POTW – Page 3 – Alumni Blog

January 22, 2018

Pastor of the Week: Steve Colter

By: Dezaray Barr

—

The 100th Anniversary of Chapel Pike Wesleyan Church, June 16, 2017.

Steven Colter is the Pastor of Chapel Pike Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry and in 1993 with his master’s in Christian Ministry.

Colter said that IWU had a profound influence on his life and thinking. “As an older commuter student, I didn’t have a lot of interaction with the campus lifestyle and didn’t have the opportunity to build many close relationships except with classmates,” Colter shared. “Dr. David Smith was a favorite professor. He would never tell us what to believe about Theology, except he would present all of the options and then say, ‘Pay your money, take your choice!'”

Colter did not choose to become a pastor. “I grew up in church and saw that most pastors were not treated very well by the parishioners,” he explained. “Poverty seemed to be the means of keeping them humble, at least in the minds of the church leaders. I was involved in every aspect of church life as a layman: Sunday School teacher, youth leader, trustee, bus driver, board member, visitation committee or whatever there was that needed to be done. I just never felt a call to ministry.”

In 1982, Colter picked up the teens of his congregation from a retreat they were on at the Island Wide Youth Collaborative (IWYC) in Champaigne Urbana, Illinois. “At the last rally, Dr. John Maxwell gave an invitation to all who were open to ministry to come forward. I was only there to pick up our teens, but I prayed a very simple prayer and told God that I was available. Nine months later, after the birth of our third child, my wife and I attended a couples retreat. Dr. Paul Mills was the speaker, and though I don’t remember now what he was talking about, he said, ‘God doesn’t want your abilities, He want’s your availability!’ At that moment God spoke to my heart and asked, ‘Steve, are you still available?’ It was as though I was taken back to that arena where I had prayed many months before telling God I was available! That moment is still as clear to me as on the day it happened. No, I didn’t choose ministry, but God chose me!” Colter said.

Colter began as the Pastor at Chapel Pike in 1992. “I had been a youth pastor for just three years and had no experience as a pastor,” Colter said. “I guess they were desperate, and they invited me to come anyway. It has been a long journey of seeing several different congregations come and go. Most of those who were here originally have passed on to glory or have moved elsewhere. However, one of the joys of staying in one place for a long period of time is the privilege of watching the children grow up, marry and begin bringing their own children to church. I have been able to dedicate several of our children to Christ, officiate at their weddings and watch them use their talents to serve the Lord.”

Colter married his high school sweetheart, Cheri Hiatt. They have been married for almost 43 years and have been blessed with four children, three of whom graduated from IWU. They have nine grandchildren, ranging from 19-years-old to just five-months-old.

—

Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

January 10, 2018

Pastor of the Week: Mike Colaw

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Mike Colaw is the lead pastor at Trinity Church in the Indianapolis area. He graduated with a degree in Exercise Science Specialist from The Cooper Institute in 2001. He received his degree in Philosophy of Religion from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 2002, and in 2014 he attended Wesley Seminary where he earned his degree in Ministerial Leadership.

Although Colaw is not currently working on a specific degree, he continues to learn. “I am constantly taking classes online for the fun of it,” he said. He is currently in a class studying social ethics.

Colaw believes that many people, including professors, think that the primary purpose of school is to teach you how to execute a complicated task like running a business, or in his case preaching a sermon or running a church. “Though this is a part of it, I believe the primary purpose of education is to teach one to assume the posture of a passionate learner for life,” Colaw said. “If this alone is achieved, I believe it will set you up for success more than anything else. I see education as not an end, but a beginning. As it pertains to learning, I see graduation not as the end of a journey but the release of an arrow from a bow. With this presupposition in mind, my favorite professors were not necessarily the ones who perfectly answered my questions or gave me specific tactics, but rather the professors who made my world bigger.”

