Melvin Swanson (Bethel College class of 1941, Bethel Seminary class of 1944) was honored as the 2008 Bethel Seminary Alumnus of the Year at Thursday’s Bethel University luncheon. Swanson served in an abundance of ministry capacities during a lifetime of service, including missions work in South Africa and Swaziland, and prison outreach through Life Abundant Ministries, which he founded in 1977. The luncheon also served as the first official function for newly elected Bethel University President Jay Barnes. Both Swanson and Barnes commended Bethel for the excellence of its dedicated faculty who have had a major impact on Bethel students throughout the years. Swanson noted that Bethel Seminary “trained me to serve, and I praise God for His divine enabling through Bethel’s staff some 60 years ago.” Barnes stressed the role of Christian education as a calling to transform lives and draw people to Jesus, ultimately preparing them to embark on a bold adventure “in the life of the mind, in bringing hope to the world, and in the church.” Bethel is about “whole person, life-transforming education, rooted in the person and works of Jesus Christ,” he concluded. “It’s a vision worth dying for.”