‘It was more than just a school,’ says 2026 graduate

Quintel Johnson, a 2026 Erskine College graduate from Myrtle Beach, was introduced to church at a young age by his parents, but his faith developed slowly. “To be honest, my brother and I didn’t like church, but every time we went, they had food after, so we would go,” he says, laughing.

His parents and grandparents prayed diligently for him and his brother. “That’s one thing we always saw in our household: our family praying together, and even though my brother and I were familiar with that, we didn’t really pay attention.”

As he entered his teens and began attending Loris High School, Quintel’s distance from his faith led to poor decisions. “I was really just doing anything I wanted, and life went downhill so fast,” he recalls. “I lived the worst two years of my life, those junior and senior years of high school.”

Quintel, who had played basketball in high school, headed to Erskine to pursue his education and continue his career on the basketball court. There he had a meaningful moment early in his freshman year.

The Rev. Joshua Chiles ’17, ’23 (Sem), then serving as Erskine’s chaplain and known as “PJC,” spoke to the students about baggage, telling them they didn’t have to carry their past mistakes with them—Jesus wants to replace what they’re holding with his grace, love, and mercy.

“I was in the top of Lesesne in the second row of seating, and I just started breaking down and crying. A song that was playing was talking about falling to your knees, and I remember just being on my knees and crying,” Quintel says.

He prayed, “Lord, I want to release my life to you.” PJC asked the audience to close their eyes and raise their hands if they felt called to come up to the stage. Quintel raised his hand and heard PJC say, “I see you.”

On his way down to the stage, he felt for the first time that he was “God’s child,” as he describes it. From that day on, he kept in steady contact with PJC and started reading his Bible regularly—not because his parents or grandparents made him do it, but because he wanted to do it himself.

During his freshman year, his faith still wavered, but he was learning about it in the classroom, and the more he learned, the stronger it grew.

As he started trying to envision what God wanted him to do, the word that kept recurring to him was “Different, different, different,” Quintel remembers.

“Okay God, you’re calling me to be different,” he thought, and he began focusing on the idea that people are to be different in Christ, set apart from the world.

Quintel began ministering on campus and sharing his faith on social media. “That was the greatest thing ever for me. Seeing that the things God put me through were for a reason,” he says.

Beginning in his sophomore year, he became an RA, which allowed him to bring together a group of students and build a small community centered on faith. He led Bible studies and hosted testimony nights, among other activities.

Quintel also saw opportunities for ministry among his basketball teammates as they began to see him as someone growing in faith. They would often ask him to pray for them, or along with them.

An Erskine assistant coach at the time, Mike Morrison, was intentional in his faith, so Quintel approached him one day to discuss his own journey, saying, “Hey Coach, I need to talk about some life stuff.”

He stopped by Morrison’s office and told him how he was struggling and trying to turn to God. The coach encouraged Quintel to attend the Bible study he was hosting. “I remember walking in, and he kind of put me on the spot, and it’s something I am so thankful for now. He taught me how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. So, I got to tell my testimony for the first time there,” Quintel says.

In the coach’s Bible study, students could ask questions, bring up topics, and be truly open in a group setting. Quintel modeled the same approach in his own campus ministry efforts. He consulted with Director of Campus Ministries Jamie Williams about integrating his work with other campus ministries and became a part of the Student Ministry Leadership Team (SMLT) this past academic year.

This fall, as Quintel begins his studies in the Master of Arts in Practical Ministry program at Erskine Theological Seminary and School of Biblical Studies, “he will continue to serve as a member of the Student Ministry Leadership Team,” Williams reports. “We are excited that we get to keep him for an extra year.”

He will also continue playing basketball for the Flying Fleet. Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Peeler, who also serves as Erskine’s director of athletics, is happy about that.

Quintel, nicknamed “Q,” was initially on the developmental basketball team, where he prayed quietly before games. As he moved up toward varsity, Peeler, who often led the team in prayer, began asking Q to lead in prayer in various settings—after practices and workouts and before road meals together.

“Quintel is a fine young man who ministers to his teammates and is so relatable. He is beloved by everyone he encounters and has a huge heart,” Peeler says. “We are fortunate to have Q at Erskine!”

Quintel knows he was blessed to come to Erskine. “I think Erskine really did it for me, just being in this community, the people, and seeing what Erskine truly was,” he says. “It was more than just a school. It was not just a place to play sports. It was a community built on love and built on Christ.”

Shown at the top: Quintel Johnson on the W.C. “Red” Myers Court in the Belk Arena at Erskine’s Galloway Center