Through experience, Colaw does not believe that the purpose of life on this planet is pleasure. “My commitment to [ministry] has more to do with obedience than a feeling of it being ‘right.’ [Our purpose] is to be a conduit of God’s grace and a bringer of His Kingdom in the means and manner of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The times I have been able to enjoy ministry most are when lives are changed and Jesus is made famous. Joy is felt deeply when the faith of a dying man brings fear to its knees and the family sees the power of Christian hope. Joy is felt deeply when I get to help an abandoned single mother restart life and see the family of believers support her and her child. Joy is felt deeply when someone in our church gets a substantial raise and chooses to NOT upgrade his lifestyle, but instead give generously to the expansion of the Gospel and to help those in need. My greatest joys and affirmation of my call aren’t found in tasks that I do well, but in watching the Gospel do immeasurably good work through others.”

Trinity Church has three campuses: one in Northeast Indianapolis, one in Fishers, Indiana and another multi-ethnic location in Garfield Park. “I am not sure we are unique. Moreover, I think that’s a good thing. We know we’re only stewards. All material things we own will one day be passed on to another. So our objective is always to multiply believers and congregations. We are not obsessed with gathering in as much as we are sending out. The mark of success for us is as much about scattering as it is gathering,” Colaw shared about Trinity.

Colaw wishes to remind IWU students that, “The truer purpose of a liberal arts education isn’t tactics alone but character formation. Or as Plato and Jesus call it, dikaiosune (Greek). Aristotle called it areté. Homer even purposefully spent time defining the nobility of his heroes in the Iliad and Odyssey. Dallas Willard defines it like this, ‘What that is about a person that makes them right or good.’ This is the primary reason why you are in school. To become the type of person living in a constant state of becoming and living as a Judeo-Christian servant hero.”

“Lift your eyes off of yourselves and see all those in need. Absolutely, God wants to take you to hard places, because hard places are where Christ is needed,” Colaw shared.

Mike and his wife, Leslie, conducted young adult ministry for a number of years. They now have four children, Noah, Nate, Emma and Cara. Mike likes to think out loud at www.luke117.com, and they would love to connect with you on social media.

Mike and Leslie even created a video to give advice to IWU students! Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/mike.colaw/posts/10156331821682345!

—

January 5, 2018

Pastor of the Week: David Grieve

By: Dezaray Barr

—

David M. Grieve is the Senior Pastor at New Life Community Church in Marion, Indiana. He began college at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington in 1994. “My graduation story is not the usual college story,” Grieve shared. “The journey was long, but I finally was able to complete my degree and graduate from Northwest University in 2005 with a B.A. in Biblical Literature.”

After a rough spring semester in 1996, Grieve married his wife, Shami, and joined a one-year internship program, Master’s Commission. Along with his new bride, Grieve moved into his in-laws and began taking correspondence courses from another university. “It was during that one-year internship where God spoke something into my life that forever changed me,” he said. “What I didn’t understand at the time, but have come to understand, is how God was calling something, rather someone, out of me. He was drawing out the noble, kingly man of me and telling me I could be more than I was being and do more than I was doing.”

Grieve lays this concept and lesson out in his book that he published in October, Son of David: Drawing the king out in every man.

When Grieve was 18, he was planning to play college football. He was a summer camp counselor, “and on a Wednesday night, as these Junior Highers were worshiping God, I heard these words, ‘You’re going to work with kids the rest of your life,'” Grieve shared. That was when he felt called to be a pastor.

New Life Church is unique in it’s cultural DNA. “Our cultural DNA is loving God, others and yourself with great value,” Grieve shared. “Now while this sounds a lot like what other churches say, we focus first on learning to love ourselves with great value first, because it all starts there. Yes we are to love others better than ourselves, but you will never love others with great value if you are not loving yourself with great value. So when you love yourself with great value, you can love others with great value and as we see in Matthew 25, when we love others with great value we are actually loving God with great value.”

—

Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU, Dezaray runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

December 28, 2017December 28, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Tim Becker

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Tim and his wife Jennifer. Photo obtained from Facebook

Tim Becker is the Pastor of Main Street Wesleyan Church located in Elwood, Indiana. Becker graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1994 as a double major in Christian Ministries and Vocal Music.

“I had the privilege to sing in University Chorale for five years and The Master’s Praise Quartet for three and a half years while I was at IWU,” Becker shared. “Dr. Todd Guy was a huge influence on my life. He taught me how to strive for excellence and to be disciplined, dedicated and determined.”

