A Note from Brian
The new year is off to a great start at our Florida and New York campuses. The energy and excitement on both campuses is tremendous. We are praying for your student as they adjust to classes and the schedule here at Word of Life.
We finished reading through Colossians in our quiet time last week, where I was reminded in chapter three to set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. This will be a great year of growth and change for all of us here at WOLBI!
Latest News
New York
Our sports teams have an awesome opportunity to share their testimonies with the opposing team. We had a great welcome for our sports teams and student leadership on September 1, and our soccer teams had a scrimmage on September 4. As a result of this, we saw three people trust Christ after the game!
We are also praising the Lord for an excellent opening weekend for our student body September 8–10.
Florida
This year, we are excited to welcome 102 students from 18 states and 12 countries (Argentina, Bermuda, Bolivia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, France, Peru, Uruguay, and Japan).
Our campfire and dedication service on Sunday, August 27 went very well! Rich Andrews spoke, and many students responded to the dedication challenge.
Classes started on Monday, August 28 with Mark Strout teaching Genesis Chapters 1–11. Dr. Ray Pritchard helped our students dive into the book of Galatians last week, and we were excited to welcome Doug Holliday from Dare2Share for our Personal Evangelism class this week.
Hurricane Idalia came on August 30 but traveled north of our property. We never lost power and only had minor cleanup of downed tree branches. We praise God for His protection! Due to the storm, we adjusted our academic schedule slightly by moving two class hours to Monday, September 4.
Ministry teams have been selected, and some teams will begin going out on evangelism ministries with Del and Mary Ann Benner this weekend!
Upcoming Events
New York
- 9/15: Student Ministry Fair
- 9/15–16: ACBC Discipleship and Counseling Workshop, Weekend One
- Learn more here: https://wordoflife.edu/counseling/essentials/
- 9/15: Student Worship Night
- 10/6-8: Homecoming & Family Weekend
- Learn more here: wol.is/nyhomecoming
- 10/13-14: ACBC Discipleship and Counseling Workshop, Weekend Two
- Learn more here: https://wordoflife.edu/counseling/essentials/
- 10/26–28: Campus Preview Days
Florida
- 9/21: Crews Lake Cookout
- 10/19: Fall Festival
- 10/19–21: Campus Preview Days
Academic Resources
We offer a variety of resources on both our campuses to help students succeed in their academic endeavors. These include the following options.
- Tutors: These are current students who walk alongside their peers to help with study habits, assignments, and test prep. There are group tutoring sessions available for specific classes as well as one-on-one tutoring.
- Study Intensives: There is also a group study time before each weekly test. This time is led by a tutor and is free for any student to attend.
New York Academics Team
- Todd Steltz, Academic Dean: tsteltz@wol.org
- Please feel free to contact Mr. Steltz regarding academics here at the Bible Institute (just a friendly reminder, we can discuss academic issues about your child only if they have filled out a FERPA form giving us permission to do so).
- Melissa Paris, Administrative Assistant to Academics: mjparis@wol.org
- Melissa’s main responsibilities are grades and grading. Several assignments need to be graded manually, and our student graders, under the supervision of Melissa and the academic office assistant, are of utmost importance.
- Daniel Skau, Registrar: daskau@wol.org
- Dan’s main responsibility is serving our alumni as they request transcripts and transfer to other colleges (transcripts can be ordered at wol.is/bitranscript). He also works extensively with our learning management system, Canvas.
- Sanna Swanson, Librarian: sswanson@wol.org
- Sanna oversees our newly-renovated Library and Study Center and works with students who have library service assignments.
- Abby Hurley, Academic Office Assistant: arhurley@wol.org
- Abby works primarily in the areas of attendance, grading, and make-up tests. Students can contact her with any questions or concerns about any of these areas.
Florida Academics Team
- Mark Strout, Executive Dean and Professor of Global Bible Institute Campuses: markstrout@wol.org
- Mark Strout serves as the Executive Dean of the Florida Bible Institute as well as our global campuses around the world. He is also the resident professor for Bible Survey classes.
- Daniel Fahning, Academic Dean: dhfahning@wol.org
- In addition to serving as the Associate Academic Dean, Daniel Fahning is also our resident professor for Systematic Theology.
- Ginny Newton, Academic Administrative Assistant: ginnyn@wol.org
- Kelsey Brown, Academic Assistant: kbrown2@wol.org
The WOLBI Weekly
For clarification, the WOLBI Weekly is an email designed to keep current students up to date on the latest campus announcements. We do not send this to parents, but if you would like to receive it, feel free to ask your student to forward it along.
Mailing Addresses
Would you like to make a student’s day by sending a letter or package? Use the guide below to address mail for your student.
FL: Student name
13001 Word of Life Dr.
PMB # (students’ mailbox)
Hudson, FL 34669
NY: Student name
4230 Glendale Rd
PMB # (students’ mailbox)
Pottersville, NY 12860