by Jim Edge
The story of Baptist Bible College is a story of people. In God’s providence, He chooses to use people to take the gospel to those who have never heard. Today, practically anywhere the gospel is being preached you will find a BBC graduate involved in the process.
Recently, two special alumni returned to BBC to give their testimonies and visual presentation in chapel. The nature and place of their ministry makes it necessary for details of this report to be very general and guarded, but the story is another illustration of how the churches of the BBFI and Baptist Bible College have cooperated to accomplish the Great Commission.
In 1968, a young BBFI missionary in Asia started a church. Because families in the U.S. sacrificially supported this missionary family and because of the sacrifice and relentless effort of the missionary family, by God’s grace a thriving church was established in a difficult place. Sometime later, a family who had a young son began to attend the church. The young man learned about sin and salvation in Christ from his Sunday school teachers. At the age of five, he came to know Christ at summer camp.
He was baptized and grew in Christ, and, during his high school years, surrendered his life to serve Christ. He began by serving in his local church — as a Sunday school teacher, as a coach in the church soccer ministry, and as a prayer leader. He led singing, served on committees, and helped with the evangelistic team. After completing his Bible training in his home country, he decided to further his education in the Baptist Bible Graduate School of Theology.
He and his wife came to our campus, worked hard in their studies, and graduated several years ago. They then completed their internship in a new church plant in the country where they were born. After successfully stabilizing the new church, they went on deputation and raised monthly support. Now serving in Asia, their work includes language study, preaching the gospel, teaching young people, encouraging young house-church leaders, and providing Bible training for them.
Our students were excited and inspired to see a real example of God working through our churches and college to reach a group of people who had never heard of the love of Christ. It is an incredible story that illustrates the importance of cooperation between churches, the BBFI, Baptist Bible College, and our missionaries. I walked away from that service with the renewed understanding that every person at BBC has a story. The chapters of every personal story will be written in the lives of others worldwide. The decisions that students make while on our campus, and the decisions made by our administration and faculty write the pages of each story. And every pastor who chooses to support the colleges of the BBFI is a major character in each story.