By Jim Edge
I am overwhelmed at God’s goodness to Baptist Bible College and Graduate School. In spite of many challenges, this semester has been a time of revival for our faculty and students as we have seen God break into our schedules with His divine grace and accomplish His work in our hearts.
Sadly, two of our students, Tate and Savannah Davis, are returning home without finishing the semester. They are doing so because their dad has been admitted into hospice care and is not expected to live. Our faculty will allow them to finish their work from home so they will not lose the work they have already done this semester, and they plan to rejoin us when they are able. It was incredible to see hundreds of fellow students gather around them in chapel this past week to uplift their spirits in prayer. We hear a lot of criticism about this generation, and maybe some of it is deserved. But at BBC, our students have a genuine love of one another, and they demonstrate it often with acts of kindness.
I would like to tell you about another one of our students. His name is David Loy, and he comes to us from Indiana by way of Delaware. Dave was saved because he went to a Baptist church to see a friend get baptized. But this wasn’t just any friend. This friend had been an avowed atheist who only attended church in order to scoff at Christianity and to learn how to fight against it.
Dave says, “I only went to church to see him baptized because I couldn’t believe it.” Dave went forward in that service, but he was not convinced of the claims of the gospel. He agreed to meet with the pastor on Friday, and three months later, on December 28, 2001, Dave Loy began a lifelong relationship with the Prince of Peace.
Four months later he enlisted in the Air Force, and eventually wound up stationed in Dover, Delaware. It was there that he came into contact with the BBFI through Southside Baptist Church and Pastor Ron Secrest. Dave stated, “I had been reading a book that said, ‘It’s not about you,’ and that really got to me.”
Knowing that he didn’t want to work on airplanes the rest of his life, he began to think about how God could use him, and though he didn’t really want to be a preacher God kept laying it on his heart. After six months on his own, and six months more meeting and praying weekly with Pastor Ron, Dave says, “I was in his office one day — it was as if someone flipped a switch, and my heart changed. I looked at Pastor Ron and said, ‘I’m gonna be a preacher’ — to which Pastor Ron responded, ‘I know you are, and you are going to Baptist Bible College.’”
Today Dave is in his first semester of his sophomore year. He says, “I was on the GI Bill so I could have gone to any school. I looked at several. But I love Baptist Bible College. The Bible never really came alive for me until my Bible History class under Dr. Sewell. He makes the Bible alive and real for me.”
Dave Loy’s testimony shows our greatest resource is not the money that comes in our offerings. Our greatest resource is this great army of young men and women whom God is raising up to make a difference. Yes, they can and do try our patience sometimes. In order to minister to their generation we have had to adjust the way we do some things. But at their core, they are no different than that group of young passionate firebrands who began this movement 60 years ago this May, and we are honored that the Lord has committed their training to us.
This semester, more than 500 students enrolled on campus at Baptist Bible College and Graduate School. Every one of them has a story to tell. BBC is a unique school designed specifically to train men and women for Christian ministry. We believe we are training the next generation of pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders in the Baptist Bible Fellowship. Students like Dave Loy provide evidence that our future is secure.
Thank you for partnering with Baptist Bible College as we seek to teach absolute Truth with excellence worldwide!