In 1763 Britain emerged from the Seven Years’ War as the world’s leading power. Ten years later George Macartney wrote of British rule as a “vast empire on which the sun never sets, and whose bounds nature has not yet ascertained.” For more than a century it was common to hear that “the sun never sets on the British Empire.”
Central Baptist Theological Seminary is about ministry, not military might. Still, we can rightly claim that “the sun never sets on the ministry of Central Seminary.” Right now we have both alumni and students scattered all around the globe.
Our graduates include pastors who minister in the United States from Massachusetts to Hawaii and from Minnesota to Texas. We have also equipped ministers who lead churches in Canada, Romania, Hungary, Austria, South Africa, and India. Our students have gone out as missionaries to countries like Germany, England, France, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Tanzania, Zambia, India, and Thailand. Other alumni risk their liberty and sometimes their lives to take the whole counsel of God into places that will remain nameless so that we do not compromise their safety. Numbers of our graduates are serving as chaplains in the United States Navy, Army, and Air Force. Still other alumni teach at schools like Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary, Maranatha Baptist University, the University of Northwestern, Bob Jones University, Shepherds Seminary, Ambassador Baptist College, Piedmont International University, and The Masters Seminary. Thanks to our commitment to distance education we are able to train students not only in North America but in places as distant as Zambia and Kenya. Beyond all this, Central Seminary broadcasts over WCTS AM-1030, which blankets Minnesota and beyond with the Christian message.
Central Seminary’s outreach is not merely national or even international but truly global. Through our graduates God has given us the opportunity of advancing the gospel and equipping churches coast to coast, border to border, and much, much further. For more than sixty years, the graduates of Central Seminary have been witnessing about Jesus, making disciples, planting churches, and handing down biblical Christianity to faithful leaders for the next generation. Unless the Rapture occurs first, we expect to be doing the same work sixty years from now.
How can a small seminary accomplish so much? Only by God’s help through His people. Our faculty could not do this work alone. Neither could our administration. Our staff and board would never be able to carry the load. But God has given Central Seminary a band of partners in ministry who support us by praying for us, laboring with us, and giving to our ministry.
Central Seminary tries to keep tuition as low as possible. Seminary students cannot afford to borrow money because debt will keep them out of ministry. We even give scholarships to as many as we can. We have to keep their costs affordable, and for us to do that, other people have to pick up the financial burden. The ministry of Central Seminary can only flourish because of the generous giving of God’s people.
Every November brings a special time to donate to Central Seminary and WCTS radio. A Minnesota philanthropical organization called GiveMN sponsors “Give to the Max” for all sorts of charitable organizations. The goal is for the participating organizations to raise as much funding as possible in a single campaign.
In the past, Give to the Max has been held on a single day, which has led to jammed phone lines and computer crashes. This year, however, you can Give to the Max from November 1–14. Besides the incentives from GiveMN, generous donors have offered $50,000 in matching gifts to Central Seminary and WCTS radio. In other words, every dollar that you give will double, up to a total of $100,000!
Give online:
www.centralseminary.edu/give
www.wctsradio.com
Or call with a credit card:
(763) 417-8250
Or give by mail:
Central Seminary
900 Forestview Lane N
Plymouth, MN 55441
The office staff will be happy to assist you. Only gifts that are given online through www.givemn.org will qualify for prizes. And remember, you must give now through November 14.
Most of Central Seminary’s students could never afford to pay full price for their education. Thanks to you, they don’t have to. Central Seminary’s band of partners helps to bring God’s provision to meet their needs. Thanks to you, we can continue to instruct students and to equip pastors, missionaries, chaplains, and teachers. Together, the sun never sets on their ministries.
Men of God, Go Take Your Stations
Thomas Kelly (1769–1855)
Men of God, go take your stations;
Darkness reigns throughout the earth:
Go proclaim among the nations
Joyful news of heavenly birth;
Bear the tidings
Of the Saviour’s matchless worth.
Go to men in darkness sleeping,
Tell that Christ is strong to save;
Go to men in bondage weeping;
Publish freedom to the slave:
Tell the dying,
Christ has triumphed o’er the grave.
What though earth and hell united
Should oppose the Saviour’s reign;
Plead his cause to souls benighted;
Fear ye not the face of men:
Vain their tumult,
Earth and hell will rage in vain.
When exposed to fears and dangers,
Jesus will his own defend;
Borne afar ’midst foes and strangers,
Jesus will appear your friend,
And his presence
Shall be with you to the end.
About Michael Riley
Student of theology, apologetics, and Christian affections. Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Wakefield, Michigan.
