New Edition | Spring 2024
Journey of Courageous Ambassadors
Grace’s Journey magazine tells the stories of God’s faithfulness in the lives of Grace’s living legacies. In Spring 2024, you’ll meet Chuck ’84 and Joy ’83 Befus, missionaries in Costa Rica, whose international legacy continues through their family. Kyle ’15 and Hilary ’15 Vegh are helping prepare the next generation of Grace’s courageous ambassadors through their ministry to current and prospective students. Jeb Meredith ’18 earned a degree entirely online despite being unhoused. Student Izzy Rupp ’25 shares how God can break generational cycles and redeem lives. Get to know two board members, Caleb Befus ’12 and Dr. Dan Gowdy ’92, who are carrying on the Grace ministry legacy in Grand Rapids. Celebrate God’s faithfulness in these legacies and look with hope toward the future!
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Years & Years of Consistent Commitment
So rare it is to see an individual who has served a church or an organization selflessly for decades. Sometimes we see couples who have celebrated 50 or 60 years of marriage and still have an adorable devotion to each other—these are the enduring efforts that legacies are made of. In this issue of The Journey, we highlight the legacy of those who have been dedicated to ministry at home and afar to continue the mission of our university from its inception as Milwaukee Bible Institute, to Grace Bible College, and what we now know as Grace Christian University.
As we celebrate these individuals’ long-term faith and practice, we also celebrate the legacy of Grace Christian University. In addition to our Bible, Theology and Ministry programs, degrees such as Criminal Justice, Human Services, Communication, and Business fulfill the long-revered legacy of preparing students to be ministers of the grace of God in this present world (Titus 2:11-13). Grace has adjusted methodologies of teaching and modalities of learning over the decades but has never moved away from the legacy of a Bible-centered education. Today, we are still a Bible college that instructs every student on how to understand the Word of God to be saved and to be ministers of reconciliation to a lost world (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Thus, our revised mission statement embraces our legacy:
Graduating Courageous Ambassadors for Christ who Make an Eternal Impact Wherever They Go
Notice the commitment to Christ and serving others evident in the articles of this publication, but also recognize the legacy of integrating the truth of God’s Word into the lives of students, alumni, and staff. These individuals carry forward the ministry of grace and impact people around the world. As you read and partner with us through prayer and financial support, you too become part of the legacy. Because of you, this legacy endures.
Gratefully,
Ken Bruce Kemper
President
Current Issue
Cover Story
Chuck & Joy Befus: Grace for the Next Generation
More Stories
Kyle & Hilary Vegh: Paying it Forward
"I was a terrible student. I hated everything to do with academics,” Professor Kyle Vegh ’15 says. “But my master’s wasn’t hard because by that point I had gone through the crucible that is Grace Christian University.” Crucible likely isn’t the word most Grace alumni...
Transformational Relationships in the Grace Community
Question & Answer with Dr. Mat Loverin ’98, Dean and Professor of Bible & Ministry Q: Describe Grace’s community and interactions with students inside and outside the classroom. A: As a professor, I always felt that the connections I had with students...
Chuck & Joy Befus: Grace for the Next Generation
Chuck’s father said, ‘Don’t bother to come to Costa Rica unless you’re going to commit for five years.’ So we said, ‘Well, we’ll go for five years and see how God works,’” Joy Befus ’83 says. With Chuck’s full construction business and Joy’s childcare center, the...
Jeb Meredith: An Impossible Purpose
By Sarah Cross ’24 I barely had a high school diploma,” Jeb says. At 57 years old, Jeb Meredith ’18 decided to earn his college degree while living in Peace Park in Houston, Texas. In a tent. He had been homeless since 2001. Jeb grew up in Conroe, Texas, forty miles...
Izzy Rupp: God’s Design
By Sarah Cross ’24 I remember taking money out of my mom’s purse so we could buy food to eat.” At 10 years old, Izzy Rupp ’25 and her twin sister, Zoey, learned to rely on each other. Together, they would get up, ready, and off to school without any prompting. Their...
Faith in the Criminal Justice Field
Question & Answer with Dr. Dave Greydanus, Chair of the Criminal Justice program "I really love my Grace students because they see purpose in what they’re doing.” Dr. Dave Greydanus, Chair of the Criminal Justice program at Grace Christian University, teaches a...
Dr. Dan Gowdy: Following God Wherever He Leads
For Dan Gowdy ’92, Grace Christian University was always part of his life. His parents, John and Mary Lou Gowdy, partners in marriage and ministry, met when Grace was still Milwaukee Bible Institute. Although Dan’s father, a youth pastor, shepherded countless high...
Caleb Befus: Change of Plans
As soon as he graduated from high school, Caleb Befus ’12 knew that he wanted to live in the mountains, and certainly in a place much warmer than Michigan—more like where he grew up. Caleb was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, where his parents are missionaries through...
Congrats to the 2024 Alumni Award Recipients
Alumnus of the Year Dale Carper Dale Carper ‘19 values education and has earned a total of three degrees from Grace, including a bachelor’s in Human Services and Biblical Studies. He applies his knowledge and passion working as a Child Protective Service Investigator...