Welcome to the Pursuit, a series documenting the experiences of a Colson Fellow-in-Training as they seek to walk wisely in this time and place. Each segment will provide an insider’s look at what a prospective participant can actually expect should they choose to embark on the journey themselves.
In this segment, we sat down with Luke Ferraguti, an actuary, husband, and new father. The Colson Fellows program is designed for busy men and women from all walks of life in mind. Here's a glimpse inside. Enjoy!
The Pursuit: Luke Ferraguti
How a Full-Time Employee Does the Colson Fellows Program Between Getting Married and Volunteering at Church. Retired University Professor Does the Colson Fellows Program
As told to the Colson Center Communications Staff
Where are you from? Dallas, Texas.
What is your occupation? I’m an actuary.
What stage of life are you in? I'm newly married as of 2023, and my wife and I just welcomed our first son. During my cohort year, I got engaged, married, and found out my wife and I were expecting by the time I was commissioned.
When did you become a follower of Christ? I grew up in church, and my parents were believers from the time I was born. I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember and have always attended church and been involved.
Are you involved at your church? Yes. I serve in the music ministry at my church, attend a small group, and help with music programs like our Christmas show. I also volunteer occasionally at our church’s YWAM base.
What led to your interest in the Colson Fellows program? A friend of mine, Matt Templeton, went through the program in the Dallas cohort in 2021-2022. I went with him to the Colson Center National Conference in Orlando for his commissioning, and I was blown away by the speakers. I knew I wanted to go through the program at some point, but 2022-2023 just wasn’t a good time for me to do it. So, I signed up the next year and participated in the 2023-2024 class. I had been living with Matt’s family while he did the program and would often work in his office while he watched the course content. I would often have to put down whatever I was doing because what he was listening to was so interesting.
The Colson Fellows was a first-time introduction to worldview for me. For most of my life, my faith has been very personal. In high school, the Gospel became real to me in the sense that I realized it was for believers and not just unbelievers. But even after that, my faith was mostly about personal salvation. When I heard the things Matt was listening to, it was the first time I really started to think about the historic implications of our faith, like how believers were the first to save dying babies in the streets of Rome. I had never thought about things like that.
I was also overwhelmed by the ideological movements that have been going on in the last five to ten years, but I was unable to answer them. So, when I started hearing how believers should respond to some of these things, I realized, “Wow, I think I was looking for this and I didn’t realize it.” My interest grew as I learned more and more.
What Colson Fellows cohort were you in? How many CFITs were in your class? I was in the Dallas cohort with about 12-15 CFITs. I really enjoyed it. I was the youngest for sure. Aside from me, I think the average age was mid 50s or 60s. It was great for me because I knew I was going to be getting engaged and married soon. So, in our discussions I would say something from my perspective, and everyone else would answer from the perspective of already having children and grandchildren. I loved it.
How did you approach the workload for the Colson Fellows program? I kept up a medium pace the whole way. Every morning, I would sit down and do the devotionals and a little bit of reading. I spent an average of 45 minutes to an hour each day on the program. There were a couple times I did get behind, like around my wedding, but I was able to catch up.
What was your favorite book or topic to study? I couldn’t pick just one. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus was a great one, and Why You Think the Way You Do was incredible.
Where has the Colson Fellows program most impacted you? What transformation did it bring about in your life? The most immediate transformation came from talking over and over about the sanctity of life. I had never really thought about things like IVF. I had never wanted to be involved with politics. I was kind of apolitical. After going through the program, getting married, and having our own baby—having the information from the program and a bigger view of God and how He thinks about children has radically changed my life.
My son has actually been in the NICU for about fifty days [at the time of this interview] because he was born with very underdeveloped lungs. After seeing all these babies born at 23, 24, 25 weeks and thinking back to all the discussions we had in the program, I’m at the far opposite end of where I was a few years ago when I didn’t really care. Now I’m like, “No, the Lord cares about these lives and we need to protect them.”
What would you say to someone considering the program? They should absolutely do it! It’s a time investment. You have to take that into consideration. I definitely wanted to do it in 2022-2023, but I knew it wouldn’t be the right time with what I had on my plate. I was glad that I waited a year, in hindsight. I was working a full-time job and getting married, but it can definitely be done.
I gained confidence to talk to people who disagree with me. I knew a lot about Christianity and faith from a “my personal salvation” standpoint, but if someone had talked to me about how they’re going through a specific ideological issue, I wouldn’t have been able to discuss it intelligently or with empathy. I wouldn’t know how to approach it. So, I feel so much more confident to talk to people, minister to them, and provide them truth in a way that’s encouraging and helpful.