most loved “person” on our campus, I still often felt alone and unloved.

 In November of my senior year a culmination of false identities collapsing, bipolar disorder, anorexia, and life circumstances led to me trying to take my own life. I ended up in the hospital for roughly a week and had a lot of time to process what exactly I was doing with my life. I started reading the Bible and praying again for the first time in a long time. When I got out of the hospital a friend of mine invited me to Resonate, and when I went it was a baptism service. I heard story after story of God working in others people's lives and realized He could do the same in mine. 

The following semester I would go on to get baptized, graduate college, and go to Elevate.  When I got back from Elevate, I led Athlete Ministry at Washington State University for two years and saw God do amazing things. As much as I love my Cougs, I realized that students on other campuses need the Gospel just as much. So in the summer of 2018 I moved to Boise, ID to help plant a church on Boise State’s campus. I spent 2 years there, getting to work alongside our core team of 20 as we grew into a church of almost 100 and learned so much about God’s character and faithfulness, as well as about myself.

Now I’m back in Pullman and working as our Network’s Gathering Specialist, focusing on leading and equipping our Network of sites in the realm of Sunday Gatherings, Worship, and Tech. I have the joy of helping each site figure out how to maximize the potential on any given Sunday (or any of our larger events; ResCon, Worship Nights, etc)  for reaching people with the Gospel and equipping the leaders of our church through our corporate gatherings. Having been on the other side of the Church Plant / Support System relationship for the past 2 years I am excited to get to play a role in helping current and future Resonate sites reach more students through their Sunday Gathering’s!

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Myers Briggs: ENFJ