We have some very exciting news to share. The Million Dollar Match announced just last week is being upgraded to a Million Dollar+ Challenge by virtue of 100% of those pledged to the match basis now having done so unconditionally. Just what does this mean?
They’re “all-in,” and pray that you are, too.
We appealed to a small group of contributors asking that they provide the basis for a substantial matching gift campaign. All were given the opportunity to make their pledges as “restricted” to the results of the campaign, or “unrestricted,” i.e., regardless of the results. The receipts are now in. Every single one of them made their pledge “unrestricted.” These dear friends are “all in” for Bethlehem College and Seminary in the hope that you will be, as well. And yet, there’s more.
And, it’s bigger.
The challenge is now even bigger than the original match. Together, this band of generous friends has corralled $1,326,000.00 to spur you to greater generosity toward The Serious Joy Scholarship. Make no mistake, these dollars remain hard at work seeking to complete this act of grace. These dollars may not be “matching” in the strictest sense, but they are nevertheless substantially replicating as you now encourage the generosity of these contributors with your own generosity.
Our gospel task is far from complete.
It is important to understand that there remains a $2.5 million goal to be achieved. But now there’s no quid pro quo, tit for tat, or any “the school doesn’t get, unless you give.” None of that. It’s just a sweet, unanticipated grace to receive such a demonstrative affirmation of God’s favor and of our supporters’ confidence in the work of this school.
Talk about a God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think!” This is an amazing outpouring of God’s grace.
You can contribute online at bcsmn.edu or by check made payable to Bethlehem College and Seminary, 720 13th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55415. You can also use the online utility to establish a recurring weekly or monthly gift between now and June 30, 2025, when the campaign ends. We will report weekly on the progress of this challenge.
We’ve been drawn into a great and worthy task.
The Serious Joy Scholarship, as you know, permits the students of Bethlehem College and Seminary to receive a Bible-saturated, academically rigorous “Education in Serious Joy,” then launch immediately after graduation into life, vocation, and ministry without a burden of student loan debt. Pulpits are being filled, ministries resourced, nations reached, workplaces influenced, Classical Christian K-12 faculties staffed, and the theological academy seasoned by a new generation eager to share that “God is most glorified in us as we are most satisfied in him.”
To God be all the glory. Let’s get after this challenge.
Rick Segal
VP of Advancement & Lecturer of History and Political Philosophy