I’m adjusting what I wrote last week for the people of Bethlehem on the Pastor’s Blog, because I want you to hear about this to encourage you in your support of Bethlehem College & Seminary through prayer, giving, and all the other ways you are cheering us on.
Last weekend, Bethlehem College & Seminary had a golden opportunity to give back to the church we love; six of our men preached. In each service, there was a different preacher, preaching a different sermon from a different portion of God’s Word. These men were not practicing; each was God’s appointed herald for that particular moment. (Their sermons are posted here.)
One of these preachers was trained by Pastor John Piper, and the other five were trained by Pastor Jason Meyer, who himself was trained by Pastor John in 2001. Each of these men has a passion to preach and a gift for preaching. Almost sixty of our seminarians, whose preaching it would also have been a joy to sit under, were not chosen to preach last weekend. The thought of sending all of these men out to preach and teach God’s Word is a tremblingly-joyful thought.
Bethlehem’s worship pastors are also reproducing themselves through the mentoring of future worship pastors. Last weekend, these men led us into worship, and other gifted seminary and college students filled the worship teams, prayed, and read Scripture. Many of the remaining students were engaged in their normal ministries of working with our youth, teaching our kids in Sunday school, working in the nursery; the list could go on.
As people left the sanctuary after the service, many visited the display of books from the Bethlehem College & Seminary Bookstore. Our faculty and graduates have written a surprising number of these books. Our members also learned some creative ways to connect with our students (inviting them to dinner, renting out living space in their homes, mentoring, praying for them, etc.). It is hard to overemphasize the crucial role so many of our church members and so many of you are playing in the lives of these men and women. Our 200 students have chosen to attend a college and a seminary embroidered into the fabric of a local church.
My ongoing prayer is that the relationship between church and school will continue to be filled with mutual enrichment and profound unity in catching, keeping, and spreading a passion for Jesus. Last weekend was a celebration of the partnership we are enjoying. JESUS was on display. Our students and faculty simply had the joy of being the human instruments used by God to help that happen. May their fruit multiply for the fame of His Name!
Together with you in the Greatest Cause,
Tom Steller Pastor for Leadership Development and Academic Dean
Jason DeRouchie’s Message at Chapel,
April 7, 2016, “Loving the Needy”
Join us for our weekly Chapel Service on Thursday, April 21st, 12:45-1:45pm, featuring Lewis Guest speaking on Urban Church Ministry.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for a successful ending of the semester as papers are due and exams are approaching.
2. Pray for seminary graduates who are still seeking placement after graduation and our college graduates who are considering their next steps.
3. Pray for our students who are seeking summer employment.
4. Pray for our students as they serve Bethlehem and other local churches in the area.
