香蕉直播

For the past three years, I鈥檝e been a part of Cedarville鈥檚 Advancement team, watching God demonstrate His faithfulness repeatedly throughout the One Thousand Days Transformed campaign 鈥� specifically through the work of His faithful servants.  

We believe that nothing is outside of God鈥檚 sovereign will. Sometimes, the truth of God鈥檚 sovereignty means that we must hold the tension of God鈥檚 providence and the mystery of this life with open hands. He does not always give us eyes to see how He is weaving the threads of our circumstances for His glory and our good.  

But sometimes, God does allow us to witness the beautiful ways He's working for His glory. Here are a few of those moments I鈥檝e been reflecting on.  

Moments of Grace 

Throughout this campaign, God has reminded us time and time again that He is faithful. Even before the campaign officially began, God was using faithful donors to help set Cedarville on solid financial ground so that a campaign like this could be possible. Some chose to give recurring gifts to Cedarville. Month after month, they made a conscious sacrifice, faithfully giving as the Lord led. God used this beautiful picture of trust to make a real impact in students鈥� lives and to prepare the ground on which this campaign would be built.  

Sometimes, God鈥檚 providence can be seen in the timing of events, even the ones we would not have planned. The public launch of the campaign was delayed by the pandemic, but the opening of Chick-fil-A, a campaign project, happened at the perfect time to help us navigate the challenges of feeding our quarantined students during that academic year. God watched over us, taking care of what we could never have known to prepare for.  

Other blessings came from hearing how God has worked through our students鈥� lives. On the evening of Giving Tuesday 2023, most of the Advancement team had gone home after a long day. Our gift processor was still in the office, making sure all the gifts from that day were recorded properly, when a student stopped by to deliver a $130,000 gift from her parents. Their daughter was learning, growing, and thriving here, and they wanted to be part of the life transformation they were seeing through her. Their meaningful gift in turn fueled other students鈥� life-changing 1000 Days here at Cedarville.  

But most of all, God has reminded us time and time again that He provides. During Homecoming 2024, Dr. White shared about his prayer that God would specifically provide funding for the last remaining building of the campaign, the new Academic Center. God answered that prayer in a way we didn鈥檛 expect. God had moved in the hearts of a donor couple to gift $15 million toward the project. These donors were already friends of Cedarville and have given generously for decades, faithfully stewarding what God has given them and continually seeking to glorify Him with their resources. We did not know that they were considering giving such a gift, but God knew. He leveraged their blessings and their desire to serve to encourage Cedarville and answer countless prayers. 

Faithful Gardeners 

In the hallway outside my office hang our team culture statements: reminders of the kind of team we hope to represent. One of those 10 statements reads, 鈥淲e Are Planters and Waterers.鈥�  

This goal reminds us daily that God is the one who brings the growth. He has placed us here to work and serve with excellence, knowing that growth is not our power nor our responsibility. I鈥檝e watched this team show up every day and roll up their sleeves, planting and watering, spending themselves toward God鈥檚 purposes. When He provides the fruit, we get excited, both proud of the work and grateful for the way only God could have used it. 

Since the beginning of the campaign, nearly 50 Advancement staff members have come and gone, following God鈥檚 call to serve in other places. Only nine members of our current team were serving in Advancement when the campaign first launched. Even I wasn鈥檛 originally supposed to be working here, but God brought me back to Cedarville and provided exactly what I needed, both professionally and personally. Every one of my teammates is daily evidence of God鈥檚 provision in my life.  

God brought each person on this team to Advancement at the right time to lay the foundation of these buildings where students now study, eat, and live. God used their faithfulness to conduct research, make phone calls, plan events, draft emails, and ask alumni and friends to join us in transforming lives for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.  

Our Gifts for His Glory 

This is also true for our entire community. God has brought hundreds of faculty and staff to Cedarville, whether for a brief time or for a lifetime. We teach lectures, manage budgets, wash dishes, coach athletes, maintain vehicles, disciple students, coordinate missions trips, and plant flowers. God uses the faithful work of an entire campus community to cultivate Cedarville into a transformative place that donors want to be a part of. None of this is an accident or coincidence.  

We see God鈥檚 providence in the amazing, sometimes unexpected things like million-dollar gifts, and we see His providence in the everyday faithfulness of people who simply want to honor Him with their work here at Cedarville. We respond in thanksgiving to the God who delights in using our giving of time or resources for His glory.  

So, if you take a walk around the lake 鈥� which you should do 鈥� I encourage you to notice all that has changed. See the buildings that weren鈥檛 here just a few short years ago. See the sidewalks leading to new areas of campus. See the students who were still in elementary or middle school when this campaign began.  

When you walk around campus, everything you see will remind you of the thousands of people whose generous hearts God used to support Cedarville and bring about His Kingdom, one heart at a time.