“He’s not afraid to talk to people, even total strangers. To pour into their lives. To speak boldly. Just seeing him take on ministry challenges and handle them without needing encouragement or direction and just really taking the bull by the horns.”

“Aside from being exceptionally physical and talented with regards to movement and martial arts, Austin is very, very good at reading people. He’s very, very good at identifying that if “this person is having a bad day” he can go out of his way to kind of build them back up and reinforce how they’re feeling.”

“He’s also exceptionally humble as a leader and so, if there’s someone who needs help or needs critiquing, he will do it in a way that is gentle, kind, loving, and not demeaning towards that person or making them feel stupid. He wants to empower them.”

“Austin is really great at keeping everybody involved and feeling included. So if he notices people are sitting aside at a party or youth group or things like that, he’ll find some kind of game or activity that everybody can participate in and goes and makes sure everyone gets engaged and feels included. And it’s really helpful, you can see smiles coming out on people’s faces. They start to warm up even though they started out in a room full of strangers.”

“I love Austin’s humility and his heart for humility. And I love that he doesn’t do things halfheartedly, he does them wholeheartedly.”