When death shows up, knocking on your life’s door, and you have not surrendered your life to Christ, it’s too late. When the door closes on the airplane while you are running toward your gate, it’s too late and you missed your connection. When your favorite baseball pitcher releases the ball, it’s too late to retrieve the pitch for a do-over.
When a student and parents visit college campuses and your student attends classes where an anti-biblical perspective is espoused or demanded, and your brilliant young adult student begins to regurgitate a secularist prof who is on a mission to deconstruct the values your family holds dear, it’s too late to protect your student’s perspective of life. What do you do?
Change institutions. It’s not too late to enroll now in one of our three MBC educational institutions (HLGU, MBU and SBU). In each of these institutions, you will hear about people pointing others to faith in Christ. In each of them, you will find an administration, staff, and faculty who want to help your student integrate biblical faith into a lifetime of learning.
Across my desk today came a stack of reports from our MBC universities and ministries. From my perspective, there are miracles happening all the time, every day — just little things that when rolled together are powerful testimonies of our great God through His people, including our students.
Consider Hannibal-LaGrange University. You have read in previous issues of The Pathway about their slow sink into a troubling financial crisis. To stay alive for another day — another academic year – the leaders awoke and prayed. They repented. They gave, not from their wealth but from what the Lord had entrusted to them. Many of us joined with them in this journey.
Now, in preparation for the opening of the fall semester, transitional president Rodney Harrison writes, “This is a new day for HLGU. Building upon the foundation laid and lessons learned over 164 years of serving Missouri Baptists, the university is well-positioned to train and equip men and women seeking to integrate Christian faith and values into the marketplace. Degrees are accessible online, on-campus, or at our Poplar Bluff extension. All programs are grounded in a biblical worldview by professors who affirm The Baptist Faith & Message.”
It’s is not too late for your student to join the adventure of learning. Enroll for the fall term at HLGU.
Missouri Baptist University has focused much attention on preparing students for the field of healthcare. They recognized a growing demand for these trained professionals that want to live their faith in whatever context they find themselves. MBU President Keith Ross writes, “MBU’s new Master of Science in Nursing degree equips individuals to combine clinical expertise and a passion for patient care, while the new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program allows students to expedite the RN licensure process, helping fill the growing number of healthcare vacancies.”
For practicum, the School of Nursing participated in a mission trip to the Republic of Liberia. The students taught midwives about the use of an improvised bag and mask device to help newborn babies breathe more effectively. They also hosted a medical clinic to treat ailments ranging from nausea to malaria.
It’s not too late for your student to enroll in such a purposeful field of healthcare. These are tomorrow’s leaders making a difference in the lives of others.
Southwest Baptist University continues for a second year as a College of Distinction. Adding to their distinctiveness is an editor’s pick from ChristianMinistryEDU.org as one of Missouri’s two Best Online and Campus-Based Christian Bachelor’s Degrees in America.
SBU President Rick Melson writes about expanding SBU’s distinction with the addition of a new senior fellow, Daniel DeWitt, and the Center for Worldview Analysis and Cultural Engagement. “And with the help of the Blair family, SBU will establish The Blair Endowed Center for Training and Pastoral Health,” writes Melson. “The center supports and encourages pastors and other leaders in ministry to navigate the stressors and demands that accompany leadership and ministry.”
It’s not too late to enroll. Missouri Baptists, send your students to universities that train them in hundreds of career paths and fortify their faith.
When is it too late? When the secular activist propagates a materialistic and naturalistic worldview in the mind of your student. And then, you’ll wish you had paid a little more for a much better education — one that integrates faith and learning.