The month of December is marked by generosity. We give and receive gifts when we gather with friends and family. We reflect on the wonder of Christmas, as our supremely generous God sent his own Son for us and our salvation. “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.” And many people make generous year-end contributions in support of their local churches and other worthy endeavors such as the advance of the gospel, the relief of the poor, and even the preparation of future pastors.
I recently read Alex DiPrima brilliant biography, Spurgeon: A Life, and I was inspired by Spurgeon’s deep commitment to training future ministers. Spurgeon said of the Pastors’ College, “This is my life’s work, to which I believe God has called me.” The greatest preacher of his generation wrote this in 1875: “Our assured conviction is that there is no better, holier, more useful or more necessary Christian service than assisting to educate young ministers.” Remarkably, by the time of Spurgeon’s death, more than twenty percent of all the Baptist pastors in England and Wales had studied at the Pastors’ College.
I concur with Spurgeon that there is no better or more worthy work than preparing holy, happy pastors for Christ’s church. This is why I remain joyfully committed to the ministry of Bethlehem College and Seminary. I recently wrote in Themelios about the need for leadership development in the church and offered encouragements for aspiring ministers. This work occupies a team of godly and gifted professors who give themselves to teaching and mentoring our students. It involves many like-minded churches whose pastors oversee and guide our seminary apprentices in meaningful hands-on ministry. And it requires the substantial investment of God’s people who desire to “do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future” (1 Timothy 6:18–19).
So as 2025 comes to a close, I ask you to consider giving generously to The Serious Joy Scholarship, which enables Bethlehem College and Seminary students to receive a God-centered, Bible-saturated, remarkably affordable education that will equip them for decades of faithful, fruitful service to Jesus Christ. We do not participate in federal student loan programs and do not ask our students to bear the full cost of this education themselves. Instead, we rely on our generous God to provide for this worthy work through the glad-hearted gifts of his people. Please pray for Bethlehem College and Seminary and, as you are able, contribute generously to the education of future pastors. I’m convinced that there is no better work.
Brian J. Tabb, Ph.D.
President and Professor of Biblical Studies