Becker was challenged, yet enjoyed the classes he took with Dr. Smith, Pastor Tom Kinnan and Dr. Bence.

Becker has several opportunities early in his ministry as a youth pastor to lead teenagers to the Lord. Some of these teens were not raised in the church or had never even attended church. “God used my love for basketball to build relationship with these kids and be a positive influence in their lives,” he explained. “While I was a youth pastor in Virginia, one of my teens was involved in a bad motorcycle accident with his father. His father passed away and the young man ended up losing his foot from the accident. I spent a lot of time disciplining this young man and built a strong relationship with him. He is now a youth pastor in the Wesleyan Church. I guess when God uses me to positively impact or influence others for His glory, that shows me that I am on the right path as a pastor.”

After Becker graduated from IWU, he was ready to jump right into ministry. “God had other plans,” Becker said. “All of the churches that I talked with about pastoral staff positions fell through or were not right. I ended up working construction for three months. God’s timing was not matching up with my timing. In July of 1994, a pastor from Roanoke called. He was looking to hire a youth and music pastor. My wife, Jennifer, and I met with the pastor for dinner in Marion. We went to Roanoke and spent the weekend meeting people, preaching and singing. On the way home, Jennifer and I both knew that we were supposed to move to Virginia. God knew what was best. He always knows what is best.”

Main Street Wesleyan Church (MSWC) is growing in numbers and is growing spiritually closer to both the Lord and each other in the body of Christ. This is the first church where Becker has served as the senior pastor. He served at Main Street Wesleyan Church during his fifth year of college at IWU as the part-time youth and music pastor. At the time, his father was the pastor. “I followed my father, Rev. Ron Becker, as the pastor of MSWC. He moved out of the parsonage that I had Christmas in every year for 23 years. Two weeks later, I moved into the same parsonage that my parents had just moved out of. But it is a privilege and a blessing to be able to follow in my father’s legacy as pastor at MSWC.”

Becker and his family. Photo obtained from Facebook

1 Timothy 4:12 has been Becker’s life verse of mine since he was in high school. It reads, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Becker shared, “I truly do want to live my life in a way that I am setting an example for people in how to live a God-pleasing life. Worship for me is a lifestyle that I want to live out each day.”

Becker hopes to remind students at IWU that it is a good thing we have dreams, goals and aspirations. “But allow God to be the One who is in complete control,” Becker said. “Allow Him to move, guide and direct you through life in His way and His timing. He knows what is best for you and has plans to give you hope and a future.”

—

December 17, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Reverend Jaci McNeil

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Reverend Jacqueline (Jaci) D. McNeil is the pastor of Faith Wesleyan Church in Rockford, Illinois. She was ordained in 2002 through IWU’s online adult program. “Being an older student, with small children, IWU offered me the chance to get ordained via the internet,” McNeil said. “It’s a fantastic way for people like me to further their education.”

“I had worked in youth ministry for 20 years and began to feel that I should pursue ordination, but having been raised in a denomination that is against female ordination, I couldn’t believe
that’s what God wanted for me,” McNeil shared. “I fought it for about two years. Finally one night, I prayed that if God wanted me to become ordained that He would make it crystal clear to me. That week, a
total of 5 men came up to me and said things like, ‘You’d made a great pastor,’ or ‘You should get ordained.’ After the 5th man spoke up, I quit fighting and began my journey.”

McNeil has been at Faith Wesleyan Church for 11 years. “The congregation was told by the District Superintendent that they had two choices: 1. Close the church or 2. Accept a pastor of the District’s choosing. At that point there were only seven people left in the church. Those seven people didn’t want to see the church closed, so they accepted the District’s condition,” McNeil said.

Today, the church has over 50 people. “Our church is a multi-generational church, the oldest member being 88 and the youngest member being 5. We believe all generations should worship together on Sunday morning,” McNeil said. “There’s no such thing as ‘Children’s Church’ here. We are so invested in everyone worshiping together that we even have an 11-year-old boy singing and a six-year-old boy playing the guitar with the band.”

