More Than Civics

Ryan Fraser remembers the night clearly. He was a teenager at a TeenPact camp, surrounded by peers. Ryan recalls, “A fellow student asked  to pray for him and a situation he was facing. The request caught me off guard. I had no wisdom and no words.” But he began to pray anyway. “I felt verses coming to mind, words of comfort I had not used before, and a calmness that allowed me to focus on my fellow peers instead of my own insecurities,” he says.

At the time of high school, Ryan was still struggling with assurance of salvation. Ryan remembers that “that night became the defining moment where I was able to banish those doubts and fears. I was stamped by the power of the Spirit in my life and frequently remember this moment when doubt creeps in.”

That night became a defining point in a journey that would shape his faith, deepen his community, and reveal the ways God continues to work in his life.

From Social Curiosity to Spiritual Formation

Ryan first attended TeenPact at the urging of a high school best friend. At first, he wasn’t there for spiritual growth or political formation. “I was initially drawn to the social aspects of TeenPact,” he admits. “I enjoyed the activities, loved meeting new people, and even liked the chance to dress up and wear a tie.”

But over the next four years, the program reshaped him. TeenPact classes combined lessons in civic engagement with daily rhythms of worship, prayer, and community. Ryan began to notice the difference in his peers. “I saw peers who worshiped passionately and interacted with people who loved Jesus and had different opinions than my own. Both of these eye-opening experiences were profoundly important in my maturity as a Christian.”

By the time he found himself in that prayer circle, he was no longer just attending for the fun of it. The experience had become deeply formative.

A Life Beyond Civics

Today, Ryan does not work in politics. His career is in finance, and he has no aspirations of running for office. “Outside of voting, I currently have no regular interactions with politics in my life,” he says.

This is not a disappointment to him, nor does he see it as a departure from TeenPact’s mission. “TeenPact continues to have positive impacts on who I am because it is more than just a government camp. TeenPact was one of the first building blocks in a series of decisions and opportunities that have continually drawn me closer to God and provided me with a community that is doing the same.”

One of those building blocks came early in college. The confidence he gained at TeenPact gave Ryan the desire and courage to start a Bible study as a freshman. That choice, he says, shaped the next stage of his life. Through it, he met his roommates, young men who were also committed to following God’s call. Their friendship set the tone for his college years, giving him both accountability and encouragement. “Because of their influence in my life, I sought out community and discipleship as a young adult,” he says. “God has been faithful at every stage of life.”

Misunderstanding the Mission

Many outsiders, Ryan acknowledges, assume that TeenPact exists to channel young people into political careers. “I believe many people see political action as the goal of TeenPact,” he says. But he insists this misses the point.

“TeenPact’s vision is not to have alumni sitting in government offices. It is to change lives [through God’s transformative power and His action]. Civic engagement is just the vehicle they use to reach students with the truth that pursuing a deep relationship with God alongside a community of believers can lead to a full life.”

For Ryan, this nuance is crucial. Politics is not unimportant–”Christians should care about civic engagement,” he says–but it cannot be ultimate. “As believers, we should care about civic engagement, but living a life surrendered to the principles of Jesus is of utmost importance.”

That conviction has only sharpened as he has grown older. In his view, Christians in America often fall into two unhelpful patterns. “One is they weaponize politics as a tool to try to force others into a Christian worldview without any heart change and with a lack of compassion. The other is they bury their heads in the sand and ignore the culture around them.” Both extremes, he argues, are damaging. “TeenPact seeks to break down the barriers that cause Christians to bury their heads in the sand while keeping the goal of heart change and not external conformity.”

A Community for the Long Haul

If that prayer night gave Ryan assurance of faith, it was the God-centered community he encountered through TeenPact that nurtured it. Over time, classmates became life-long friends. “TeenPact provided me life-long relationships,” he says, and then rattles off examples: traveling to Asia to visit TeenPact alumni, helping friends open coffee shops, going on ten consecutive annual guys’ trips that now include wives and children.

The relationships reach even deeper. “My TeenPact friends are the people that have called me with prayer and encouragement when I am sitting in the hospital. The ones I reach out to on the drive home after a tough work week where I feel insufficient. The people who have lovingly called me to do better when I have lagged in my relationship with the Lord.”

He emphasizes that such friendships did not materialize overnight. “It takes time,” he reflects. “I did not meet them all day one of my first class. But over the four years of my involvement with TeenPact I met people for which I am eternally grateful.”

Among them was the woman he eventually married, a connection that traces back to his TeenPact network.

More Than Just a Camp

Looking back, Ryan sees TeenPact not as a one-off experience but as part of the architecture of his adult life. What began as a friend’s invitation to a civics program became the crucible of his spiritual assurance, the foundation of his college discipleship, the source of a global web of friendships, and even the connection that led him to meet his wife.

“My life was forever changed by TeenPact, and I have seen many friends positively impacted by the organization, as well,” he says. “I appreciate the opportunity to continue to support a ministry with this level of impact.”

His story illustrates what TeenPact leaders have long said but outsiders sometimes miss: the real legacy of the program is not reflected in the résumés of its alumni, but in how God awakens them to faith in Christ and a life devoted to His purposes. For Ryan, the moment he prayed and felt the Holy Spirit bring verses and encouragement to mind marked the beginning of that awakening. To his surprise, those words came naturally, shaping a life profoundly transformed by faith, discipleship, and enduring community.