It makes sense for Christians to be drawn to the moral goodness of superheroes. It’s hard not to be attracted to their strength, bravery, and life-saving feats as well. As Sergio Cariello, 2012 Bible Institute Alumnus of the Year and comic book illustrator, put it: “Jesus is the ultimate superhero.”
Jay Fabok, Class of 2008, another skilled graphic artist and Bible Institute alumnus, has found that his connection to fictional superheroes — Batman, specifically — also helps him spread truth about the one true Savior.
Jay was raised in a Christian home in Ontario and was saved at a very young age. But like so many teenagers, he says he was eventually swayed by the world and drawn into partying. Even as he was walking away from God, though, God was still pulling on his heart and working in his life to lead him in the right direction.
Jay had been a fan of a Christian music group since he was a kid. At age 20, just a few months away from completing a three-year computer animation program, he went to a concert in London, Ontario, and listened to one of the band members share his testimony.
“I felt the Lord tugging on me,” Jay remembers. “He knew my dreams, and He said, ‘Jay, you can either continue down your own path and maybe you’ll have success or maybe you won’t. Or, you can give your life to Christ and follow me. I may lead you to different places, but I promise you’ll have a really great adventure. You’ve just got to trust me.’”That night, Jay accepted Christ as his Savior and turned away from his sinful life. God used the band he’d loved since childhood to bring Jay home.
After rededicating his life to Christ, Jay felt led to go to Bible college. His youth pastor had gone to the Bible Institute at Owen Sound and encouraged Jay to apply.
“I took a leap of faith and went, and I loved it,” he says. “Going to the Bible Institute, for me, turned out to be the best year of my life.”
Attending the Bible Institute strengthened Jay’s relationship with God. But he also learned discipline and structure, which helped put him back on the right track to achieve his goals. Jay says every minute of every day he spent at Word of Life was used efficiently, and the time management skills he learned guide his work today as an artist with DC Comics, where he has strict deadlines and is expected to produce the highest quality work.
Another part of Jay’s job involves visiting schools and conventions and speaking with young people about his art. Through the experience of Open Air Evangelism in Toronto, Jay became comfortable sharing his testimony and teaching the Gospel. Jay’s work gives him a unique avenue to the hearts of colleagues who respect him and young people who look up to him.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in life — if you work in entertainment, at a factory, or in ministry — you have to give your job to the Lord and allow Him to work through it,” Jay says.
Jay and his wife of three years, Sarah, Class of 2008, whom he met at the Bible Institute, live in southwestern Ontario and recently found a new church family at Emmanuel Baptist in Windsor. Jay is excited to become more involved in the ministry, specifically working with youth. His fondest memories of Word of Life involve the staff and fellow students who poured into him, discipled him, and encouraged him in his walk with God. He’s paying that gift forward now through discipleship with a young person at his church who dreams of being a comic artist.
The true blessing Jay sees in sketching Batman is the connection the character gives him to young people. He recognizes that his talent was given to him by God, and like the music group did for him, Jay feels compelled to use his art to touch youth who have strayed from or have never met God.
“Through my time at Snow Camp and summer camp, the Bible Institute put a burden on my heart for today’s youth,” he says. “My industry is about messaging toward youth, so I’m able to meet them face-to-face. I’m able to use my art as an ‘in’ to reach young people with the Gospel and grow them in their relationship with the Lord.”
Photos courtesy of DC Comics
No comments:
Post a Comment