Her advice for IWU students is, “Learn to do something PRACTICAL. Yes, we ministers need to
learn to preach and pray and visit the sick, but sometimes we need to step in and fill a void. Maybe learn to do plumbing or woodworking. When we first came to this church there were zero musicians. Zero. We started doing karaoke, but knew if we were going to grow the church, we were going to have to change that. My husband and I gave our 14-year-old son a guitar for Christmas and told him to learn how to play. I bought myself a bass guitar and learned how to play. Later, I learned how to play the acoustic guitar too. Today, 11 years later, we have a fully stocked band, complete with drummer. No more karaoke for us!”

“Pastor Jaci has remained a dear friend over the years. I first met her over 20 years ago, as she served to mentor and equip young people. I have admired her heart for ministry and her love for knowledge, and I believe she makes an excellent pastor today!” Rick Carder, IWU’s Director of Alumni and Church Engagement, said.

—

Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU, Dezaray runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

December 11, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Tim McClellan

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Tim McClellan is the Senior Pastor at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion, IN. Pastor Tim was honored as pastor of the week when the series first began, but no article was published about him. He graduated from Milligan College in 1973 with a degree in religion. He also attended Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

Although McClellan never attended Indiana Wesleyan University, Dr. Wilbur Williams is one of his favorite people. “I brought him to our church at Cedar Valley Community Church in Waterloo, IA many years ago to do some presentations for our congregation. In the years following, we went to the Holy Land a couple of times under his leadership. From that church, we also connected IWU with one of our members who later became the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at IWU for a number of years and who significantly impacted the World Changers program.”

McClellan’s father was a pastor as well. “I was always proud of his calling and thankful to be his son. He became a role model for me early on, and I wanted to be like him and do what he did just because I respected him so much,” McClellan shared. “As I entered my high school years and began thinking about my future as most young people do during those years, I thought much about how I would serve God. As I prayed and meditated, I was never ever able to find peace in my heart doing anything else than building up the local church as a pastor. I had peace about that decision back then and still do today after beginning to serve local churches since 1970.”

As the pastor of Lakeview, McClellan has spent a lot of time rebuilding the church financially, in their credibility and in the vision. “Thanks be to God we are well underway, but it has been a journey of patience and persistence. God is good and the people courageous,” McClellan said.

The church also hosts Lakeview Christian School, which is Kindergarten through 12th grade. It hosts a Pre-School Childcare ministry which ministers birth through Pre-School and Lakeview Counseling Center which ministers to nearly 1,000 clients each month. “These ministries, along with the church, proper provide tremendous spiritual influence to hundreds and thousands of people in Grant County throughout the year,” McClellan said.

McClellan claims Psalm 126:5-6 as his favorite passage. “It calls me over and over again to work at sharing my faith and encouraging others to do the same,” he said.

McClellan encourages IWU students to, “Pay little attention to the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ in your service to Christ. It’s the long view in loving and serving Jesus that you need to keep in view. Never give in to the enemy of your faith and always love and support the local church.”

McClellan is especially grateful for his wife and partner in ministry, Cynthia, who has been with him since 1970. They have four children. Their son, Peter, graduated from IWU and earned his M. Div. at Southern Baptist Seminary. He now lives in Louisville with his wife Karrie and daughter Charlotte. McClellan’s oldest daughter Christians, lives in Champlin, MN with her husband and three children where she serves as a nurse. Their youngest daughter, Liz, graduated from IWU earned her M. Div. at Asbury Seminary. She and her husband Michael, along with their daughter, are serving the Lord in Newberg, OR. Their oldest son, David, went to be with the Lord at age 14 in 2001 after fighting bone cancer for a little over a year.

—

Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU, Dezaray runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

December 5, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Eric Roemer

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Eric Roemer is the Lead Pastor of Greentown Wesleyan Church in Greentown, IN. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2006 with a degree in youth ministry, and he obtained his M. Div. from Wesley Seminary in 2013.

During his time at IWU, Roemer served in the local church and learned alongside his professors. “The things I learned in the classroom I used immediately. That process allowed me to learn how to self-educate faster and helped me create a network of resourcing,” Roemer said.

As an undergrad, Bud Bence was one of Roemer’s favorite professors. “Chris Bounds, Steve Lennox and David Smith were also very important in my early education and ministry preparation,” Roemer said. “Although I was never enrolled in any of Ivan Pongracic’s classes, I loved to sit in and listen to his lectures every chance I got. At the seminary, Lenny Luchetti, Collen Derr and John Drury had a huge impact on my formation and ministry.”

