Derek Renshaw came to Fairhaven Baptist College three years
ago from a small town near Greenville, South Carolina.
Being raised in a Christian home gave him a solid foundation
for his future. Alongside his father, he learned how to
construct their home and other buildings on their property.
A church member employed him in his lawn irrigation
business. His pastor kept him busy working in ministries
and preaching as opportunities allowed.
When the time came to select a Bible college, Derek took the
decision seriously. He knew that he was called to preach,
and he knew that he wanted two things from the college he
would attend: a firm stand on the King James Bible and a
commitment to Baptist distinctives. Although he had learned
of Fairhaven online, his interest in the college was piqued
when he met Eric Ramos representing Fairhaven at a gathering
of Christian school students in South Carolina. After
prayer and much counsel, Derek decided to leave the south
and head to Indiana for his Bible college training.
As a student, Derek has enjoyed the practicality of
Fairhaven’s Bible classes. In addition to the
instruction on Biblical doctrine, he is learning also how to
use his beliefs in a world that needs God. He learned in
Cults class not just the doctrinal aberrations of particular
cults but also how to speak to the people trapped in that
error, showing them the Saviour. He has learned the
operation of children’s ministries through involvement
in the bus route and Master’s Club. Assisting in area
rest homes has further broadened his ministry experience.
Derek is investing this summer in an internship with Pastor
Dave Bottrell (a graduate of Fairhaven) at the Hunt Valley
Baptist Church in Hunt Valley, Maryland. His summer will be
filled with service and ministry responsibilities such as:
helping in junior church, assisting as a teen camp
counselor, working on church building renovations, teaching
the midweek teen class, and working on the bus route.
After graduation, Derek would like to be an assistant pastor
and then eventually start a church. He realizes that many
battles lie ahead, so he is taking his preparation
seriously. Please pray for Derek, as well as all of our
students, as they prepare to serve God with their lives.
Salome is from Switzerland, where her father is a medical
doctor. Their family lives not far from Zurich. Having
grown up in a home that enjoyed the study of the English
language, her father began looking for a place to allow
Salome to broaden her horizons culturally and linguistically
for a year after her completion of high school.
Our philosophy has never been to “push” our
young graduates into a pastorate. Rather, we recommend that
they work under a man for an extended time while they
continue to learn both about themselves and the work of the
ministry. I Timothy 3:6 says, “Not a novice, lest
being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of
the devil.” Novice pastors have done much harm among
Independent Baptists.
We are pleased that among our graduates there are forty men
pastoring churches across America, including the following
states: Arizona, Illinois, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine,
Michigan, Missouri, Maryland, North Carolina, New York,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,
Washington, and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania and Illinois lead
the list with six Fairhaven graduates in both states. Of
course, we are no less pleased to have hundreds faithfully
serving God as missionaries to foreign fields, youth
pastors, teachers, assistants, and laymen.
Not one of these pastors would say that they are perfect,
however, we desire to maintain a Bible college that directs
young men along the way to being “throughly furnished
unto all good works.” We plan to continue
accomplishing this by providing a training atmosphere that
includes depth in the academic program, rejection of the
modern emerging church movement, and a commitment to a
vibrant local church.
Stephanie began riding the church bus to Fairhaven as a
pre-schooler. Each Saturday, she received a token from the
bus workers with a Bible verse to memorize for the next day.
She rarely, if ever, missed a week riding the church bus.
Bus workers visited her each week and were glad to do so, in
part because Stephanie's mom often greeted them with some
delicious, homemade Mexican cuisine.
Foreign missions is a huge part of the Schwaderers' life.
Hannah and Jenny Schwaderer are "missionary kids"
whose parents have been serving in the Canary Islands since
2007. These Spanish-speaking islands are located in the
Atlantic Ocean off the northwestern coast of Africa. Their
older brother is a missionary to Mozambique.
During their time at Fairhaven, the Schwaderers have
assisted in local nursing homes and the bus ministry in
Michigan City. College chapel has been a special time of
challenge and growth in their lives. The strong preaching
that is delivered there has enabled them to make solid
commitments spiritually. "The Lord wants to do more
with us than we are capable of doing ourselves, and when we
get to this place, we recognize that God must do the
work."
Both Hannah and Jenny are engaged to be married next summer.
Hannah's future husband has a pilot's license and desires
to be a missionary pilot for the country of Papua New
Guinea. Jenny's future husband also will be graduating from
Fairhaven Baptist College and desires to serve the Lord in
full-time service.
Hannah and Jenny will be graduating from Fairhaven this
coming spring and both of them will be getting married in a
"double wedding" ceremony next July when their
parents are home on furlough. Hannah (secretarial) and
Jenny (secondary education) have different majors and will
probably end up at two different locations, but they share
one desire, which is to serve God with their whole heart for
all of their life.
Tyler Brock came to Fairhaven Baptist College from the
beautiful black hills of South Dakota. When he was eight,
his father moved his family from Florida to become the
school principal of Liberty Baptist Academy in Rapid City,
the school from which Tyler would graduate. Tyler's mom
taught here, and Mrs. Williams, the wife of Tyler's pastor,
Dr. Wayne Williams, was his influential music teacher.
