"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?"
--Psalm 116:12

"A man named Carl Lundquist prayed with me when I was saved at the Elim Baptist Church on Chicago's south side many years ago. God is
so good."

ill Johnstone's parents didn't go to church, but on Sunday mornings they made sure their children attended nearby services. Although Bill received his first Bible lessons at that church, he discovered a more interesting alternative in the neighborhood. His friends, who attended Boy Scout meetings at Elim Baptist Church on Chicago's south side, persuaded him to join the troop. Soon Bill began attending Sunday school, youth group meetings, and worship services at Elim as well.

As the years passed and these young people moved into their 20s, some began to marry. One Saturday during a friend's wedding reception, the bride's uncle had a sudden heart attack and died. Bill learned of the tragic death while attending an Elim church service the following morning. He knew at that moment that he was not yet prepared to face his own death. After the service, he met with Pastor Carl Lundquist and prayed to receive Christ as his personal savior.

"I still remember that prayer," Bill reflects. "I asked God to forgive my sins and to make me His child. Pastor Lundquist occasionally said ‘yes' and ‘amen' and affirmed what I was saying."

Rejoicing in God's goodness

Carl Lundquist eventually left Elim Baptist to become president of Bethel College & Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bill became a successful electrical engineer, first with Motorola and then with Magnaflux. Although neither Bill nor any members of his immediate family attended Bethel, over the years he has faithfully contributed to the school because of Carl Lundquist's influence on his life. When Bill sent a recent gift to Bethel, he enclosed this simple note: "A man named Carl Lundquist prayed with me when I was saved at the Elim Baptist Church on Chicago's south side many years ago. God is so good."

A scholarship that says "thanks"

Most gifts to Bethel come from people who, like Bill, want to acknowledge how their lives have been shaped by a professor at the school or by the ministry of an alumnus. Many professors and staff members have touched others' lives in crucial ways, either prior to coming to Bethel or during their ministries here.

A scholarship named for a professor is a meaningful way to say, "I appreciate what has happened in my life because of the teaching of Dr. Cionca," for example. A congregation might establish an endowment fund to honor a pastor-alumnus who has made an impact on their church. A son or daughter might remember a parent's life work with a named scholarship to help other clergy prepare for ministry.

Most of the truly significant things that happen in life take place because of the influence of one special person whose actions came at just the right time. Bill Johnstone gives to Bethel to acknowledge that kind of encounter. Has someone from Bethel touched your life?

James Spickelmier is associate
vice president for seminary development