by Mike Randall
Baptist Bible Tribune, May 15, 2001
Eli Harju is an uncommon and easy to remember name, one that belongs to a master teacher who has influenced fundamental Baptist education for nearly 50 years. His distinctive name is explained by his uncommon parentage. Born to Finnish immigrants who came to this country via Canada in 1898, his parents, Isaac and Sophia Harju, settled down in the Upper Michigan village of Rudyard, to bear and rear their large family of eight daughters and four sons. Isaac put his many talents to work as a farmer, school custodian and plumber. Joy filled the entire family when their youngest son and brother was born into the world on November 2, 1920. They called him Eli Matthew Harju.
Early life and schooling
For the first five years of his life, the only language Eli Harju knew was Finnish. The family was bilingual, speaking Finnish at home and English when at school or work. He learned to speak English when he attended kindergarten. He attended a small one-room country school for the first eight grades and excelled as a student. He completed high school in the nearby town of Rudyard and was part of a 12-member graduating class in 1938.
Military service during WW2
After completing high school, young Harju enrolled in business college. His training was cut short by the Second World War. Enlisting in the Army Air Corps, Harju spent almost five years in the office of personnel and was promoted to the rank of Tech Sergeant. He was discharged in December 1945.
Saved while attending the University of Michigan
In 1946, he determined to continue his education and enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as a Business Administration major. During his senior year he returned home for a visit over the Christmas break and heard his older brother Frank tell how he found Christ. Two of his older sisters had also testified of their salvation. At their urging, Harju attended the services of a community church where he heard a clear declaration of the gospel. That night, December 26, 1948, under deep conviction, he accepted Christ. After he was saved, his brother told him, “If you can’t find a church like this one, go to a Baptist church. It is more than likely to be right.” Harju graduated from the University of Michigan in 1949.
Part of the Temple Baptist Church
After graduation, he took a job in the business office of a large auto parts and tire dealer in Detroit, Michigan. On a Saturday in September, he saw a half-page advertisement in the Detroit newspaper for the Temple Baptist Church and decided to visit the next day. When he entered the facilities on 14th and Marquette Streets, a staff member met him, introduced himself and asked him if he was saved. Harju told him of his salvation experience and went into the services. Later Harju said, “When he asked me that question, then and there I decided these are my kind of people.” Several weeks later he presented himself for baptism and church membership. Jimmy Allen baptized him in November 1949.
The call to the ministry
After he became part of the church, Harju immediately got involved with Young People’s Department #2, the equivalent to the college and career age group. He developed a close relationship with the department’s leader, Wendell Correll, who discipled him and became his mentor. Harju grew in his faith and became president of the department. His business career also developed. When he was presented a promotion in a job offer from General Motors, he was unsettled. He knew God was calling him into the ministry. Instead of accepting the opportunity, he turned down the new position and surrendered to full-time ministry. When he told his boss what he was going to do, he said, “I was going to compete with General Motors to keep you with us, but I can’t compete with the Lord.” When he called his father of his decision, he was so startled he dropped the phone. His brother picked it up and praised the Lord that his little brother was going to be a preacher.
A student/teacher at Baptist Bible College
On Memorial Day of 1951, Harju drove to the campus of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, with his pastor, G. B. Vick. He enrolled and began his training in summer school. At this time he met R. O. Woodworth, the school’s business manager and his wife, Dorothy. Immediately he bonded with them and a life-long friendship began. Because of his high marks as a student and his credentials from the University of Michigan, he was asked to teach English. This began what would become his life’s primary ministry.
Courtship, marriage and family
On one occasion, he was asked to substitute teach. In that class he couldn’t help notice an attractive brunette named Mary Lou Burton. Outside of class they got acquainted through group activities with their friends. This friendship grew and they began dating in 1954. Soon Harju asked her to become his wife and they were married on July 30, 1954. They have three children, Victoria, Timothy and Cynthia, and eight grandchildren.
Expanded teaching load
From 1953 until 1970, Harju served on the faculty of Baptist Bible College. To better prepare himself he took graduate studies in History at the University of Missouri. During his tenure he taught a wide variety of subjects, including Bible History, Life of Paul, Church History, English, Homiletics, Hermeneutics, Bible Introduction, the Book of Jonah, Church Administration and a voluntary class for keeping records called Memory-O-Matic. In recognition of his skills, he became part of the college’s administration as Dean of Education in 1965. His wife served as director of Ladies’ Guild, the school’s ministry to students’ wives from 1965-1970.
Pastor in Crane, Missouri
In his early years at the college, he often preached in churches throughout the area. When the Bible Baptist Church of Crane, Missouri, was without a pastor, the congregation asked Harju to preach as a candidate for the vacant pulpit. He had spoken at the church previously with good results. He preached for the church and accepted the call to become their pastor in 1960. Over the 10 years of his ministry there, the congregation of 75 became more like his family than just friends. Lasting friendships were formed and the church reached a high day attendance of over 100.
The move to California
In 1970, the Olivet Baptist Church of Lynwood, California, was without a pastor. Outgoing pastor James O. Combs had recommended Harju to the church and the congregation of approximately 400 called him as pastor in June. In 1971, leaders Ted Hicks and Jack Baskin of the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College asked Harju to join the school’s faculty on a part-time basis, which he did. He also became very active in the California Baptist Bible Fellowship and served one term as the state representative for the BBFI. For the next several years, the neighborhood changed and the Lynwood church experienced the loss of many members who left the area. In 1983, Harju led the church to merge with the Bethany Baptist Church of nearby Whittier, California. The Lynwood property was sold and he and Larry Chappel served the church as copastors. When Chappel resigned, Harju became the church’s sole pastor.
Vice president of Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College
In 1983, Frank Johnson became president of Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College and invited Eli Harju to join the administration as vice president. He served in this capacity for six years. Besides his busy schedule as a pastor and school official, Harju used his summers for teaching abroad. He and his wife traveled to many mission fields where he preached in the churches and taught in the Bible colleges. As a result, his name became known at schools and among students in the Philippines, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico. In recognition of his efforts and achievements, he was awarded the doctor of divinity and doctor of letters degrees by the California school.
The return to Springfield, Missouri, 1989
In 1989, Baptist Bible College president Leland Kennedy asked Harju to return to his alma mater to teach and serve in the administration. That fall, he became assistant to the president, using his many years of experience and his gifts of teaching to strengthen the work of the flagship school of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. He also began teaching several of the courses he taught previously. Mrs. Harju also reestablished her relationship with the wives of the students as a leader in the reorganized Ladies’ Fellowship at the college.
A life of many joys
Harju says his life has many joys. One of His great joys is the work of his daugher Vicki and her husband, Bill Hoving, BBFI missionaries to Wales. Since the Hovings were approved in 1994, the Harjus have visited them on the field three times and assisted in organizing a church in that country. He gets joy from preaching in conferences and special meetings in churches. For the past several years he has been the teacher of the Companion Class of the High Street Baptist Church. For nearly 50 years he has enjoyed his tireless efforts to educate future pastors, future missionaries, laymen and laywomen of the BBFI. Easily, his life has touched an entire generation of students at home and abroad. He plans to continue his role at the Baptist Bible College and his church until the Lord shows him otherwise.