Roemer and his church are passionate about caring for the community they live in physically, spiritually and emotionally. They believe that as the church, that is their responsibility.

“Greentown Wesleyan is doing everything it can to give the people in our community the best opportunity to meet, follow and serve Jesus Christ. We believe that it’s God’s plan that all people would be His people and He would be their God,” Roemer said. “Everything is about relationships. We have amazing compassionate outreach ministries: a food pantry that serves dozens of families a month in our zip code and a clothing ministry that provides quality clothing for our community. Annually, we help make Christmas a reality for 30-50 families on our community. Monthly, we load a trailer and do a pop-up dinner somewhere in town to show people that they are important and to build stronger relationships with our neighbors.”

2 Timothy 2:2 has been Roemer’s life verse. “This verse has guided me, because we are just one step in a much bigger story. Its important that we take our role seriously, because the generations that follow are counting on us,” he said.

If Roemer could tell all IWU students one thing, he’d say, “Its not about you. Its not about what you have to offer. Its about what you actually do.”

—

November 27, 2017November 27, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Tom Curry

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Tom Curry is the Pastor of Living Faith Lutheran Church in Wabash, IN. He is also employed by a mission mobilization organization serving mainly evangelical Lutheran churches, Awakening Lives to World Missions, where he is the Mid-West Regional Representative.

Curry graduated from Taylor University with an undergraduate degree. He attended Huntington University for his graduate studies and received his M.A. in International Development from William Carey International University.

“I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from India Bible Institute in New Delhi, India, on March 1, 1995, for my work among India’s poor children,” Curry said. “I am the Founder of an Indian Trust – Center for Orphan Development and Education and assisted in the founding of its sister American organization, Friends of Hope, which presently supports children of five different residential homes in India.”

Curry and his wife, Rhonda, lost their first child in 1978. “I began to see the reality of hope that is relevant to life,” Curr said. “As painful as it was, God used that event to move me in the direction of people and coming along side of people without hope. This proved to be instrumental in my calling as a pastor. ”

Curry and his wife just celebrated 43 years of marriage. They have three children – Joni Annette (deceased), Jim and Jenny, as well as six grandchildren. They were licensed foster parents for 15 years and have adopted two children.

Curry said that in his time in pastoral ministry and as a missionary in India, spiritual warfare has been the biggest challenge. “It was only in recent years that I have come to realize the far-reaching effects of evil and present-day demonic activity. I believe the church is the primary target of our enemy the devil. Demonic activity is behind every church conflict. This is more blatant in developing nations,” he said.

Living Faith Lutheran Church is a new church start in Wabash. The church has two main themes – word and sacrament. “Communion is a big part of every service with an emphasis upon the real presence (not literal) of Christ in and through the communion elements,” Curry shared. “Corporate confession of sin along with pastoral absolution is part of our Eucharist.We value and are not ashamed of our connection with historical Christianity and see the ancient creeds as an important part of that connection.”

If Curry could encourage IWU students of one thing, he would tell them, “As you deepen your knowledge of God through His written Word, may you also deepen your knowledge and appreciation of how the Holy Spirit has worked throughout history. Appreciate the saints gone before you and seek to stand on their shoulders working with them, not doing your ‘own’ thing in isolation.”

—

November 21, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Bill Richardson

By: Dezaray Barr

—

Bill Richardson is the senior Pastor of Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church in Goshen, Indiana. He graduated from Asbury University in 1974 with a Bible Major, and he received his M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1977.

“Being at the Asbury institutions were incredibly formative to my life and to the future of my ministry,” Richardson said. “I enrolled just after the Asbury Revival broke out in Hughes Auditorium (Feb. 3, 1970) that spread all over the world. Many of the professors at both schools highly impacted my life, not just in the classroom, but in seeing them model the life of Christ in their own lives.”

Richardson first felt called to preach when he was 16 years-old at Epworth Camp in South Carolina. “I think anyone who knew me then would have never pictured me preaching, as I was pretty shy. I’m still an introvert. My wife likes to tell the story of the first time she heard me preach in her home church in Cincinnati before we were married. She said she sat there and wondered as I got up to preach, ‘What if he isn’t any good?’ After the sermon, she was able to affirm God’s calling on my life,” Richardson shared.

Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church has been a part of the Goshen community since 1878. It was named after one of the founders of the Missionary Church—Daniel Brenneman. “We currently run an average of 500 in attendance. We are currently ‘raising the bar’ when it comes to discipleship. As our culture continues to decline, God is calling us to become influencers in our culture by becoming fully devoted followers of Christ,” Richardson shared.

If Richardson could share with IWU, he’d say, “Be sure of your calling. There will be many times in ministry when it will seem easy to just walk away. After 41 years, I’m glad I never took the easy way, and it was the conviction of God’s call on my life that held me steady in the rough times.”

—

November 16, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Larry & Dale Salway

By: Kendra Housel

—

Larry & Dale Salway with their son, Eric. Photo obtained from Facebook

Reverend Larry Salway and Reverend Dale Salway are husband-wife co-pastors at He Sapa New Life, where Larry serves as Teaching Pastor and Dale as the congregation’s Executive Pastor. This church is the main campus for the He Sapa New Life Native Ministries network and is located in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The other church sites that are a result of the He Sapa church planting initiative are located in Pierre, South Dakota and on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservations. Apart of the ministerial network is a series of native home churches across 11 states; this ministry is sustained by a DVD ministry that allows native people from over 50 zip codes to connect to each other and to the Lord.

Larry was raised in central South Dakota as a member of the Lakota tribe, and Dale likewise celebrates her Mohawk roots. She was raised in the northern part of New York. They have been committed to Native American ministry for the entirety of their lives. Though they spent many years functioning as bi-vocational, they are currently both in full-time ministry. Together they have worked to plant churches in South Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico.

Eleven years ago, the Salways returned to South Dakota to focus on Wesleyan native ministry. The Salways call He Sapa New Life a “church without walls.” Their church body consists of those who attend weekly service and those whom they interact with through weekly outreach programs. These events include Kids Club, Sports Camps, Community Carnival, School Supplies Distribution and Christmas Celebration.

Larry attended Brainerd Indian School and the University of South Dakota, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He then went on to Arizona State University and got his masters in Social Work. He also has license to practice Clinical Social Work and Independent Addictions Counseling. Dale earned her Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Hobe Sound Bible College and has an AA in Nursing from State University of New York in Syracuse.

Dale is currently finishing up her Masters of Arts in Ministry Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Wesley Seminary. She plans to graduate May of 2018. The Salways feel that Dale’s time at Wesley Seminary has helped to expand their perspective and “clarify [their] vision to reach multi-ethnic, marginalized and disenfranchised people groups in [their] area.”

Dr. Eby and Dr. Whitesel have been particularly influential as they have grown in their understanding of the effectiveness of Native ministry, while also learning about ways to reach other ethnic cultures who are starting to move into the area. They have said that they have “greatly enjoyed and benefited from each course and professor at Wesley Seminary.” They appreciate the evident and genuine care that each professor has for the students and ministries they are affecting; the material of each class has been applicable and broadening.

As He Sapa New Life has expanded and become a multi-ethnic church, the Salways sent their son Eric to IWU where he is a current freshman Christian Ministries major. They are excited for all he is gleaning from his time at school, but he is greatly missed in South Dakota as he is an integral member of the leadership in youth ministry, technology, DVD ministry and volunteer coordination. They said that “it has been our greatest challenge to release him to prepare academically for the ministry, and [we] anxiously wait for his return.”

The Salways claim Matthew 28:18 as their life verse: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . I am with you always to the end of the age” (ESV). In this specific season of life, they have found themselves clinging to verses three and nine from the first chapter of Joshua: “Every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given you, just as I have promised to Moses . . . Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. ” (ESV).

The advice they had to share with current IWU students is to “study hard, pray hard, walk close to God and enjoy the IWU experience for there is no better educational and spiritual formation opportunity than IWU!”

—

Written by Kendra Housel, a writer for the Alumni Center. Kendra is a sophomore Education and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. She is also a member of the University Chorale. She is passionate about serving Christ through writing, singing and caring for others.