Merry Christmas from the Whites

Samuel turned fourteen and had a great cross-country season, earning three personal records in consecutive races, including a second-place finish. He played Elliot in the spring play, Bringing Down the House, and harvested his first deer this year. His love for music continues to grow. He takes lessons in drums, piano, and guitar, though electric guitar has now taken the lead as his favorite. He enjoys playing in worship groups, spending time with his college friends, and — of course — playing video games.

Rachel continues to excel academically, making the Dean’s List both semesters last year and being inducted into Lambda Pi Eta, the honors society for communication majors. She is majoring in communication with minors in Bible and biblical counseling. Her heart for ministry shines — she joined a Global Outreach (GO) trip to Utah during spring break, served as an intern at Harvest Fremont Church this summer, and now leads the Cedarville chapter of Students for Life. She participated in both the Ohio and National Marches for Life and plans to graduate a year early in May 2026. Rachel and Joshua Hartford became engaged earlier this semester and will be married on December 15. I’ll have the joy of officiating their ceremony. We love Joshua and look forward to seeing all that God will do through their lives together. He is majoring in pre-law with minors in Bible, political science, and public policy. He brings both intellect and humor to every gathering — he’s quick-witted, loves board games, and is simply a joy to be around.

Joy continues to homeschool Samuel and to teach in the women’s ministry minor at Cedarville. Her new passion is flowers. This summer, she launched The Joyfully Made Company, hosting flower parties and creating beautiful arrangements at very reasonable prices. She also gives away floral arrangements as part of her ministry to others. Joy excels in hospitality, delights in caring for our dogs — Duchess (a German Shepherd) and Jacket (a yellow lab mix) — and planned our unforgettable family vacation to Hawaii this summer, where we visited the Big Island, Oahu, and Maui. The volcano Mount Kilauea erupted, and we were able to see fresh lava. That’s right, while most sane people flee from an erupting volcano, our family drove towards it.

• We witnessed lives transformed during our Fall Bible Conference, with many students professing faith or rededicating their lives to Christ.
• Our first undergraduate online programs launched with 62 students.
• We welcomed our largest freshman class ever — 1,199 new students.
• Our Graduate School grew to 700 students, an 18% increase from last year.
• Total enrollment reached a record 7,265 students.
• We continue to expand partnerships with Christian high schools.
• New student apartments are under construction just across the road from campus.
• The Bolthouse Academic Center is well underway and scheduled for completion in May 2027.
• This fall, we celebrated the completion of One Thousand Days Transformed: The Campaign for Cedarville with $205,855,509 committed. God provided through 26,149 donors who gave 85,915 gifts, including $18 million in new scholarship endowments and $16 million in planned gifts. To God be the glory for the great things He has done!