We’ve Been Busy!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
This passage in Hebrews 12 reminds us that our goal is Jesus. As a college, we acknowledge that FBC is not our college, but God's. We run the race for Him and fix our eyes on Him. This broadens and narrows our focus to His wise choices, even when it comes to how we spend our time. Although summers are usually a time to pause and regroup for the academic year, we've been busy with a variety of events to help promote FBC and share our story.
Here are the highlights!
May 7: FBC Graduation
Congratulations to Teikeshia Melton for earning her Certificate of Biblical Studies and Jesse Carroll for earning his Associate's in Biblical Studies!
May 13: 6th Annual Hap Cup
This year's Hap Cup was the best yet! We had 65 players, 10 terrific sponsors, and raised $3500 for FBC. We had a great mix of former and new players. We also had many family units - 2 and 3 generations of parents with kids, some with grandkids, father/son-in-laws, siblings, uncle/niece, etc. Truly a fun event for all ages! Congrats to Long Yip and his team for bringing home 1st place this year!
May-June: Our Intro to Biblical Ethics summer course, taught by President Kevin Newman, went very well. One wonderful result was that Charles, a new student at FBC, now plans on earning his Bachelor's degree through FBC. After just one course, these were his thoughts:
“FBC exemplifies the motto of being grounded in the word, growing in Christ, and giving back to the church. After my college years are over, I know with complete certainty I will always be able to come back and get the guidance needed to tackle the following stages in life. FBC is more than a college; it's a family; it is a group of men and women who love the Lord and love helping others reach the calling God has on their life.”
June 9-11: HEAV Annual Convention
FBC has a heart for homeschoolers. Everyone on staff is or has homeschooled their kids or grandkids in some fashion. FBC participated in the Home Educators Association of Virginia's (HEAV) annual conference in Richmond which was attended by about 2000 homeschool families. We had a booth for 3 days, sharing and encouraging home school families and helping them navigate questions about college in general and about FBC. We were also able to participate in a college panel to further describe FBC and dual enrollment.
June 13-15: ACL Annual Conference
Librarian Renee Carey represented FBC and attended valuable workshops at the Association of Christian Librarians annual conference in Wichita, KS. As convener of the ACL Solo Librarian group, she was able to encourage other librarians who work with little to no library staff.
July 16: Eastern Shore of Virginia Hom eschool Fair
We also participated in a local homeschool fair in Machipongo. While younger siblings played our popular Quizard Lizard game, we talked with parents about how FBC can meet the needs of their high schoolers and graduates. Some parents also expressed interest in signing up for classes!
July 28: Pastor's Luncheon
We look forward to meeting with our pastors every quarter. This gives our local spiritual leaders a chance to spend informal time worshiping and sharing their ministries while learning about upcoming FBC opportunities.
Sprucing up the place!
Despite our busy summer schedule, we enjoyed spending a little time giving our FBC home a fresh look! Many thanks to Bob Vogler, FBC Board Treasurer, and his church, Sonlight Church in Chesapeake, for donating this gorgeous conference table! This allows us to still use this room for classes, but also for meetings and gatherings for guests. And did you notice the new nameplate? With the addition of new staff, we have added nameplates to easily identify staff and locations and named our classrooms The Struthers Room and The Brackney Room after our beloved co-founders.
Praise God:
.... that we have had such a productive "down time" this summer
... that we have a full staff to meet our ever-growing needs
... that word is spreading about all FBC has to offer!
Please Pray:
... for our students and teachers as they prepare for classes beginning August 22
... for folks making final decisions to come to FBC
... for details to flow smoothly for our Student Semester Kick-Off and Presidential Celebration
... for new donors to join our faithful donors in supporting God's work through FBC