Tyler counts it a privilege to have "grown up" at
Liberty Baptist Tabernacle-a church that stands for
God-honoring, first-class music and strong Biblical
separation. These truths were reinforced to him as a
Pastoral Theology/Music major at Fairhaven Baptist College.
Holly Smith's father, Mike, graduated from Fairhaven Baptist
College when Holly was just five years old. Mike had joined
the military right out of high school; and while in the
service, Mike got close to God and decided to attend Bible
college upon his release. While a Marine, Mike found West
Coast Baptist Church of Vista, California. Led by Pastor
Phil Clark, it was here that Mike heard of Fairhaven Baptist
College. Soon, Mike and his family, including little Holly,
were on a trek across the country to begin preparation for
service.
Fairhaven Baptist College students never lack for ministry
opportunities in the summer. Just this summer alone,
students have taken missions trips, attended missions
institutes, and traveled to churches, assisting in revivals
and Vacation Bible Schools. In addition, all students are
expected to be active in the ministries of their home church
each summer and not "sit on the sidelines." This
summer has been no different for Brian Boots. Just after
the end of the spring semester, Brian boarded a plane going
to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he spent five weeks
assisting the Muller family in their missionary labors.
Jason and Becky Muller, both graduates of Fairhaven Baptist
College, have labored in Mongolia for eight years. As a
part of his missionary preparation, Brian experienced the
work of the missionary firsthand. Adapting to a new
language and a radically different culture are two aspects
of this preparation trip that Brian will not soon forget.
Brian has expressed a desire toward missions since his high
school days. Being raised at Fairhaven Baptist Church since
his childhood, he heard many missionaries in Fairhaven's
pulpit preaching about the worldwide need for the gospel.
His parents sacrificed to put him through Fairhaven Baptist
Academy for his entire education. This was no easy task, as
Brian has nine brothers and sisters.
Several things contributed to Brian's surrender of his life
to God's harvest. First, his parents took him to church
consistently. Brian has been in the same church his entire
life. Next, the good example of his oldest brother, Steven,
played a part in his desire to live for God. Brian saw
Steven graduate from our academy and college, and then
follow God's leading to be an assistant pastor near
Richmond, Virginia. The example of the staff and preachers
also influenced him to live for God.
Brian is looking forward to his senior year with
anticipation and a deep desire to be used of God in the
pursuit of souls on the foreign field, and he feels
privileged to train at a college that will prepare him to do
just that.
Samuel grew up in Kunsan, South Korea, in a predominantly
non-religious home. He would attend the occasional church
service but was unable to view church as anything more than
religion. Upon completing high school and fulfilling his
two-year obligation of Korean military service, Samuel
enrolled in a university to study tourism. He sought a job
helping people plan trips to other countries and directing
their travel plans.
Sarah Unger's providential path to Fairhaven Baptist College
began nearly a century ago in the World War I era. Her
great grandfather, a German, was living and farming in
Russia. At the onset of "the war to end all
wars," the Russian government put tremendous pressure
on him to enlist. Being a Mennonite, his religious belief of
pacifism precluded his involvement, resulting in his moving
to Canada. Here, he began farming "in peace."
Soon, Sarah's grandfather was born, and though he was saved
as a younger man, he observed firsthand the numerous
doctrinal fallacies and ecumenical drift of the Mennonite
denomination. It was not long before he found truth at a
Bible-believing Baptist church. As a result of this,
Sarah's father, Kevin, was reared in a Baptist church. He
and his brothers were deliberately kept from worldly
influences. They worked on their father's farm and ran a
very successful produce market.
Sarah's grandfather taught her dad to work, and her dad
passed that same trait along to Sarah. Her parents provided
many "opportunities" for her and her siblings. He
rented land for a family garden and purchased chickens so
Sarah "could have something worthwhile to do."
There wasn't much time for video games in the Unger
household! Sarah appreciates parents who cared enough about
her to teach her the benefits of physical labor. She has
applied this teaching to her campus job as a library
assistant.
Sarah's grandfather is Pastor Wilbert Unger, who started
Bethel Baptist Church of London, Ontario, 25 years ago. One
day, while going door-to-door, he "happened upon"
a family with a daughter. This daughter was the lady who
would eventually marry Pastor Unger's son Kevin. Sarah
would be their first child. Sarah looks again to the
providential hand of God in bringing her parents together.
Sarah's church knew little of Fairhaven Baptist College
until Pastor Unger attended a spring Preaching Conference.
Soon after, Sarah's entire family and several others from
her church took several days to visit the college for
themselves. Though feeling slightly out of place as a
result of visiting on an "I Love America" Sunday,
the group from Canada nonetheless saw a college with beliefs
compatible to their own, even if none of the flags that were
flying that day displayed the red maple leaf! Since then,
six young people from Ontario (including Sarah) have chosen
Fairhaven Baptist College for their college education.
When asked to delineate the key traits she has gained from
her 2½ years at Fairhaven, Sarah noted first, that
there is joy in serving. "A person can either get
discouraged or jump in and serve," she said. She also
spoke of the theme of the college as being the desire of her
life - to find God's will and do it.
Seeing the godly examples of her pastor/grandfather and her
parents challenges Sarah that "to whom much has been
given, much more shall be required." We thank the Lord
for students like Sarah who are striving to serve, to please
God, and to find His will and do it.
