I just returned home from a visit to the East Coast, and am thrilled that I can report firsthand to you how God is using Grace graduates in our world. My wife Kathy and I visited Long Island in New York, and fellowshipped at Eastport Bible Church, which is pastored by Jerry and Deanna Olson (both are 1984 Grace graduates who previously served for many years as missionaries in Bolivia).   Jeremy and Laura Herr (both 2004 graduates) are serving in the youth ministry and student outreach.  Their church loves them!  It is an exciting church where lives are being reached for Christ and are being changed!  While we were with them, there was a special “Africa Night” send-off for John and Naomi Caprari (both Grace graduates from 2013, and 2015) as they leave New York to raise support to serve the Lord in Tanzania, East Africa!  We also met with other Grace Christian University alumni who serve within this church in other capacities.  It is a blessing to see our graduates hard at work!

We left New York and spent time in Preakness, New Jersey.  There we visited with Pastor Karl (2001 Graduate) and Jennifer Records who have served at Preakness Bible Church for the last 14 years. Their church and family are growing, and the congregation shared with me how appreciative they are of Pastor Karl and his great education from Grace Christian University.  While in New Jersey, we were also able to visit the Grace Bible Class Church located in Passaic.   Craig Washington (a recent 2015 graduate of Grace’s non-traditional program) serves as a deacon under the able leadership of Pastor Bernard Durham and Assistant Pastor Mark Wright.  What a blessing to hear him share how meaningful his studies have been to prepare him for greater ministry.

These are just a few places and just a few of the great alumni of Grace Christian University.   As I traveled South and West last April after the close of classes, I was thrilled to encounter sharp alumni serving the Lord with great effectiveness everywhere I went.  I love to hear each one relate stories of opportunities to teach and minister while at Grace which helped shape them to serve where they are today.  As we progress into the years ahead, I wonder what stories will be told by our graduates serving around the world?   Each year, we are graduating more students than ever before in the history of the College.   Please pray for our students, and pray for our alumni who use their education to serve the Lord in their vocational callings, churches, and communities.

Expecting Great Things!