Dear Parents and Guardians,
This week has been a busy one! The students participated in camp work days, a pop-up party, different activities, and studied hard. Tomorrow (Saturday) at church, some students are planning to be baptized. It’s truly incredible to watch them grow in their relationships with the Lord and knowledge of His Word. What a blessing to see them live it out through baptism! Below you’ll find updates on upcoming events as well as more about this past week. I hope reading them encourages you as much as it does me!
Break Lodging Available
Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are coming up quick! And you know what that means– finding housing here in the Adirondacks when you pick up and drop off your students. Did you know that Word of Life has a property right down the road that houses guests year-round? This property, Lakeside, has 11 rooms and 4 duplexes. If you call 518-494-6000 and choose option 1, a customer service representative can help you book a room. If you are an alumnus of the Bible Institute, you get 25% off! We also have a 10% discount for military, pastors and seniors.
- Standard rooms (4 people max) have a queen bed and a bunk bed. They cost $120 per night.
- Family rooms (7 people max) have a queen bed and 2 sets of bunk beds. They cost $140 per night.
- Smaller duplexes (8 people max) have three rooms, with a queen bed in one room and bunk beds in each of the other two rooms. They also come fully furnished, with both a kitchen and a living room. They cost $275 per night.
- Larger duplexes are set up the same as the 8 person duplexes, with an additional sleeper sofa. They cost $320 per night.
Please note that housing needs to be booked in advance. We may not be able to fit you in if you call the week of.
If there isn’t any availability at Lakeside, you can go to Adirondackhub.com for local area lodging.
Biblical Worldview Panel
In October, a few Word of Life staff members were joined by Attorney David Gibbs to host a panel discussion for students on the biblical worldview of government. The panel answered questions on what God’s Word teaches about government, how a believer should respond to government, how to disagree with someone in a biblical way, how to evaluate news sources, what issues need to be considered when evaluating a candidate, and much more. Students had the chance to ask questions on specific issues of interest to them. It is a privilege to shepherd our students in this way!
This is the link: https://vimeo.com/467558128
Snowcamp
At this time, Word of Life continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic related to our NY Snowcamp season. Unfortunately, we have determined that it is necessary to cancel the first 5 weeks of camp, as current New York State (NYS) Guidelines would not allow camp to run, and we know that it will take several weeks for us to prepare camp and for youth groups to organize and register for camp, if and when regulations are lifted.
We have not made the final decision on the last two weeks, as those dates fall in late February and early March– we are hopeful that NYS regulations will change early enough in the new year to allow us to operate. We will make the final decision on these weeks by January 15, 2021. At that point, we will announce either that those weeks are open for registration, or that continued NYS restrictions will prevent us from operating Snowcamp 2021.
We have been interacting with many of our youth leaders about alternative offerings, including virtual weekend and one-day events, and additional online content. We are also looking into other ministry opportunities for our students this winter. As these plans are finalized, we’ll be announcing them in the coming weeks.
Missions Conference
We decided to move the dates of Missions Conference to February 12-14, 2021. This decision was made because students returning from break (from non-NY border states) must quarantine, and we want all of our students to enjoy the conference live. The NYS Travel Advisory of 14 days was in place at the time we adjusted the dates, and while this advisory has been modified, we feel the safest approach is to keep the newly scheduled dates as we allow for changes in NYS Travel Policies. We are excited to have Dr. George Murray and the Word of Life International Ministries Team join us for this special time. Missions Conference is always an incredible joy and a pivotal occasion in students’ lives. We are looking forward to it in 2021.
Academics
- Dr. Emir Caner, President of Truett McConnell University and author of Unveiling Islam, will teach our sophomore students about Islam and how to reach Muslims with the gospel of Christ.
- Our freshmen students will continue their studies with our Resident Professors in the following courses: Old Testament Survey, Systematic Theology, and Research and Writing.
- An elective available for both freshmen and sophomore students on the Life of Christ continues throughout the semester.
Campus Construction Update
This November, we have experienced some incredibly warm weather, which has allowed us to wrap up grounds work before winter sets in. Since our last update, we have added and replaced another 21 light poles around campus, so that students can navigate campus safely at night. The Soccer Complex lights have also been installed and commissioned– these new, 80-foot lights bring the Huskies Soccer Complex up to NCAA regulation for night games. Our students have been thoroughly enjoying evening athletics on the new field!
I have enjoyed the emails I’ve received from many of you about the spiritual changes you have seen in your students this year! We are praying that the Lord continues to use their time at the Bible Institute to mold them into His likeness. Please be praying that His transformative work would continue to be evident on our campuses, both here in New York and in Florida as well.
