Neil Fultz

"It wasn't that they did not want me to enroll; it was that they wanted me to enroll only if I was certain that the Lord wanted me to enroll. That is what stands out the most to me." This is how freshman Neil Fultz describes his first impression of Fairhaven Baptist College when he was nearing the end of his military career.

The United States Air Force, which Neil joined right out of high school, took this Topeka, Kansas native across the globe for 20 years. He spent time in Okinawa (where he was led to the Lord at Maranatha Baptist Church, then pastored by Ed Gibson), England, the Azores, Guam, Texas, Korea, and finally Germany. With each new assignment, Neil joined an independent Baptist Church near his base. Becoming active in these churches was a key to Neil's spiritual growth.

Neil was called to preach at Eifel Baptist Church in Bitburg, Germany, where Pastor Herb Curriden put him to work. While his job in the military was to be a firefighter, his job at Eifel was to be janitor, groundskeeper, and a soulwinning partner for Pastor Curriden. "I wanted to help the church all that I could." Neil retains fond memories of Eifel Baptist Church-from Pastor Curriden's personal attention to and interest in him, to Mrs. Curriden's delicious, home-cooked meals and extra care for the single soldiers of their church. Because his 20-year military career placed him in quite a few military church ministries across the world, Neil met representatives from many Christian colleges. "You need to be here...," he recollects many college representatives telling him. "We want you at our college." While preaching at various military churches in Germany, Dr. Voegtlin met Neil and encouraged him to find out what God wanted him to do, and then to follow Him step-by-step in faith. After much prayer, that next step was enrolling at Fairhaven Baptist College in January 2005.

Neil is adjusting to college life as a 39-year-old "freshman." His use of the G.I. bill enables him to be active in church ministries such as our Wednesday Senior Citizens outreach and the Portage bus ministry on Sunday, while giving him plenty of time to concentrate on his schoolwork. Neil remarked, "Dr. McNeilly [one of his favorite teachers] doesn't pass out free grades, so I am working hard at my studies!"