DEREK Voorhees
Bible college president for a new generation By Gaye Bunderson Since 1945 – the same year World War II ended – Boise Bible College has been turning out young people equipped for ministry. Now in 2022, the goal is still the same: to prepare a generation to go out into the world and serve Christ and spread the good news of the gospel. The BBC campus sits at 8695 W. Marigold St. in Garden City, just west of the Western Idaho Fairgrounds. For the spring semester of 2022, the student body included 92 students. Derek Voorhees, 55, currently serves as the college’s president, having started teaching at the faith-based institution in 2011 and being named head of the school in 2017. Voorhees still teaches, and his focus is the New Testament. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri; a Master of Arts and Master of Divinity at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois; and a Doctor of Ministry at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. He chose to major in and teach the New Testament because of his instructors’ influence. “Some of the professors I had brought the New Testament to life,” he said, “and it helped me understand the Old Testament in many ways too. It was my goal to understand things to help other people be equipped to understand the Bible. “To better understand the Bible, we need to stand under the Bible, placing the Bible as the authoritative way to understand life. If God created us, maybe we should know how He thinks about everything. The Bible is the truest source.” An intriguing topic to bring up with Dr. Voorhees is the nature of today’s students: their strengths, weaknesses, and even some of their collective characteristics. On strengths, Voorhees stated: “They’re going to go after it – they want justice, fairness, and equity. They have a lot of ambition for those three things – ambition for good.” Regarding weaknesses, he explained, “They’re bombarded with so many voices, and they’re trying to figure out which voice they should listen to. They’re learning how to navi-
gate through a sea of voices, in which God often speaks in a whisper. We try to teach them how to ‘tune their ear’ to God’s clarion voice.” One thing compelling about the current generation, he said, is that more students come from broken families. “That comes with hurt and baggage,” he said, “and we see the results of family breakdown or abuse.” He conceded the students are a resilient bunch and are “learning grit,” but that “counseling is sought after more than before.” Today’s current student body has had to deal with a pandemic, a divisive presidential election, tumultuous racial divisions, and gender identity issues, he said. “It’s an interesting generation; they’re very much about justice and advocacy. The school is not against advocacy, but we want them to advocate for things under God’s guidance,” said Voorhees. If Voorhees has a critique of youth in 2022, it is their tendency to hold very strong opinions and to almost completely reject anyone with an opposing viewpoint. “They will cancel out or negate anyone who doesn’t fit their paradigm. It’s the ‘cancel culture’. We try to teach them that there are a variety of ways we can respectfully disagree with one another.” Their commitment to serve the Lord is uncompromised, however, and the broad majority of students who attend Boise Bible College want to do something for Jesus, according to Voorhees. Their primary focus is to serve Jesus through the church. They come to BBC feeling they have a calling but don’t quite know what it might look like and how it will all play out – and that includes students across the board. “They feel they’ve gotten a nudge from the Holy Spirit to come to Boise Bible College and prepare for a ministry. Some of them come from busted, broken families, but they want to serve God.” Another thing about the current generation, said Voorhees, is that, “The discipline to think well is more rare these days. I’ve noticed that within the last decade or two.” But the col-
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www.HomeInspectorBoise.com 12 July / August 2022 | Christian Living
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