I grew up in Albion, Michigan, a town of 10,000. It had tree-lined red brick streets, church bells that chimed every hour, and more black squirrels than people. My dad worked downtown and knew everyone. I became a police officer and it wasn’t long before I knew everyone, too.
First Baptist Church was the hub of my life. I went to every service, youth group, camp, and participated in every church league sport. It was there I learned of my need for a Savior, was baptized, learned to serve, and was called into ministry.
I thought my town and church were big, until I moved to Springfield. I enjoyed city life and never considered returning to a small town, but God had other plans.
I returned to Albion to serve as pastor. These were my people. If I did not know them personally, then I knew a family member, a neighbor, or a friend. Doing small town ministry helped me to learn how to reach people. Because I knew where they were coming from, I was able to minister to them where they were. Our small church grew from an average of 122 to over 500 in my ten years of ministry there. People were saved and lives were changed.
Small town life is special and the relationships are deep. It’s the same at BBC. The professors know their students by name and they develop relationships unmatched by larger colleges. Students meet and interact with our chapel guests, who come from churches of every size. They get to know me and the staff personally. I am thankful for the opportunity to know, help and encourage each student. I get to see them “Enter to Learn” and “Go forth to Serve” whether in a small town or a large city, in the USA or around the world. I am able to lead them there because of what I learned in my small town.