The Board of Trustees of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, announces that Jim Edge, the president of BBC, submitted his resignation as president by letter to the Board on November 14, 2011. The Board has accepted his resignation and expresses its gratitude for the three years of service that President Edge has given to BBC.
The Board wishes to recognize some of President Edge’s accomplishments during his tenure at BBC. President Edge has, in difficult economic times, reduced the operational deficit of the college by $1.6 million, raised approximately $1.5 million in donations for the college (not including the May college offerings), led the way for the college to revamp its curriculum to better improve the educational product for the students of BBC, signed a reciprocity agreement with Cox School of Nursing, and worked tirelessly for the betterment of this institution and her students.
After an executive session, the Board has selected Ron Sears, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in New Castle, DE, to be the interim president of BBC. Sears, who is a current member of the Board, did his undergraduate work at BBC and has also received a MA degree in Christian Education and a Doctor of Ministry degree, both from Freedom Seminary in Orlando, FL. The Board also announces that it will begin a selection process to find a permanent replacement with a goal of announcing the new president of BBC at the Baptist Bible Fellowship Meeting in Springfield, MO, in May 2012.
For over 60 years, BBC’s foremost obligation has been to provide the best educational environment to teach its students the basic, eternal truths of the Book which is part of the name of our college. The Board acknowledges that BBC’s greatest asset is not its buildings but its students, who come from across the United States and from around the world to “enter to learn,” and the faculty, whose life mission it is to help those students “go forth to serve.” We owe to them our best efforts to select the right person to love them, to serve them, and to show fidelity to the calling that brought them to BBC. We promise them to do all we can to honor that calling.
The Board also humbly asks for the advice, and most importantly the prayers of the pastors of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International and all persons who love and support BBC. Pray for the wisdom to select the right man for such a time as this to serve our students and to “commit [our] works unto the Lord” so that our “thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3). In this spirit we go forward, together, in that faith of those “things hoped for,” but “not seen,” always seeking the good report of our elders and of our God.