Our Church College
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Church College Task Force: Purpose and Objectives At the Tomlinson College / Lee University Reunion at the 91st Assembly in July, 2000 those of us who met there prayed and asked God to help us to lay down once and for all the hurts and disappointments we have carried since the closing of the college nearly ten years ago. At that meeting I feel that the Lord birthed in the hearts of many of us there a burning desire to see the Church of God of Prophecy once again assume it's rightful responsibility of training young men and women for the work of the ministry that God has called us to do. For nearly two years now much labor and prayer have been committed to this work by interested people from all over the world. In late 2000 Brother Fisher asked me to chair a Task Force to study the feasibility of this organization opening its own college for the purpose of, among other things, training our young people for the work of ministry we are called to do over the coming decades. Since that time a Task Force has been organized and set to work. The overall purpose of the Church College Task Force is:
Early this month, June, 2001, the Task force met in Cleveland. We created a College Survey that is presently being widely distributed to those who occupy all levels of leadership in the church including General Presbyters, State, Regional and National Overseers and Pastors. Further we have distributed a Survey sheet to all those young people attending Youth Camp throughout the United States and some nations abroad. Further, State, Regional and National Overseers have been provided College Surveys to be distributed to those attending Conventions this Convention Season. I have included a copy of the Survey below. Please take the time to copy the Survey and distribute to the people at your local church. Have them fill in the sheets and send them as soon as possible to Betty Fisher, P.O. Box 2910, Cleveland, TN 37320-2910. The more Surveys we have filled out, the more accurate our report will be when compiled. We want to know the feelings of the Church on this most important matter. If the College is to become a reality, it will do so only because members and pastors of local churches are dedicated and committed to its existence. Below the Survey sheet on this page I have included an open letter written almost two years ago about the needs we face presently. Please read it, and, if it represents your feelings as it does mine, feel free to copy and distribute it to your church. As Brother Fisher said in a recent letter to me, "Rare moments come to few people in a lifetime and what they do with those opportunities can make historical changes for an individual and an entire movement in generations to come." I believe this is one of those rare opportunities for you to help with something that will live on long after we are all gone. Please lend a hand, and please pray that God will continue to overshower us in this important responsibility. May God's richest blessings accompany all you do for him...Stan ______________________________________________________________________________________ Church College Survey (Prospective Student) Please take a minute and answer the following questions for us. Thank you in advance. Name ___________________________________ Age _____ Male / Female (Circle) Address _________________________________ State / Nation________________ Zip / Postal Code_____________ E-mail Address___________________________ Where do you attend church?____________________________________________ Do you plan to attend college? _____ When do you plan to attend? (Year) __________ What will be your major field of study?______________________________________ If we had an accredited Church College, would you be interested in attending? (Circle One.) Not Interested Somewhat Interested Very Interested I'd Be There
Church College Survey (Parent) Please take a minute and answer the following questions for us. Thank you in advance. Name ___________________________________ Age _____ Male / Female (Circle) Address _________________________________ State / Nation________________ Zip / Postal Code_____________ E-mail Address___________________________ Where do you attend church?____________________________________________ Do you have children planning to attend college? _____________________________ What will be their major?________________________________________________ Please give names, ages and m/f of children.________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ If we had an accredited Church College, would you be interested in attending? (Circle One.) If we had an accredited Church College, would you be interested in attending? (Circle One.) Not Interested Somewhat Interested Very Interested I'd Be There _____________________________________________________________________________________ An Open Letter to the Church of God of Prophecy To: All the Church E-mails I have. Ref.: Reopening of the Church College From: Stan Lambert, Pastor Church of God of Prophecy in Metz, WV I am a graduate of Tomlinson College (1969). My two years at TC were two of the most important years of my life. Today, thirty-one years later, I strongly believe my experience there was of invaluable worth to me as a person, and as a minister in the Church of God of Prophecy. I have studied and taught on eight different college campuses, but I have never experienced an atmosphere like that which characterized those two years at Tomlinson College. It has always been important to me that every young Christian, as I did, would have the opportunity to experience the delight of a post-secondary education in an atmosphere of SCHOLARSHIP WITH SPIRIT. All the years I was pastor while the college was open I invited the TC Chorale to come to our church and sing. As that group ministered, something happened in the hearts of the youth of our church. A desire was kindled in many of them to pursue education beyond high school, and to attend our college. My daughter wasn't even a teenager then, but I remember I would always say as I encouraged the people to give in the offering, "Erin is part of the graduating class of 1995." That was in the early 80's and everyone would laugh, but I was quite serious. All those dreams were crushed for her, for the youth of the church, and for us alumni when the doors of the college were abruptly closed. A few people made that decision for the entire church. I learned of that tragic event, not in correspondence from the Board or from Headquarters -- Erin received a letter from the college telling her that she would not be able to register in the fall because a decision had been made to close the school. We weren't even given the opportunity to ask God to supply whatever the need was at the time that prompted leadership to make that drastic and mournful decision. I was in shock! Maybe you were also shocked by that decision, and perhaps you have had the same trouble that I have had in resolving in your heart that the