My Eternal Summer - Morgan Doppelheuer’s Story
Morgan Doppelheuer’s Story
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I was the kid most moms warned their kids about. Every teacher hated me. I wore a cross around my neck and on Facebook it said I was a Christian, yet I was rude, selfish, and doing things some kids didn’t even realize existed.
I was raised in a Christian home with great parents. But in middle school, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. By sixth grade, I had my first shot. I loved the way it made me feel and how mature I thought I was. From then on, me and my three “best friends” never turned back. I started skipping church and making excuses not to go. Lying became my native language.
My life was all about impressing my 'friends,' and if they didn’t like me I had to change.
But for some reason, I always thought of myself as the “good one” in my group of friends. You know, I went to church sometimes, I knew enough about Jesus. I went through life thinking I was doing enough to get by and that was OK. I was convinced I knew everything and I didn’t need help. My life was all about impressing my “friends,” and if they didn’t like me, I had to change. I lived in constant fear I would lose them.
An Invitation
But God was not content to let me stay this way. A friend and her mom asked me if I would like to go to NewSpring. I ended up going. I’d never seen anything like it before. I actually understood what the pastor was saying. I loved it so much I decided I had to share it with my family. From then on out, the Doppelheuers were NewSpringers.
Ironically, I did not want to go to the Gauntlet in 2009 at all. But on the last day of sign-ups for NewSpring's student summer camp at the beach, my mom had stood in line and paid for me right there and informed me when she got home that I will be going.
When Perry walked out on stage the first morning of Gauntlet week, I was just expecting another message. But as I listened, I realized I was a sinner and was far away from God. I heard Perry say “If you’re sitting there contemplating if you know Jesus or that you should stand up, just do it. Don’t wait until Thursday night, don’t allow this moment to pass.” I stood up and it was one of those things I could not control. I knew Jesus had completely taken over my heart and that He is now my Lord and Savior.
Restored Relationships
My family immediately started seeing how my life was changing and how excited I was about church. I convinced my younger brother and cousin to come to the Gauntlet the following year and they both ended up meeting Jesus.
That year, I also decided to bring my three best friends to the Gauntlet. The only catch was, they hated each other. But I was persistent and practically begged them to come with me. During that week, God began to do things in our lives we never could have imagined. We finally understood what friendship was intended to look like. We were all bonded not by our circumstances or the fact that we went to school together, but by the fact that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and we aren’t out to please anyone else but Him.
Now I’m an owner and serve at NewSpring with the most amazing people and attend Fuse every week. I have also come to understand that God allowed those three bad years of middle school so that I can share my story. I know I am called to ministry and have a heart for reaching teenagers far from Him, just like me.