Nick Hall S’11 Named Bethel Seminary Alumnus of the Year
News
February 29, 2016 | Noon
By Michelle Westlund, Communications Specialist
Nick Hall, a 2011 graduate of Bethel Seminary St. Paul, has been named 2016 Bethel Seminary Alumnus of the Year. Hall is the primary evangelist and visionary for PULSE, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit at the heart of the largest student-led evangelism movement in the U.S.
As a teenager, Hall was inspired by Billy Graham, and sensed God’s call to become an evangelist. In college, he wrote a paper about how to reach his generation with the gospel. The paper went viral and sparked a student-led movement that reached 8,000 students on Hall’s college campus, then quickly spread to other campuses. Within two years, more than 50,000 students heard about Jesus, and PULSE was founded and grew. Hall entered seminary to hone his communication and leadership gifts with a master’s in Christian thought. He says, “My time at Bethel provided the theological and intellectual foundation for PULSE to build.”
Since its founding in 2006, PULSE has shared the gospel with 2.5 million people from college campuses to concert arenas, churches to music festivals, in the U.S. and overseas. More than 525,000 people have responded to the gospel through PULSE events. Hall and the organization are now preparing for their most ambitious event yet, a July 2016 gathering on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., called Together, where they are praying that one million people will unite to glorify Jesus.
“Nick has a unique call on his life,” says Chris McFarland, executive vice president of PULSE.
“He has answered that call with boldness and courage…He has become a global leader for young people, working to raise up a generation to follow Jesus.”
Hall will be recognized during Homecoming events in October, when the College of Arts & Sciences alumnus of the year, to be announced this spring, will also be honored.