by Dr. Mark Leeds
Every passage of Scripture is marvelous, but there are some passages we marvel at most of all. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 is one such passage for me, especially the end of that text, where God tells us that it is His inspired Word that equips us for every good work.
What amazes me about that text is how many different types of good works the Bible is sufficient to equip us for. Do we want to share the Gospel with a lost family member? His Word equips us for that. Prepare to become a pastor? Serve our families? Rejoice with those who rejoice? Weep with those who weep? Endure persecution? Give up our very lives for the Gospel? His Word equips us for all of that and so much more.
One of my joys in serving at Cedarville is seeing God’s Word prepare our students for so many good works that they cannot all be named. We take that assignment as a high calling in the School of Biblical and Theological Studies. Attend any lecture on the doctrine of special revelation, and 2 Timothy 3:16–17 will be at the heart of the presentation.
It is impossible to write about all the good works Cedarville students are prepared for and are now carrying out across the world. But I reached out to a handful of current students, faculty, and alumni to learn how time at Cedarville equips students for every good work. Here are just a few of the stories they told.
Know, Grow, and Go
When the pastoral staff of Grace Baptist Church in Troy, Ohio, led the church through the development of a new logo, they knew from the start it had to prominently feature the Bible. That’s how Grace Baptist does everything.
Drop in on a Sunday morning for worship, and you’ll find the songs are Word-centric. Listen in to the sermon or attend Sunday School week after week, and you’ll hear whole books of the Bible covered from start to finish. So in the end, they decided on a logo that shows a flourishing tree rooted in the Bible with the words, “know. grow. go.”
“It’s the Word of God that transforms lives, not our human strength,” say pastors Chuck Pausley (MMin ’24), Jeff Kliewer (MMin ’22), and Luke Brittan (BA and MDiv ’21).
Although their educational journeys differed, each one was equipped at Cedarville for ministry through the Bible. For Brittan, the text-driven curriculum had the greatest impact. For Kliewer, it was learning about the sufficiency of Scripture for counseling, and for Pausley, seeing how God empowers the leaders of His church made the biggest difference.
All three find strength for the challenges of ministry in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”
The Word Does the Work
Right across the street from Liberty Park in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, is a place where many have found true liberty: Gospel Grace Church. Believers and unbelievers alike are drawn to the church as a beacon of light in a dark place.
“Christians deeply feel the need for fellow believers in underreached areas,” says Chris Hile (BA and BS ’21, MDiv ’24). “The initial excitement of being a part of a church plant can soon wear off, and we desperately need each other so we don’t grow weary in doing good.”
When believers turn to Hile for hope in ministry, he turns to Scripture. “There can be a lot of pressure to perform when you’re surrounded by so many lost people, but God has taken the pressure off of us because the Word does the work.”
Hile identifies this focus on the Word as a hallmark of Cedarville’s MDiv program. He fondly remembers his time in class with Dr. Michael Shepherd, Professor of Biblical Studies, who taught him to cherish the Bible, properly interpret it, and teach it faithfully to others.
When Hile thinks of his role as a minister of the Gospel, he often reflects on 2 Corinthians 3:6, where the Scripture tells us that it is God alone who makes us “sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant.”
A Hike Up Ensign Peak
Taking a hike up Ensign Peak might not be the first thing you’d think to do on a missions trip to Salt Lake City. But if you ever go on a summer youth trip with Josh Taylor (BA ’17 and MDiv ’24), that’s exactly what you’ll do.
“I want the students to catch a sense of the need for the Gospel in Utah,” says Taylor. “From the very top, you can see Temple Square, downtown Salt Lake City, and a population of several hundred thousand people who need the Lord.” For many of the students who hail from Cedarville, Ohio, this trip is their first time encountering a multitude who’ve never heard the Gospel.
That overlook reminds Taylor of the scope of Jonah’s missionary work. “The population of Nineveh was approximately the same size as the population of this valley in Utah. Just as God had a heart for the people of Nineveh, I want our students to see that God has a heart for Salt Lake City too.”
Taylor’s time in Cedarville’s Master of Divinity program cultivated his passion for missionary endeavors. Multiple classes with Drs. Matt Bennett and Josh Bowman, both professors of missions and theology, helped Taylor to trace God’s mission for the nations throughout Scripture. He reminds his own students that when they share the Gospel, they are a part of God’s greater plan revealed in His promise to Abraham: that all nations would be blessed through him — a promise fulfilled in the Great Commission.
What Do You Want Me To Do?
Cedarville students often talk about putting their “yes” on the table before the Lord. But if that willingness to be obedient is to come to fruition, it has to meet intentional conversations about specific opportunities. That’s where the Synergy Initiative and its coordinator, Will Galkin (BA ’25 and current MDiv student), come in.
“Students participating in The Synergy Initiative meet every other week in small groups all across campus to ask one simple question of the Lord: ‘What do You want me to do about the lost in cities like Boston and Salt Lake City, where only 2% of the population is saved?’” But Galkin doesn’t just pose that question; he leads students to learn the hard facts about what it takes to serve in a church plant.
Students consider a future in church plants through virtual meetings with church planting pastors and recent Cedarville graduates now serving in church plants. Through those conversations, many Synergy Initiative participants choose to go on missions trips to largely unreached cities with the hope of relocating there after graduation.
Galkin’s passion for church planting began with his own family’s church planting efforts, but it only intensified during his time at Cedarville. Collaborating with Dr. Steve Dye and Dr. Jeremy Kimble has instilled in Galkin a desire to walk in the footsteps of Paul, who says in Ephesians 3:7, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace.”
Overwhelmed by the Greatness of Our God
Somewhere on the other side of the globe, a mother leads her young daughter to the local temple for the first time. There, the girl learns just how to hold her hands and just what words to say as she worships the idol before her. This scene has played out across the millennia all over the world, but Cedarville students on missions trips to South Asia see it for the first time when traveling with Dr. Josh Bowman, Associate Professor of Missions and Theology.
“I want my students to be overwhelmed by the lostness in the world,” says Bowman. “But I also want them to be overwhelmed by the greatness of our God, the power of His Gospel to save, and the way He equips us for ministry through Scripture.”
Students don’t just encounter the lost on these trips but also faithful and persecuted local believers who are willing to sacrifice everything for the Gospel. Bowman reminds his students of Jesus’ heart for the nations by turning to John 17:21, where Jesus prays for the unity of believers “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Correctly Handling the Word of Truth
By the time students reach the fifth week of their missions trips to the Middle East, the harsh reality of life in the field sets in. And that’s exactly what Dr. Matt Bennett, Associate Professor of Missions and Theology, is hoping for.
“I want them to get past the ‘I could eat this food for the rest of my life’ phase and into a little microcosm of the challenges faced by missionaries,” says Bennett. He highlights things like the difficulty of learning a new language, starting Gospel conversations in hostile environments, and correctly handling the Word of truth in cross-cultural settings.
Bennett’s heart is for students to see both the magnitude of the missionary task and what it takes to prepare well for a lifetime of service. “I want them to realize that if you’re going to be sent by a local church and receive the donations from lots of people who want the Gospel to be proclaimed, you have to be equipped for that good work.”
The Word Is for Us
Cedarville is well known for its vision statement: “For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.” And just as Cedarville is for the Word, we also recognize that the Word is for us to equip us for every good work.
Whether those works are found in the local church by pastors and lay leaders, in church plants all around the country, or even across the international mission field, the works may be many, but the equipping is singular: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, emphasis added).