decision to close the school was best for the church and for the youth of the church. Brother Fred Fisher Sr. was insightful when he said to me last week, "Tomlinson College was closed at the time when the sons and daughters of the alumni, and the grandchildren of my generation were ready to enter college." It is of little benefit to question past decisions, but I do question now whether it is best for the school to remain closed. Two years ago I spoke at length with Brother Fisher on this subject; and, at that time he expressed strong desire to see the college open again. He told me that we need $2 million per year to run the school. That means that 2,000 sources are needed to provide $1,000 per year to operate the college. I came home and talked with the church about it and in conference we agreed that we need the college, and we purchased a Certificate of Deposit in the amount of $1,000 and designated that it would be given to the college when it reopens. We will do the same again this year and I am convinced that we will continue to do that and more, as long as there is hope in that area. If a small rural West Virginia church like Metz will do that, what might other churches do around the country, and around the world? Brother Fisher recently told me that a church in Michigan has already set aside $3,000 for that purpose. According to the 90th General Assembly Minutes and Policy Manual, there are 6,687 local churches in the Church of God of Prophecy around the world; 1,855 of those are in the United States. We only need 2,000 sources of $1,000 per year in order to provide full support for the school. There are many local churches that will be willing, I am sure, to do much more than $1,000 per year. Further, I have through the years spoken with individuals who have expressed to me their willingness to make significant donations regularly if the college were reopened. A friend of mine made this statement to me yesterday: "Stan, I believe there will be a ground-swell of interest about opening the college if we can just get the word out about that CD plan and other commitments from alumni. I am convinced the time is NOW!" A few years ago by making some wonderful changes in how the mission work is funded, general headquarters broke down the wall between local churches and the mission fields, and now our local churches are directly connected with the mission families they support. It is likely that the same concept will provide life again for the college, life and direction as well. It seems that any ministry that will be effective and lasting must be directly connected to and supported and influenced by the local church. Presently, I understand there are 100 Church of God of Prophecy young people attending Lee College. That is a fine school, but at Lee College our young people are being exposed to the youth ministries and the music ministries of the Church of God. Our young people are selecting husbands and wives from that organization, and they are leaving the Church of God of Prophecy. Some of the best young minds in our church are leaving to minister in other organizations that have trained them for service. How long can we withstand such a drain of some of the best human resources God has put in the Church of God of Prophecy? In many parts of this country, as well as around the world, the cry is for dedicated, qualified leadership. It seems there are more churches these days than there are pastors to fill the pulpits. The need has never been greater. With every passing year the number of trained able leaders seems to diminish while the challenge of reaching the world continues to expand toward overwhelming proportions. The threat exists that further procrastination will exact a toll so great that recovery may not be possible. Adequate ministerial training of the college age population of the Church of God of Prophecy is a challenge we dare not further neglect. Presently we still own the campus, but it is likely that in the near future headquarters will propose the sale of that property. We need the doors of our Church College open again. If the right man, with anointing, passion, and firm commitment would present the proposal to reopen the school in the proper arena, and that proposal was backed by broad based prayer, fasting, and significant financial support, many are convinced that the membership would catch the vision and provide the resources needed, both physical and spiritual; and, that God will respond to that obedience with abundant blessings. It might be that God has installed Brother Fred Fisher in a position to impact the thinking of the church for, among other things, just that purpose. And God has kept a desire burning like a fire in his heart to see in operation a school to equip for ministry the young men and women of the Church of God of Prophecy. So what do we do? First, let me ask you to send an informal response to this E-mail as soon as possible. I want to know if you feel as I do, that we need a college to train our young men and women for ministry in the Church of God of Prophecy. Secondly, are you willing to help with the needed finance? If you are a pastor, after a time of prayer for guidance from God, sincerely consider your own personal financial obligation to this endeavor. Then approach your church about setting aside at least $1,000 designated to be sent to the college when it reopens. Many churches are in position to give much more than $1,000. Please do all that you can. If you are not a pastor, share this letter with your pastor and offer your assistance in building support in your local church and present to your local church conference the proposal to set aside a significant amount of money for the school when it reopens. I am responsible for the TC / Lee Reunion at the Assembly to be held on Friday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Brother Fisher will be speaking to us then. It would be wonderful if, at that time, we could tell him that we have $2 million in church accounts all over the world set aside to reopen the school. If you are not an alumni, but you want to see the college open again, please consider this letter an invitation to join us at the reunion. If you have read this far, I am thankful. I would be grateful if you would send me your thoughts on this subject today. I will forward a compilation of the responses I get to Brother Fisher as they come in. Your response doesn't have to be long, just let me know how you feel about our need for a school. If you are willing to work on raising funds please let me know that too. Please forward this letter to anyone you know who might be interested in this subject, or direct them to this web site, and please respond to this with your thoughts on the subject. I look forward to hearing from you real soon. In His service…. Stan Lambert To see a summary of the responses received so far go to: Response Update To send your thoughts and comments regarding the letter, click the hyperlink below: Rt. 4, Box 218
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