Between October 24th and 28th, Northeastern Baptist College held our first Homecoming Week, honoring our Alumni. The event was highlighted by chapel messages from President Ballard and our two graduates so far, Joe Ferguson and Tim Groos.

Joe started the trifecta off on Tuesday, preaching from Jeremiah on how to exchange confidence in ourselves with confidence in the Lord [listen here]; President Ballard followed on Wednesday, using the story of Elisha to ask whether we want to make a difference [listen here]; and Tim rounded out the week’s chapels on Thursday, preaching from Romans 3 on persevering through tribulation [listen here].

The other events for the week were capped off by an Alumni Lunch on Thursday afternoon, where Joe, Tim, and President Ballard shared a meal and shared memories of the semesters spent together.

Besides the events at school, we celebrated the week with fun and games on our website and Facebook page. Each day featured trivia questions about NEBC, retro pictures of semesters gone by, and a myriad of Facebook posts and tweets by people involved in the school on every level. Both the community and our own staff and students got involved, helping spread the word about the school one “share” or “like” at a time.

Our Homecoming plans for next year are even greater, including inviting the whole family of NEBC supporters both past and present to attend, as well as holding nighttime services where we invite in the Bennington community to show them our love and the message of Christ. As more and more of our students graduate, our plans—and our presence in the Northeast—will only continue to grow as God moves through us.

All of the above is a culmination of the efforts of our staff, faculty, and students, beginning with President Ballard’s call in his teenage years to start a college. His early call was answered in October 2009, after his heart was moved for the people of New England, with the plan to begin a Baptist college in this unchurched region. He soon formed Project Launch 13, a program aiming to start a new school in the Northeast by the fall of 2013.

Shortly afterwards, Bennington was settled as the location; after four years of tireless effort, NEBC opened its doors in fall of 2013. Accreditation came a year later, and we celebrated our first graduations in May of this year. Our next graduations are on the horizon, as more and more of our students equip themselves to do God’s work in this region, this nation, and this world.

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