Interview with Alex Hale and Zach McCue: Part 1

Kayla and Jayla
Aug 10, 2017
7 min read

We are so excited to bring to you our interview with TeenPact President and Vice President, Alex Hale and Zach McCue. In May this year, they ran together for the highest office in TeenPact at National Convention. Their slogan was "Children of the Light." With the help of God, family, and friends, they won! Their powerful and inspirational journey to success and such influential platforms will move your heart. Enjoy.

How did you first hear about TeenPact?

Alex: We had some friends whose daughter went to a TeenPact class, and we heard about TeenPact from them. I had no clue about government, and I was scared. My mom told me about it, so I went.

Zach: My mom heard about it from a friend, but I thought it was a bad idea. It was a government class my mom had heard about, so it probably wasn't going to be cool. I went, and I found out that I was so wrong; I also figured out that my mom is never wrong. It seems like all TeenPact students are out of my league, but then you get to know them and find out that we're all walking through life at the same time. TeenPact builds a culture of living together as a family of Christ.

When did you start staffing?

Alex: I applied at National Convention in 2014 and staffed in 2015 at Texas II. I took a year off in 2016 because life was crazy. I prayed about it and just felt like I needed to take a step back. In that year, I was being set up for great opportunities during staffing in 2017.

Zach: I applied at National Convention in 2015 and started staffing in 2016.

What caused you to want to run for the highest office in TeenPact?

Alex: I went to my first National Convention in 2014. I found the elections very exciting. I thought it was such an unbelievable platform and opportunity to have. I thought I would never get that chance, but God has a weird way of using people who think they're unqualified. Fast forward to the spring. People asked me if I was going to run, but I wasn't sure. I had the message "The Children of the Light" (not yet called that), and I told people I would only enter the race if I could run with the message "The Children of the Light." It then led me to asking myself who would bring the most glory to God and assure me that we would be spreading the good news of God, and I decided to ask Zach to run with me. I am so glad God pushed me to take action to ask Zach.

Zach: I first saw elections at National Convention and I thought it was amazing to be put on such a pedestal. I thought it would never be something I would aspire to. Early this year, I started getting asked if I would run, so I prayed about. It then became clear that if I was going to run, it wouldn't be something that I was going to come up with; God was setting me up to share a message that someone else would bring. God showed me what true humility looked like. God told me that He would lead someone to me and this person would have a message, and I would back up that person with the message that God had laid on this person's heart. Then God brought Alex, and Alex made it clear that he had a message on his heart and he wanted to run to share the message of being dependent on God. We were in separate classes at that point, and the day we both got back from classes, I called Alex. We sought out God's plan to make sure this is the right thing, and we knew that we wanted to use the election to glorify God. Running was something I never wanted to do. I was already a campaign manager before that point, and I loved being a manager instead of having to run, but I was happy to run. I had to allow surrender to take place. When you surrender yourself, God will do amazing things. Running turned into something that was one of the greatest blessings of my life.

How did being homeschooled help your journey to where to you are now?

Alex: I started being homeschooled when I was nine years old. I never knew about homeschooling, My parents were never homeschooled. Homeschooling was a great environment for my faith to develop, and it provided a healthy environment where my family could nurture me. People get the wrong idea that we are deprived of a social environment, but you get the opportunity to know yourself and gain self-esteem through Christ. I was able to establish myself and it gave me time to think and grow into my own person. I enjoyed being with other people my age. Homeschooling allowed me to seek truth without distractions. In eighth grade we reached out to a co-op which was a program established at a nearby college. The program was made to help students learn how to think well and it was based off the best informative books throughout history. Each class taught me what it means to go against the status quo and go against the norm because there could be something better. It allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. It was there that I came up with the message "The Children of the Light" and I wanted this message to be shared. Homeschooling led me to run for TeenPact president. Homeschooling was integral. I don't think that I would be as strong a Christian as I am today without homeschooling. The Christian walk is not a race but rather a marathon. Homeschooling was essential for who I am today.

Zach: From eighth grade to my junior year I was in Classical Conversations. Being in CC helped such a large amount it's too big to put a number on it. CC helped me to think critically and believe what I believe. CC mixed with TeenPact has set me up to use the gift God has given me and to live for God effectively. God orchestrated putting CC and TeenPact together. Without CC and Teenpact my life would be very different. I owe a large part of where I am right now to God organizing CC and TeenPact coming together. Homeschooling is a great opportunity to learn things in depth and not just memorize things. God planned it all that way. Neither of my parents were homeschooled. They stepped out in faith and ended up getting backlash from some family. In the end it turned out to be great. Homeschooling is key and it is one of the greatest blessings that my parents made the decision to follow God's plan. I may not have been happy at first because I am extroverted, but looking back I wouldn't have changed a thing. Homeschooling has been a platform to live out God's plan for my life.

Could you describe briefly your journey of campaigning for TeenPact office and what that experience was like?

Alex: Campaigning was really exciting. On April 1 we decided to officially launch, and I was a little nervous. When we launched, National Convention was only 50 days away. A lot of the journey was just living by faith and being grounded in Christ. We had a lot of ideas and possibilities for slogans. We had a concept and we shared our hearts with people. Slowly through the campaign, we started speaking to people who loved our message- God has called us through childlike faith, and that faith sets us apart. As humans we think we need something perfect. If our intentions are true and godly, it will shine through. At first our campaigning was unorganized; then we were able to start shooting videos and our campaigning became greater. Our campaigning changed thousands of lives. Before the campaign started, Zach's computer and phone broke and we were only able to communicate through his Kindle. The journey was very hard but fulfilling. Our dreams take faith but in the end it will be rewarding and fulfilling.

Zach: The campaign was kind of like a short version of life. Some points were long, but God was there continually. Even though we had hardships through communications or things not coming together, God was continually faithful. The campaign process resembles life so well. Life will have hardships. If we take a step of faith, God will return with faithfulness that knows no bounds. God is incredibly faithful even through the hardships and even when we don't expect him to be.

How did you come up with “Children of the Light”?

Alex: It was very difficult to choose a slogan because we wanted something memorable and distinct. We tried different ideas but nothing stuck. We wanted to capture that we are children of God and we live different because we are the light in the dark. Our friend Audria Bruce suggested "Children of the Light." Then we came across the verse Ephesians 5:8.

For you were once darkness,

but now you are light in the Lord.

Live as children of light.

When we found that the Bible confirmed this message, we decided on that slogan.

Zach: When we came to recognize our slogan, we started thinking about imagery. Our slogan conveyed our message so well in words; then we found the image of a candle and it fit so well. There is such a contrast between when a candle is lit and when it is blown out. When a candle melts it represents the purpose of living and melting for the flame. It just has so much meaning and adds continued depth to the message. God fit it all together.

Join us tomorrow for the remainder of this interview.