51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ

PLAINVIEW, TX — When Jarrett and Justice Bednarek walked onto the stage in Harral Auditorium during 51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ Baptist University’s chapel service Wednesday, they brought with them a story few in the audience expected to hear.

The two brothers, first-semester students at 51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ, shared how lives once marked by addiction, crime and broken relationships had been transformed by faith in Jesus Christ.

Their journey to that moment in Harral Auditorium began years earlier in San Antonio.

Jarrett and Justice grew up in a Christian home but eventually drifted far from the faith they were taught. During a chapel interview led by Dr. Matt Baird, assistant professor of Biblical Studies and director of Online Christian Studies Programs in the School of Christian Studies, the brothers spoke candidly about the destructive paths their lives had taken.

“We’re excited for you to hear their story of what God has done in their lives here recently,” Baird told students as the conversation began.

Jarrett described a life that gradually spiraled into addiction and crime.

“I had all the right influences growing up,” he said. “But I chose to make all the wrong decisions.”

After reconnecting as young adults, the brothers began living together in Waco. Their lives soon became consumed by drugs, money, and destructive habits. Jarrett eventually became addicted to methamphetamine and heroin and was later charged with multiple felony counts related to theft and fraud.

“In the eyes of the world I was still doing OK,” he said. “I had a nice place and a nice car. But in the eyes of Christ, I was definitely not doing OK.”

Justice’s path followed a similar trajectory.

The middle child in a large family, he said he began experimenting with drugs at an early age. His addiction deepened through his teenage years, leading to time in detention centers and a lengthy rehabilitation program. As an adult, the addiction continued, eventually leaving him physically ill and struggling to survive.

At one point, he was hospitalized with severe infections and weighed only 110 pounds.

But his turning point came after another night of drug use when he looked at himself in a mirror.

“I looked like a zombie,” Justice said as a photo from those days flashed on the auditorium screens. “My eyes looked hollow and more black than white.”

In that moment, he said, he fell to his knees and cried out to God.

“I begged Him to free me of my addiction and set me free from all the destruction and perversion that I had caused in my life,” he said. “I fully surrendered my heart to Christ in that moment, and my chains were shattered.”

Justice said the transformation in his life soon became visible to his brother.

Jarrett said the change he saw was impossible to ignore.

“There was a joy in him that I had never seen before,” he said. “Every time I was around him, he would be singing Christian music and talking about the Lord. There was a peace about him that I couldn’t ignore.”

The example stirred conviction in Jarrett’s own life.

Eventually, he said, he too reached a breaking point and cried out to God for help.

“I asked Him to work in my heart and change me,” Jarrett said. “I knew that on my own I didn’t have the strength to say no to those things.”

One night the brothers flushed their drugs down the toilet, destroyed the paraphernalia connected to their addiction and began reading Scripture together.

“That night was a turning point in my life,” Jarrett said.

Justice soon began researching Christian colleges where he could study ministry. 51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ Baptist University quickly rose to the top of his list.

“The more I read about the school and its mission, the more I felt like it could be the place God was leading me,” he said.

At first, Jarrett laughed at the idea of returning to school. But as his own faith deepened, he began to see a different future.

While Jarrett was serving a short jail sentence for probation violations, Justice completed both of their applications to 51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ and arranged for them to enroll as roommates.

“When he told me we had both been accepted and were going to school together, it meant so much to me,” Jarrett said.

Today the brothers are students on the Plainview campus, continuing to rebuild their lives.

Justice said one of the clearest signs of God’s work in his life is his continued sobriety.

“For so many years drugs controlled my life and my decisions,” he said. “Every day that I remain clean is a reminder that God is giving me the strength to live differently than I did before.”

Both brothers said their time at 51Æ·²èÔ¼ÅÚ has strengthened their faith and sense of calling.

Justice hopes to work in youth ministry, helping students who may be struggling with the same issues he once faced.

“I know what it feels like to be lost,” he said. “I want students to know their lives can change.”

Jarrett expressed a similar desire to share the message of transformation.

“I want people to know that there’s real transformation in His name,” he said. “If God could change my heart and redirect my life, then I truly believe He can do the same for anyone who calls on Him.”

As the chapel service closed and students prepared to leave Harral Auditorium, the message behind the morning’s theme lingered in the room. For Jarrett and Justice Bednarek, “Made for More” was more than a chapel theme. It was the story of two lives redirected — proof, they said, that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.