How God Is Using Students to Change Their Schools

BROKEN

Sarah Gibbins grew up in a loving Christian home, but she considered her faith more cultural than personal. Her high school was a very broken place, and it affected her faith. After graduating early, Sarah went to Italy for a year to study art.  While in Italy, she was traumatically assaulted. Sarah was shattered. Fear, shame, and loneliness plagued her. For 20 years, she didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her.

While attending college, Sarah tried to find ways to cope with the pain, which only led to more shame.  “It became a prison,” she explains.

FINDING FREEDOM

When she hit rock bottom, God brought people along her path to show her who Jesus really is. A friend told Sarah that Jesus is always with us, so she should ask the Lord where he was the night of her attack. Sarah did, and God gave her a vision of Him being with her the entire time. All the feelings of fear, guilt, and loneliness vanished, and Sarah was healed.

In 2020, Sarah found herself struggling again after contracting COVID.  The trauma from her assault triggered POTS, a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects vision, heart rate, blood pressure, and more. She couldn’t even perform normal tasks. 
After months of suffering, Sarah cried out to God again. On August 7, 2021, she was completely healed! 

COLLISION MINSTRIES

God has given Sarah a special empathy and compassion for teenagers. After what she endured at 17, she realizes that many teens carry heavy burdens. She got involved in working in high schools, which led to her work with Collision Ministries.

When asked what is different about Collision compared to other faith-based school programs, she replied, “Collision is student-led, and we emphasize the biblical principle of multiplication.”

The goal of Collision Ministries is to reach all 32 million middle and high school students with the gospel message. Collision trains the Church to build student-led teams that multiply disciples in their schools and surrounding communities.

After 15 years of working with youth, Sarah says that Generation Z are mobilizers—they want to take an active part in bringing others to Christ.
Today, Collision has approximately 1600 students, impacting over 6,500 students weekly. It all started with a 14-year-old girl, named Bethany. In 2008, while attending Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she noticed brokenness in her school. Bethany told her dad she wanted to become a missionary in another country. Her dad challenged Bethany to start with her school. So, Bethany turned to John Glasser, who was known for spreading the gospel, and together, they launched Collision.

ACTION ITEMS

“We need prayer, people, and resources. If a student, church, parent, or grandparent wants to get involved, they can log onto www.Collison.org/CBN and join the movement.  

CREDITS

Chief Expansion Officer, Collision Ministries (2025-present); formerly Director of Student Life, 
Collision Ministries (2010-2025); BA of Arts, University of Texas; Fine Art Studios, Instituto D’Arte, Massa, Italy. Married w/three sons.