It's about the Students!

What do a church planter with a ministry of bridge building and reconciliation, a lifetime church planter and re-builder, a Stephen minister, a classical school founder and teacher, and a couple who run three training centers for home school parents have in common? Answer: Oxford Graduate School.

I spent a delightful evening last Thursday with a few OGS graduates. 
If you ask Leon Messerlian a question about Armenian history, be prepared for a thorough answer!  He is proud of his Armenian descent and of his Orthodox faith.  Leon found the inspiration to start a classical academy in Gainesville, GA while studying at OGS, and currently serves on our Board of Regents.

He met his friend and traveling companion, Bob Page, while studying at Oxford.  However, they only discovered they were neighbors at their graduation.  Since then, Bob and Lee have become fast friends. 

Bob found the inspiration to start a Stephen ministry in his local church through his studies at OGS.  Stephen ministers embody the following core values:

• Incarnational theology
• Ministry as the privilege and responsibility of all God's people
• Empowering those we serve to get excellent results
• Personal humility
• Organizational stability
• Positive work environment

Bob also serves as the head of the Alumni Association.  Since he took the pictures, Bob isn't in any but the group picture (see "Personal Humility" above).  Both Bob and Lee earned their doctorates at OGS.

Dr. David Anderson is the founding pastor of Bridgeway Community Church.  Located in Columbia, Maryland, Bridgeway is a non-denominational, multicultural church led by founding pastor and author on race relations, Dr. David Anderson. With over 2,500 people attending each week, Bridgeway uses the creative arts and practical Christian teaching to reach people, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey.

In addition to pastoring the church, Dr. Anderson  hosts a radio talk show on WABA, 105.1 FM, in Washington, D.C.  He has also published five books, one each by Zondervan and Baker, and three by InterVarsity Press.  His most recent book embodies the theme of his ministry of reconciliation: I Forgrace You: Doing Good to Those Who Have Hurt You.  In it, "David Anderson shows us how we can extend extraordinary goodness to bless those who have hurt us. He presents the radical concept of "forgraceness": grace beyond forgiveness. God empowers us not only to pardon real-life hurts, but to seek the good of others. When this happens, our relationships can experience amazing transformation and redemptive healing. But we can't do it on our own. We need God's strength to take us to the next level. With God's help, we can offer true grace beyond forgiveness."

Hoyt Johnson is a lifelong church planter and rebuilder, and the first signer of the "the Book." Graduating in 1984, Dr. Johnson is Oxford's first graduate.  He attended OGS because he wanted training in doing primary research, and received the added benefit of his first interdenominational study experience.

Throughout his career, Dr. Johnson started three churches in Florida.  Then, when he hoped to retire, he received a call to rebuild a church in East Point, Georgia.  Blessed with a multicultural ministry, Dr. Johnson  tells his friends and the faculty at Atlanta Christian College just down the road they don't have to get on a plane to have a crosscultural experience.  They can just drive a mile down the road to his church!

The most recent graduate present, Sherry Camp received her Master's degree at Oxford in 2010.  She and her husband, Dan, run three Veritas Classical Schools in the Metro Atlanta area.  "Veritas Classical Schools offers home schooling families a unique complement to their home study programs with an emphasis on a classical Christian model of education. Veritas Classical Schools function in the role of tutor, assisting parents in their educational roles. Each student attends Veritas one day per week during the school year according to the child's age group."



I was excited to see how these world changers were using their gifts and callings to make a difference in their part of the world: Three educators, one compassionate minister, and two multicultural pastors and church planters.  At the end of the day, it's about the difference our students can make.