Wednesday and Thursday evenings I had the privilege to be at the Eastwood Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky, with our former college president, Pastor Andy Harrell. Brother Harrell asked me to speak on the subject of music both evenings, and I was amazed at the good crowds we had and the receptive spirit of the people. I saw our graduates Jared and Julie Harrell, Michael and Karen Opferman, Christina West, and also Pastor Kyle Conley and his wife Leah, who were also there visiting family.

This was my first time at Eastwood, so I was excited about seeing the church as well as many of the places that I had heard Bro. Harrell talk about so often. The Lord has given them beautiful facilities and a wonderful group of people. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and I am especially grateful for the way God blessed the meeting.

This year’s Alumni Days got off to a great start this morning in chapel with some tremendous preaching from our graduates, Chris Adkinson (’09 – Central Valley Baptist Church, Manteca, CA) and Pastor Travis Collins (’02 – Lompoc Valley Baptist Church, Lompoc, CA). Chris and Lisa Adkinson also sang a duet in the service before Brother Chris preached. We have a good number of graduates here already and several more who will be here by tomorrow evening for church. We are looking forward to a great time of fellowship and preaching. Don’t miss the service on Wednesday evening! You can view the service through live streaming or archived video at www.nvbc.org.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

Finances present a great challenge for many college students, one which some students seem never to be able to conquer. It is always disappointing to see a young person have to pack up his or her things and go home because of a lack of money. For many years I have prayed that God would give us funds that could be used to keep these students in school, and in the last month we have seen something happen that is far greater than I could ever have imagined.

Through Pastor Doug Fisher of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, CA; Pastor Trieber came in contact with Brother Tom Cantor, a Christian businessman who is a Jew.  Brother Cantor has a burden to get the Gospel to every Jewish person in this country, and the Lord has blessed his business in way that allows him to attempt this great task.

Brother Cantor has recorded a DVD of his testimony and has also made it available in written form. It is a powerful story, outlining how a man who grew up steeped in the Jewish traditions that reject the true Messiah finally came to the place that he was willing to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. These materials are being mass-produced and prepared to be mailed or hand-delivered to Jewish people all across America. We began on Monday, February 7, with three young men delivering these packets and we had one person saved the very first night!

We have also opened a call center where scores of students are working every day to contact Jewish people across America and offer to send this information to them through the mail. Hundreds of people are receiving this information; and we pray that many will be saved as they watch the DVD, as they read the materials, and as we follow up with them individually.

What an exciting answer to prayer! This is definitely far above all that I was able to ask or think. I was simply asking God for financial support for needy students. He graciously answered with this special work that enables our students not only to earn the money they need, but also to reach out to this important group of people and gain valuable ministry experience at the same time. What a great God we serve!

An amazing new video about Golden State Baptist College has just been released. You will hear the testimonies of current students about what life is like at GSBC and get a glimpse of some of the great things we have to offer. Please take a moment to visit www.gsbc4.me and see this new video for yourself.

2011 is fast approaching and it promises to bring new opportunities and challenges to each one of us. Of course, for our college students a new year means a new semester, with new classes, new assignments, new projects, and new deadlines. These all test our ability and resolve to achieve and excel.

In reality, January 1, 2011 is just another day on the calendar. The day itself is not likely to have any particular qualities that would make it unique just because we move from the 31^st to the 1^st. These are just numbers on a piece of paper. However, there is something about throwing away that old calendar and posting the new one. It is refreshing to look at a clean slate and envision what great things might transpire in the days ahead.

At the beginning of a new year, we seem to be a bit biased toward optimism and easily prejudiced toward the rose-colored glasses of hope. The turning of that final page of December to the first page in January seems to brighten our vision and sharpen our focus in a way that few other things can. So go ahead, set some goals, write down those resolutions, and aim to make 2011 the best year of your life!

What does Christmas mean to you? There are certainly many traditions that accompany this wonderful holiday. So many that we can easily be overwhelmed with decorating, shopping, wrapping presents, sending Christmas cards, planning parties, and getting together with friends and family. Sometimes it is hard to remember that the reason for all of these activities is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth changed the course of human history and gave mankind the hope of eternal life.

May we realize this Christmas that the reason for all of the excitement should be a heart of gratitude for what God did for us in sending His Son to this earth. That way each of us can truly have a Merry Christmas!

Hear the NVBC and GSBC choirs sing in this year’s Christmas cantata, “O Holy Night!”

It is hard to believe that the end of the semester is here! This week our students will be taking final exams, and so they will be working hard to finish semester projects and studying for exams througout the week. We have special chapels planned this week, including a split chapel on Tuesday with our missionaries, David and Jolene Sloan. We are certainly proud of our students for the work they have done this semester, and we are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in the spring.

Last Wednesday night I had the privilege to be in Marysville, Washington at the Northwest Baptist Church with Pastor Kerby Campbell. We have prayed for Pastor Campbell this year as he has had some very difficult struggles with his health. The church has rallied behind him, and they have seen the Lord bless in unusual ways during a time when most would have expected them to just be hanging on. Pastor Campbell still needs our prayers, but God has given him the ability to do more physically in recent days. As a matter of fact, he is right now on a missions trip to Africa with a group of men from the church!

The Lord gave us a great service last Wednesday. It was encouraging to see a great crowd in attendance, and the people were very responsive. I was blessed by the music and I especially enjoyed hearing a harp duet during the service and an energetic choir practice afterward. Pastor Campbell and his wife went to Marysville fourteen years ago to start a church, and it is amazing to see what the Lord has done there in such a short period of time. To God be the glory!

The first two weeks of this semester have been marked by a steady succession of exciting events and spiritual highlights. In addition to the regularly recurring events of the opening week, we experienced the largest attendance day in the history of North Valley Baptist Church as well as the largest attendance ever for the college bus ministry. Over 500 people were saved ministry-wide and it was amazing to see the many miracles that took place.

This incredible day was immediately followed by our 25^th Annual National Pastors’ and Workers Conference where we were blessed by old-fashioned preaching and an outpouring of the Spirit of God. I think everyone here would have to say that we are abounding with blessings. After a great day of classes and chapel today, we are looking forward to what the Lord has for us this weekend.

My heart was blessed today as we welcomed hundreds of students back to this campus to begin a new school year. Of course, it was wonderful to see the students who were gone for the summer break once again, and hear about how the Lord has blessed them in the last few months. It was also exciting to meet the many new students from all over America and the parents who were able to bring their children to college. With so many wonderful young people here, I am looking forward to what God is going to do here at GSBC this semester.