Brian Baker Speaking

The Bridge: February 26th

Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are so excited to share that we will be able to open our summer camps in New York this season! We had been praying and planning to that end and last week heard official word from Governor Cuomo’s office that summer camps can prepare to open. We are still awaiting more guidance but hope to have this in the coming weeks to further communicate our plans with you.
Keep reading for updates on academics, financial aid, athletics, student life, Missions Conference, Florida updates, and upcoming events.

Academics

This spring, we are offering two elective classes for students: The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis taught by Dr. Paul Weaver and Biblical Counseling Problems and Procedures taught by Mr. Joe Schenke. You can read more about these courses below:

The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis

This course explores the life and writings of C.S. Lewis, providing an in-depth examination of this 20th-century figure, the experiences that shaped him, and a sampling of his writings from multiple literary genres. While WOL believes that the Bible is the only absolute source of truth, Christian writings are greatly beneficial to one’s own spiritual growth as well as one’s biblical and theological understanding. C.S. Lewis’s writings have had a profound impact, and nearly sixty years after his death, many of his writings are still in print and continue to have a profound impact, warranting our further investigation.

Biblical Counseling Problems and Procedures

The guiding foundation for WOLBI’s counseling courses is that the Scriptures are sufficient for understanding people as spiritual, moral, relational, and psychological beings. Therefore, the student will learn distinctively biblical worldview concepts for understanding people, their problems, how they change, and basic methods and techniques of counseling. In addition, the student will use the information in this course as a basis for his/her own discipleship and informal counseling experiences. This course builds on the foundation of the biblical counseling course taught in the freshman year and further details specific counseling issues.

Financial Aid Info

Word of Life has the unique opportunity to provide a supplemental grant directly to eligible students as part of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) as authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). These funds are to be used for any “component of the cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to COVID-19, such as tuition, food, housing, health-care (including mental health-care), or childcare.
We have communicated with students directly via Canvas and will be delivering these funds directly to them in the office or to their mailboxes on campus.
Disclaimer: these funds have been disbursed to students, by check, who completed a FAFSA for the 2020-2021 school year and were enrolled as of February 1st, 2021. Unfortunately, International students are not eligible for these funds.
We are planning on dispersing these funds no later than the end of March. If your student does not receive a check by then and you believe they meet the eligibility requirements explained above, feel free to reach out to the business office (AbbianneJackson@wol.org or phcate@wordoflife.edu)
Your student can apply these funds to their current or future student account if they would like to do so. This can be done in the Business/Financial Aid Office.

Athletics

This past week The Huskies hosted Cairn University back-to-back days. On 2/15, the women got off to a quick start with a 9-2 lead but then fizzled out as Cairn started scoring. The result was a 60-26 loss. On 2/16, the women played a better all-around game that ended with a 49-35 loss.
For the men, the game on 2/15 was their first game of the season. They started well but could not keep up with Cairn’s shooting and lost 87-46. On 2/16, it was a different story. The men showed their true potential and played a very competitive game that ended with an 89-70 loss.
It was great to see both teams on the court and competing again. The next set of home games are Saturday, February 27, with the men playing at 1:30 pm and the women playing at 3:30 pm.

Camps Update

We were excited to hear from Governor Cuomo’s office last week that summer camps can plan to open this year! We had been praying and planning to that end, but it was a great moment to see that confirmed. We are still awaiting guidance from the state on any restrictions that may be implemented, such as testing, capacity restrictions, etc. but hope to have this in the coming weeks. Based on that guidance, we will make any needed changes to our regular camp operations plans and announce those as soon as possible.

Student Life

Spiritual Emphasis Week wrapped up on Friday, Feb 12th, just in time for Missions Conference! Many students were involved and took the challenge to lay aside distractions for the week. Students received daily prompts to go deeper by taking a prayer walk, writing a psalm of praise, writing a purpose statement for their life, and more.
Starting this past weekend, students could attend a handful of local churches such as Mountainside Bible Chapel, Grace Bible Fellowship, Bolton Community Church, and New Hope Community Church. The pastors were thrilled to have students back in attendance! About 60 students enjoyed this opportunity.

Missions Conference

Thankfully, despite the many challenges of COVID-19, we were blessed to have a live Missions Conference for our students. Dr. George Murray was the keynote speaker, and his messages encouraged and challenged our students to consider the person, work, and lordship of Christ as the ultimate motive and foundation for pursuing missions. Kris Stout, the Executive VP of all of Word of Life’s international mission fields, spoke about having the right kind of boldness in evangelism and service in the world. Finally, Don Lough wrapped up the weekend challenging our students to boldly live and preach the Gospel based on their relationship with Christ as the Apostles did in Acts 4. Nearly 200 students made decisions at the end of the conference to offer their lives, talents, and finances to the LORD!
Additionally, we were able to present two of our internships that BI graduates can pursue after their time here during the Missions Conference weekend: the Cross Cultural Internship (CCI), which takes place in one of Word of Life’s international mission fields, and the Youth Ministry Internship (YMI) here in the US. We saw about 75 students attend the interest meeting for these internships, and some immediate fruit is already showing! Within the first week of applications being open for CCI, we already have close to twenty CCI applications.

Florida Campus Updates

The excitement of life-changing ministry can be felt all over the Florida campus as students just wrapped up their fourth weekend of Pursuit Camp. By this point, they have ministered to over 650 campers and have all had the opportunity to serve as both counselors and support staff. This past weekend, nine young people made professions of faith with approximately 100 coming forward for dedication. The daughter of one of our vendors had been invited by a friend and was among those who trusted Christ! Throughout the week, it’s always a joy to see students and staff spontaneously gathering around the “My Life Was Changed Here” board to pray for the hundreds of people whose names have been written there by campers who’ve committed to reach them with the Gospel. It’s a joy to report that we’ve not experienced a single case of COVID as we all do our part to reduce the risks. Please continue to pray for safety and spiritual impact as we head into our final Pursuit Camp this coming weekend. On the academic front, students are currently studying the book of Acts with Dr. Chris Gnanakan and will begin 1 Corinthians with Ron Moore shortly. As always, time is rocketing by and spring break is just a little over a week away!

Upcoming Events

We have some exciting events taking place over the course of this academic year. We would love to have you join us!

  • Virtual Campus Preview Day – March 5, NY Campus
  • RISE Pastors Conference – March 16-18, Virtual Event
  • Campus Preview Day – March 25-27, FL Campus
  • Annual Founders Conference – April 9-11, NY Campus
  • Campus Preview Day – April 29-May 1, NY and FL Campus
  • Missions Reality Trip – April 18-24 (week one), April 25-May 1 (week two), NY Campus Sophomores
  • Spring Semester Ends – May 7, NY and FL
  • Return for Summer Ministry – June 12 (NY); May 29 (FL)
  • Summer Ministry – June 12-August 13 (NY); June 6-July 30 (FL)
  • Baccalaureate – August 13 (NY); July 30 (FL)
  • Graduation – August 14 (NY); July 31 (FL)

We are excited to see all that God will do through the rest of this school year and camping season. Thank you for partnering with us and entrusting your students to us!