Rooted in Christ: Ren’s Journey to Faith and Leadership

University of Northwestern – St. Paul is truly an amazing place to be. From the beautiful campus that will soon showcase a stunning fall color display to the dorms filled the vibrancy of new friendships and awaited experiences, a new season is truly upon us. Faculty are busy teaching and investing in students, both academically and spiritually and our campus pastor, Chris Asmus, has begun his teaching series on this year’s chapel theme, Become & Behold. Newness is in the air; however, it is the students, past and present, who make UNW the place we all know and love. Anyone who visits campus will find the Northwestern community to be uniquely different and refreshing.

Meet Ren Hamann, a senior this year who is a beautiful example of Jesus’s love in action. Anyone who has a conversation with Ren will surely hear his praise of Jesus, regardless of the day or life circumstance that he is experiencing. He understands Jesus’s love and unwavering grace and is quick to reflect those attributes in his encounters with others. He will be graduating this spring with a ministry major; however, that wasn’t his plan when he transferred to Northwestern in the spring of ’22 from Mankato State in pursuit of a degree in finance.

Ren became a Christian on May 15, 2021. He grew up in a home where a relationship with Jesus was understood; however, Ren did not fully realize this for himself until his senior year of high school. God captured his heart, and Ren is becoming more and more in-tune with the promptings of the Holy Spirit as his relationship with Christ deepens.

While at Mankato State, Ren began to sense that he needed to step away from a public institution and seek his higher education at a school that would help to encourage his newfound relationship with Jesus. He toured Northwestern and learned quickly that this was a different place than any other he had visited.

During his first week, Boomer Ropke, offensive coordinator at the time, after a brief conversation with Ren, embraced him and said, “I love you so much, man.” Ren was taken aback by this but soon realized the spirit of joy that fills so many people on this campus. It is expressed through an openness and love for brothers and sisters in the faith. Ren had never experienced this genuine love by complete strangers that isn’t earned—at Northwestern, it is simply given because that’s what Jesus does for us. Ren now finds himself openly expressing love to others because he understands where it comes from.

Last spring, he organized and hosted a worship night at Northwestern, called Rattle. As a part of the student senate (athletics liaison), Ren proposed hosting a worship night in Erickson as a way to bring students together in a building that is used mostly by athletes. Ren reached out to two key people in leadership on campus to get the ball rolling; he received their support and guidance; however, it was up to Ren to make the large-scale event happen—something that had never taken place before in Erickson’s gymnasium. And he did (in three months’ time), from organizing the band, to reserving the space and coordinating lighting and AV. For this worship experience, Ren was adamant that it feel organic and communal with the band being in the middle with students surrounding them so that everyone could feel like an equal part of the praise offering. More than 200 people attended this event (60 who were not Northwestern students). It was a night of worship, prayer, and fellowship that took place because one student was willing to take it from an idea to a well-orchestrated event. This is one example of his leadership ability and his desire to facilitate an encounter with Jesus. This past summer, Ren poured himself out, once again, so that others could experience Jesus.

Ren came alongside sixth through eighth grade boys at Trout Lake Camps as a program coordinator after having served previously as a camp counselor. It was here where he felt God’s calling for Ren to pursue a degree in ministry. He finds tremendous fulfillment in helping kids take their next steps in their walk with Jesus and isn’t intimidated by the campers who are most challenging— he realizes that there is more to a person’s story than their outer layer and meets them with Jesus’ love, patience, and acceptance. One such camper this past summer was a nonbeliever who demonstrated negative behavioral patterns more often than not. Ren acted as his “cabin buddy” in order to give the counselor and other campers a needed break.  He would spend time with this boy each day and naturally began to gently and lovingly peel back the layers to this boy’s hard outer shell. This camper had lost both of his parents (his mom first, and shortly after, his dad) and was adopted by his stepmom. He was angry with God and couldn’t understand how He allowed this to happen.

Although Ren was not able to relate to this camper’s loss, he was able to relate with struggling with an undesired reality and could offer encouragement to a weary soul who felt alone and discouraged. Ren began to share stories from the New Testament of how Jesus sat with people in their sadness and distress to share in their suffering with compassion and kindness and stories from the Old Testament how God was always present. He also led this camper to a personal relationship with Jesus by being authentic and sharing things like:

• It is hard to follow Jesus sometimes because of circumstances that come our way.
• Jesus is not looking for perfection; He desires a surrendered life and a willing follower who seeks to become more and more like Jesus each day. It’s a lifelong journey.
• All it takes is a moment for a prodigal son to come back home.
• Jesus is not just a “camp experience.” Jesus is living and active in our day to day lives and in pursuit of an authentic relationship with each of us. 

Ren continues to pray for this boy who experienced Jesus at camp and began a personal relationship with Him; he knows that seeds were planted and that God will do the growing of those seeds. What a gift it is to be God’s hands and feet in the lives of others so that more can pursue a personal relationship with Him. This is Amplifying the Gospel in action.

In his words, “So many of my faith connections have happened through Northwestern; it’s such a great conduit to build a community you can lean on. I am getting ready to graduate but am reluctant to leave this place. It’s been so great.”  

Ren is making the most of his college experience and will willingness walk through whatever doors to the Lord opens for him, post-graduation. Ren has surrendered his life and choices to the Lord and is committed to lifelong journey of becoming more and more like Jesus. “He isn’t looking for perfection; He desires a surrendered life and a willing follower.”