INTRODUCTION TO THE SCHOOL:
To Pastors,
Leaders, and Members of Christ’s Body:
Beloved
in Jesus Christ,
Greetings
in His wonderful name! I trust this finds you and
yours well and going on in Him, ever striving "…toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).
Some
of you are my former students, colleagues, friends, and
fellow ministering brethren. Others of you I have not met, but welcome the
opportunity of doing so. Please know that each of you has a very special place
in my heart. I love you all very dearly in Christ. God bless and keep you ever
in His grace.
The
purpose of this letter is to announce the birthing
process of a vision and burden of long gestation. In the summer of 1960 (when
16 years of age), while attending a Camp-Meeting in New Jersey, I fell under a deep
and unprecedented intercession concerning a Bible School. The burden then
imparted is now beginning to come to birth. It has oft' been said that
"God is never in a hurry..." How very true: I think of Abraham,
Moses, Joshua, and others, for whom "the vision tarried" (Habakkuk
2:3).
Recently,
some friends were speaking of retirement. With a
vision being born, I cannot think of retiring, but only of
"re-firing" and gearing-up for the journey ahead! Please pray for my
strength and health to improve and hold-up for the rigorous task ahead. Thanks!
So, here am I, an old "Grampa" writing to share this joyful news of a
"child of promise" coming to birth.
Our
vision is for a school dedicated to conservative values,
faith, and practice, including the deeper life and personal holiness. While all
around us in this Laodicean Age, many are forsaking the "Ancient
Paths," preferring "to walk in paths, in a way not cast up"
(Jeremiah 18:15)..., we ask and seek to
walk in the "old paths, where is the good way" (Jeremiah 6:16). By our Lord's grace, we shall walk in His
"Highway of Holiness" (Isaiah 35:8). Some have slurred us as being
"Old-Fashioned:" We receive that as a gracious compliment. While we
dearly love all our brethren, they must be faithful to their visions and we to
ours. Surely there is room for us all!
Our
vision has been inspired by the lives of such stalwarts
in the Faith as: William J. Seymour (the father of the 20th Century Pentecostal
Outpouring); Elizabeth Baker, and her sisters, Susan and Harriett Duncan; Christine A. Gibson; Ivan
Q., Minnie, and Carlton Spencer; and Wade Taylor (all of whom pioneered
Pentecostal Revival and established Faith-Based Ministries and Bible Schools).
At Calvary School
of the Bible, no student shall ever be
turned away because of financial need. No charges or fees of any kind shall be
imposed upon students or visitors. Our faculty and staff shall serve without
any regular salary. All sustenance and maintenance of this ministry shall come
by Free-Will Offerings only. Of course this is a gigantic leap of faith, but
then we serve a gigantic Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and all
the silver and gold as well! Praise His wonderful name!
There
are some excellent Bible Schools, but many students
due to financial need cannot afford to attend them. If you are aware of
consecrated, stable persons who feel a calling and a need to prepare their
lives for Christian service, please inform them of Calvary School of the Bible.
Thank You!
Beloved,
PLEASE! Be faithful to pray for us in the
establishing of this vision upon the foundation shown by our Lord Jesus, so
that it may be strong to endure the test of time. Pray also for our desperate
need of His wisdom, anointing, and enablement for what lies ahead. We are quick
to acknowledge our own insufficiency and frailty. WE NEED JESUS! Thank
God, "[We] CAN do all things through Christ..." (Philippians 4:13),
and "…The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
(Luke 18:27). Amen!
[Note:]
Some
may ask if we shall be a Divinity School; a Bible
College; a School of Theology; a Bible Institute; or a Bible Training Center. I
suppose we share a degree of identity with all of the above, but beyond these
titles, I assure you, we shall endeavor to be a grass-roots, "meat and
potatoes," Bible School in the traditional
sense. It is true that we shall seek a spirit of excellence in every area of
the school, both in spiritual matters as well as natural, but we hold no vaunted
self-opinion: Rather, we think of ourselves as "Home-Folk" who love
all of God's children and who never meet a stranger!
Please
feel free to write, call, or email us at any time. If
no one is by the phone, please leave your name and number (And a time to reach
you), and we shall return your call.
Dearly
Beloved in Christ, should you or others in your
acquaintance share a burden for the vision we have presented, please bear in
mind that we need dedicated co-workers and yokefellows to help us labor in this
field of endeavor: Thusly, we make our appeal unto Him and unto our Brethren.
Thank You!
Thank
you most cordially for your love and prayers. May our
Lord Jesus bless you and yours abundantly! We love you all very dearly. - M. D. O'C.
