Alumni & Friends
Bethel Focus
A Magazine of Bethel University
Sustained by Vision
One hundred thirty-six years ago this October Bethel rose, Phoenix-like, from the smoldering embers of its original home in the First Swedish Baptist Church of Chicago.
That was only the first of many times Bethel's survival hung precariously in the balance. Time and again through the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, Bethel's very existence seemed threatened by economic woes and inadequate resources. But God's people, believing in the mission and biblical core values of Bethel, always rose to the challenge with just enough support to sustain the fragile but faithful institution.
Following World War II those Tom Brokaw dubbed "America's Greatest Generation," financially assisted by the G.I. Bill, enabled Bethel College to establish itself firmly as a four-year liberal arts college. By the 1960s, Bethel College & Seminary had grown in size and strength sufficient to begin to dream of a new, greatly expanded campus. Financial resources were never enough as the Arden Hills campus grew in facilities, course offerings, and enrollment—but grow in quality and size it did.
Of course, adequate resources will always lag behind the vision God has given to Bethel, even though the financial engine of enrollment growth continues and likely will into the future. That is why Bethel needs faithful donors annually. Thanks to generous friends, the survival of Bethel University has not been in doubt for more than half a century now.
But hold on. Now is not the time for complacency or a misplaced sense of well-being and self-sufficiency. This week, meeting with more than a dozen of my colleagues who are presidents of other Minnesota private colleges and universities, I heard a stream of dire predictions regarding the intermediate viability and long-term survival of their institutions, all of which have much larger endowments per student than Bethel. Their pessimism is not unreasonable in the light of political and demographic data before us all. Tougher times, they rightly insisted, are ahead.
As the last to speak, I readily acknowledged these very real threats to private higher education, but then I spoke with deep conviction about my own confidence in Bethel's future. I cited Bethel's long record of adaptability, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, boldness, and sacrificial service. I spoke of the sense of "vocation" that inspires Bethel people to see their work as an expression of their deepest faith. I expressed my strong conviction that God will continue to sustain and renew Bethel University, if with integrity, we give priority to our historic mission and evangelical core values.
Sure, the future holds dangers for private higher education. The changes to come may make our heads spin. I'm sure future presidents will urgently call for financial support. But if we humbly accompany the Lord on the next leg of the journey, Bethel will be just fine.
George K. Brushaber
President
Bethel University