Harding University has always placed a strong emphasis on evangelism. After all, a primary purpose for a Christian is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. This year, two evangelistic programs that had been inactive were rei nstated. One program that was restarted was the visi ting miss ionary program. Harding employs the .service of a world missionary for one academi c year, drawing on his expe rience to teach students and to encourage them to enter the mission field. The visi ting missionary program had been discontinued for several years. "They've started it back and plan to keep it going," Fieldon Allison, the visiting professor of missions for 1998-1999, said. Allison has been a mi ssionary for 26 years. He and his family have lived in Kenya planting churches and encouraging them to grow. This year he taught missionary principles class using a vari ety of information that he gained th rough hi s own experiences and those of his family, including how to raise families in a mission fi eld. When the 1998-1999 academic year was completed, Allison planned to return to Kenya wi th hi s wife and youngest child, their only child sti ll at home. Alli son said that he hoped some Harding students would try to follow hi s example and join the African mission work. "One of our chi ef goals is to try to encourage students to think about missions," he said. "Every Sunday night we had what we call ed African Mission Fell owship in our homes," Allison said. "We had many students over to encourage them." Sharing in the responsibility of the Afri can Mission Fellowshi p wereMark Berryman, miss ionary in residence, and Gordon Hogan, missionary in residence. Another part of the program was aimed at studentswho were more seriously consider ing mission work and wanted to discover what was involved with miss ion work in foreign countri es. Two-month summer internships we re offered in several areas of the wo rld. The students lived with miss ionaries and their famili es on the mi ssion fi eld while learning some of the local language and culture and discovering how they liked living the mi ssionary Iife,Ai li son sa id. The second evangeli stic program that was revitalized th is year was HOPE, headed by Hogan. The HOPE program was designed to place former students in situations where they made practical appli cations of their missionary training. The program was made avail ab le to coll ege graduates, students with two years or mo re of completed college and/or anyone 25 years of age or older . "HOPE is mi ssionary on- the-job training fo r two years in a chosen mission field. Those involved in the program are matched to sponsoring congregations around the world where they complete a two-year apprenticeship. It's kind of a Peace Corps sort of thing," Hogan said, "but on a spiritual level. Our dream in all of this is that, having done all these things for two years, the candidate would like to continue fu ll time. " Both programs returned in the 1998-1999 school year from a leave of absence to be permanent additions to Harding's goal ofevange lism. - Remie Beaulieu Ed Myers, Ph.D. Prof. &; OirJSchool ofBiblical Studies Ken Neller, Ph.D. Asso. Prof. Howard Norton , Ph.D. Prof. & Dir.IInst. for Church and Famil y Owen Olbricht, 1\l.R.E. Mi ssionary in Residence Paul Pollard, Ph.D. Prof. Vann Rackley, PhD. Ass't. ProU!>lF'T Bill Richardson, O.l\tin. As$O. Prof. Don Shackelford, Th.D. Prof. &; Deanllnt'1. Programs Dan Stockstill, l't.Th. Ass'( Prof, Gene Vinzant,O.l\tin. Ass't. Prof. Duane Warden, Ph.D. Prof. &. Asso. Oean/Bible & Religion Flavil Yeakley, Ph.D. Prof. &: DirJCtr. for Church Growth Bible facul/y, students and alumni chat during a School of Bible and Religion reunion during the Homecoming weekend. The group snacked and caught up on old limes in the rotunda of the Mclnteer building. SCHOOL OF BIBLE & RElIGION 157 •
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==