Bethlehem College and Seminary will soon welcome back students after summer break, and we are excited to open a newly renovated fifteen-unit apartment building on campus. We are completing this project without taking on any debt or launching a capital campaign thanks to the generous support of several contributors who established a modest building fund years ago. Bethlehem College and Seminary continues to house students in a four-plex unit on campus and also recently acquired a lovely nearby home on 11th Avenue. With God’s help, we are cultivating a city campus where our students will grow in wisdom, learn life-changing truths about God’s Word and his world, and forge friendships in a Christ-exalting community. As we expand our student housing offerings, it is my joy to announce that these buildings will be named Tomlinson Hall, Steller Hall, and the Livingston House in honor of three remarkable Christian leaders who have made significant contributions to Bethlehem College and Seminary and Bethlehem Baptist Church.
The newly renovated apartments on 8th Street will now be called Tomlinson Hall in tribute to Dr. Timothy Tomlinson, the first president of Bethlehem College and Seminary. After serving for twenty-five years on the faculty and in the administration of the University of Northwestern—St. Paul, Dr. Tomlinson answered the call to lead the newly formed institution, Bethlehem College and Seminary. He served as president from 2009 until 2021, during which time he built an excellent faculty and staff, guided the school to receive accreditation from the Association for Biblical Higher Education, and led with integrity and conviction through a formative period in the institution’s history. Dr. Tomlinson and his wife, Anita, are longtime members of Bethlehem Baptist Church and The North Church in Mounds View, where he also serves as an elder and teaches a weekly Sunday school class.
Our four-plex apartment building on 7th Street will now be called Steller Hall after Rev. Dr. Tom Steller. Pastor Steller joined the pastoral staff of Bethlehem Baptist Church in 1980 and served this congregation for four decades in college ministry, global missions, executive leadership, teaching, and leadership development. He was the architect of Bethlehem College and Seminary and its predecessor, The Bethlehem Institute, and served as the institution’s founding academic dean. In 2024, Bethlehem College and Seminary honored Pastor Steller with a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) degree, and Missio Nexus also recognized him with The Lifetime of Service Award. Pastor Steller now serves with Training Leaders International and continues to teach apprentices at Bethlehem’s campus in Yaoundé, Cameroon, alongside Dr. Dieudonné Tamfu. He is married to Julie, and they have five children and many grandchildren.
Rev. Dr. David Livingston and his wife, Karin, lived for over twenty years three doors down from John Piper. After pastoring Olivet Baptist Church of Minneapolis and Our Savior’s Baptist Church in Elkhorn, Nebraska, Livingston was called as Associate for Pastoral Care at Bethlehem Baptist Church. He also served as Pastor for Adult Ministries and Shepherd Groups at Bethlehem’s Downtown Campus and later at Bethlehem’s South Campus (which became South Cities Church) as Campus Pastor, Pastor for Biblical Counseling, and Pastor for Global Outreach. Now retired from the pastoral staff, he continues to serve as an elder of South Cities Church. Over the years he also frequently mentored seminary apprentices, preached in chapel, and taught classes on church history and global missions. After the Livingstons moved to Burnsville, three other Bethlehem Baptist Church pastors and their families resided in that 11th Avenue home until Bethlehem College and Seminary acquired the property for student housing. It is fitting to call it The Livingston House to honor the faithful ministry of David Livingston.
These three buildings will bear the names of two longtime pastors and one president emeritus because I want the faculty, staff, and students of Bethlehem College and Seminary for years to come to remember these great servants of the Lord and to imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7).
Brian Tabb, Ph.D.
President and Professor of Biblical Studies