INVESTORIMPACT Spring 2015
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www.bethel.edu/seminary
Passion and Wisdom: Your Gift Supports Faculty Excellence “I can’t believe I get to sit at the feet of someone who devoted his entire life to studying the Bible.” A Bethel Seminary student said this about one of her favorite professors. She was referring to Professor of Old Testament David Howard, who has invested a lifetime in biblical scholarship. He radiates a richness that only comes from long, disciplined study of God’s Word. He often pauses his lectures to pray the Psalms. Howard shares his passion and
wisdom with students, and also with a wider audience through print. He recently co-wrote The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul. He’s not the only Bethel Seminary professor reaching others through publication. Professor of New Testament Jeannine Brown’s book, The Gospel of Matthew in the “Teach the Text” commentary series, was just published. We’re thrilled that Mark Strauss’ recent book The Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament was just named a finalist for the 2015 Christian Book Award in
the Bible Reference category. Your investment in Bethel Seminary supports this incredible biblical richness and spiritual depth. And that matters. When professors inspire Bethel Seminary students, their gift—and yours—produces an impact that will last for decades. Thanks for investing in our students. You’re making God’s Word come alive for generations to come. —David K. Clark Vice President and Dean
Heartfelt Thanks for Your Care Dear Friends and Supporters of Bethel Seminary, As president of the Bethel Seminary student body, I would like to thank you all for your continued support...not only through your financial assistance but through the prayers with which we know you lift us up. As all of us prepare for the ministry God has in store for us, we are so thankful for your continued support through these difficult years of juggling ministry, family, and learning. Your support—both financial and spiritual— allows us to continue forward. Thank you all so much, Cassy Bloyer S’16 Student Senate President
InMinistry students gathered on campus in March for intensives. —1—
INVESTOR IMPACT
INVESTOR IMPACT
Steve Sonderman S’85 Leads Dynamic Ministry
Nick Hall S’11: Equipping the Next Generation of Leaders
Your Investment. One Student. Worldwide Impact.
Some people look at today’s college students—largely unchurched and biblically illiterate, often facing the pain of broken families, substance abuse, or depression—and wish the situation were different. As a college student, Nick Hall, a 2011 Bethel Seminary St. Paul alum, looked at his peers and instead saw an opportunity to reach them. So he used his God-given talents in communications and leadership to launch PULSE, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit at the center of the largest student-led prayer and outreach effort in the country, with a mission to “awaken culture to the reality of Jesus.” While Hall founded PULSE before he entered seminary, he says it was his Bethel education that empowered him to extend the ministry’s reach from about 20,000 students a year in three states to a global evangelistic movement that shares the gospel—through events, festivals, prayer, and conferences—with more than one million students annually. “My time at Bethel provided the theological and intellectual foundation for PULSE to build,” he says. “The team at Bethel Seminary spoke into my life during formative years, and my studies equipped me for working with the broader body of Christ and those from different worldviews.”
For more than 40 years, God has used others’ investments in Steve Sonderman S’85 to multiply dividends through his outreach. God first used him to start a Bible study at his high school, which, with the guidance of his pastor, grew from 12 to 150 students. Sonderman was planning to use his leadership skills as a coach and teacher, but God directed him to polish those skills, and his heart for discipleship, not in schools but in churches. After graduating from Bethel Seminary St. Paul, where donors invested in his future, he completed an internship working with college students at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. There, his pastor asked him to lead a men’s ministry, and he hasn’t looked back in 23 years. Multiplication. As those men’s groups at Elmbrook flourished and multiplied, requests poured in from church leaders wanting to use Sonderman’s program to guide men in their own ministries. From these original men’s groups came the foundation of Sonderman’s vision, now called No Regrets Men’s Ministry. It was one of the first men’s ministry movements in the country, and it focuses on equipping local church leaders who disciple men to disciple other men to become servant
leaders at home, in church, on the job, and out in the world. Multiplication. Today, No Regrets Men’s Ministry’s annual conference attracts thousands of men from the Midwest and even more via satellite feeds at 71 local churches. Thousands more catch the vision through Sonderman’s two books on men’s ministry. He continues to look ahead for new opportunities to lead across the globe, reaching and training leaders in Romania, Germany, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan—while living out one of Elmbrook’s core values: to be a resource to the world. Multiplication. Sonderman is grateful for how Bethel Seminary helped prepare him for the influential “boots on
NEWS AND NOTES
the ground” work he’s done for the kingdom, calling Bethel a “pastor’s pastor’s seminary.” He says his seminary training grounded him “in a wide theological, historical, language, ministry, and preaching base.” And he’s grateful to those who invested in his seminary education, saying donors “made an investment that’s had exponential return, with the hundreds of thousands of men I’ve been able to influence. The investment someone made in me is being felt around the world and will echo into eternity.” Multiplication. Find out more about Steve’s ministry to men, as well as men’s curriculum and resources, at menwithnoregrets.org
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“Bethel Seminary is equipping the next generation of leaders toward collaboration and innovation centered around the message of Jesus. When people give to Bethel Seminary, they’re giving toward the multiplication of the gospel. Giving to Bethel Seminary is not a gift to a single institution, but a gift to the church, whose reach extends beyond denomination, business, and ministry sectors.” —Nick Hall S’11
Seminary Preview Night Monday, April 20 | 6-8 p.m. Seminary Campus Center Know someone who may be interested in a Bethel Seminary program? This informational gathering will include hors d’oeuvres and an opportunity to meet students and faculty members, participate in a classroom experience, and hear an overview of seminary programs. Online Program Info Session Thursday, April 23 | 7-8 p.m. Learn more about Bethel Seminary online master’s degree programs and hear from one of our lead faculty and an admissions representative. Discover what our online programs offer and the tools they provide for ministry and beyond. Visit bethel.edu/seminary to find out more.
Join the Bethel Coffee Club! Give a gift of $120— or $10/month—to Bethel Seminary, and receive a hand-thrown mug, bag of coffee, and coupons to use on campus. Visit bethel.edu/giving/ coffee-club for details.
SEMINARY HOMECOMING Saturday, Oct. 10 We hope to see you back on campus!
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STAY IN TOUCH! We’d love to hear from you. Know of a Bethel Sem alum who has an interesting story to tell? Contact Sandy Clark at s-clark@bethel.edu or 651.635.8068.
28% PERCENTAGE OF U.S. STUDENTS OF COLOR (2014-2015)
TOTAL SEMINARY ENROLLMENT DURING 2014-2015
SEMINARY ANNUAL FUND DOLLARS RAISED IN 2013-2014
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE (AVERAGE $3,089/STUDENT).
ONLINE
$426K
61%
835
ST. PAUL FACE TO FACE
40% 34% 26%
SAN DIEGO FACE TO FACE
ENROLLMENT BY DELIVERY SYSTEM
3900 Bethel Drive St. Paul, MN 55112-6999
$400K
GOAL: SEMINARY ANNUAL FUND 2013-2014
Nonprofit Organization US Postage PAID Twin Cities MN Permit No 899