The Bible Institute in Jeju, South Korea: Asia comes within reach.

The Bible Institute’s latest satellite is Word of Life’s most distinctive stretch into the lost countries of Asia. See what we wrote when the campus first opened in 2011.

China censors its media and restricts its citizens, hanging a black cloak over society even as it preaches growth and builds new bridges and homes with promises of a bright future.

Japan boasts some of the finest technology in the world, with innovation a second nature, but the island nation also has the highest suicide rate worldwide, with young people having everything to live for but deciding it’s not worth a try.

Russia lives under the grasp of narrow ambition, its leader playing societal roulette with a vision that works to grip only the moment with violence, restrictions, and silence.

Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and the islands lay in the squalor of want, the heat of the day baking hungry bodies, the rags of need covering lives searching for meaning.

Campfires began on the shore of Schroon Lake 65 years ago and then lit up the world, country by country. But of all the nations filled with campfire glow on a given summer evening, one place has stayed very dark: Asia.

Until now.

What has Jeju meant to you?

This is what members of the first class at the Jeju campus had to say about the Bible Institute's inaugural year in South Korea in 2011.

Jonah Keita Hoshino
Kashiwazaki, Japan
“It has been a new experience. I came here to see how to start a new mission or a new school and not just to study. It is hard to explain, but I am learning so much just from life here.  It is like a new start.”

Graeme Buchanan
Sherbrooke, Quebec
“It has definitely been a turning point in my life.  God has used this time to really help me apply what I already knew. I’ve been encouraged a lot by students, teachers, and Quiet Time. It has produced changes that will last for a lifetime.”

Gene Cho Yong-Jin
Seoul, South Korea
“It has changed my future. Before, when I thought about my future, it was all about becoming a success. But through the missions trip to Thailand, the missions conference and the Bible classes, I have gotten many ideas about how I can change my future family environment and my friendships.”

Alyson Donley
Pottersville, New York
“I could have gone to the Bible Institute across the street, but I wanted a challenge and something new. I’ve definitely found that here! It has also really made me appreciate my family.”

Any sides with that bulgogi?

What do you eat if you go to the Bible Institute in Korea? If you’re there for lunch, you’ll get your usual American dishes: hamburgers, French fries, and chicken tenders. But during other meals, they may try to sneak some bulgogi (Korean marinated, barbecued beef), yakisoba (fried noodles), bi bim bop (Korean beef and veggies), or katsu (Japanese fried chicken) past you.

The Bible Institute serves mostly conventional American foods for breakfast, keeping with the spirit of the Korean school being a satellite of the main U.S. campus, but it also mixes in Asian entrees throughout lunch and most dinners. And for dessert, it’s international tastiness: Rice Krispie treats, cupcakes, make-your-own sundaes, and homemade pie.

Jeju: A satellite campus

What makes the first-year Bible Institute program different in Korea — and the same?

One of Word of Life’s strongest qualities is that it reaches across cultures and nationalities to connect people to Christ and His message of life and change.

Jeju, the first Asian Bible Institute, is no different. It has a lot in common with the Bible Institutes and discipleship training centers around the world that tackle cultural differences while teaching God’s Word each day.

But even as it gathers students from Korea (14), Japan (5), the United States (11), and Canada (3), Jeju’s approach is to be a satellite school of its North American counterparts in New York, Florida, and Ontario. With similar ministry, teaching, and discipleship structures, the Jeju campus takes students through the same first-year program as the other Bible Institutes. Many of the same professors teach in Korea, and students graduate with the same academic coursework and ministry opportunities as they would if they went to a North American campus.

The advantage of offering the same base in Asia, of course, is that these students are that much closer to ministry in Korea, Japan, China, and other Asian countries, both during and after their Bible Institute years.
All five Japanese students are looking into full-time Christian service — most of them in their home country, where many Christian leaders and pastors are from the older generation. North American students are seeing firsthand what missions in Asia looks like.

Most Jeju students come from the discipleship training centers, and Bible Institute enrollment will likely grow as more of these centers are established across Asia.

The Jeju Bible Institute is continuing to recruit new class members, both for next year and future terms. If you know someone who may be interested in having a Bible Institute experience in Korea, check out wolbiasia.com, which has frequently asked questions, updates about the ministry, and links to the admissions process, which is mostly the same as applying to a North American Bible Institute.

Refresh: Transitions.

Transitions come our way all the time. But the most important ones are those we make happen ourselves.
By Mike Calhoun

Transition is a natural part of the life cycle. I have been with Word of Life for 38 years and find myself transitioning again. We all begin the process of changing, growing and transitioning from one life stage, position, sphere of influence, circle of friendships, and personal goals to another from the time of our birth.

Your graduation from the Bible Institute was one of those transitions. Depending on the amount of time since then, you have gone through many other transitions. Some have brought joy and some pain, but they all have contributed to the formation of the person you are today. Some of life’s transitions are intentional; some appear to be accidental, while others just seem to happen naturally with the passing of time.

It could be post-graduate work, getting a bachelor’s, master’s, or even doctorate degree. You may have married and raised a family, or even reached that glorious state of being a grandparent (Betsi and I love that one).

Then there is that transition called aging, with its novel aches, pains, and unwelcome restrictions — gentle and not-so-gentle reminders of our new limitations. I am not trying to depress you; these are just some of life’s realities.

We can control some of the transitions of life, but some are just going to come into our lives uninvited, unannounced, and uncontrollable. The uninvited ones usually capture most of our attention and time. These are also the ones that tend to drain our physical, emotional, and spiritual strength.

I want to suggest, though, that instead of being jolted by the many transitions we can’t foresee or control, we put our energy into “intentional transitions.” This is not to say that we are going to be oblivious to the realities of life. It is simply that we are making a choice as to the priorities of our lives and how we will live. Here are a few concepts that will intentionally shape our lives, making them more meaningful and productive while the normal transitions are taking place.

1. Spiritual Growth. Never stop growing spiritually. Our spiritual walk with Christ should be stronger today than it was at this time last year. We need to build some intentional practices for spiritual growth into our daily lives, creating space for Quiet Time, prayer, Bible study, or Scripture memory.

I love the example of the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-9, where we find him at the end of his life, still growing in his faith. From the world’s perspective, he had gone through many positive and negative transitions, but here we see him living life intentionally.

2. Friendships. Have you developed friendships that encourage you to move forward in your faith? We all need good friends who are godly and willing to “stir us up” about our faith walk. In 2 Peter 1:13 and 3:1, Peter speaks of stirring up his friends by reminding them of what is important. Living life intentionally includes friendships like this.

3. Personal Witnessing. We have all heard Jack Wyrtzen quoted as saying, “It is the responsibility of every generation to reach their generation with the Gospel of Christ.” That statement is timeless. It is our responsibility. We all should be doing what we can to share the good news of the Gospel. Jack often quoted Romans 1:16, reminding us that the gospel is the power of God and challenging us to intentionally share it.

4. Personal Goals. Do you still have a dream? Are you still excited about life, or have you given in to the world’s “treadmill existence” approach to life? Your life is going to keep transitioning, but while it does, you can continue to set new, intentional personal goals. Don’t accept the status quo — reach for more!

I love the spirit of Caleb in Joshua 14:11-12. Here he is in his 80s, and he is explaining to Joshua his future plans and how he is ready to fight. Oh — and by the way, he still wants that mountain!

Now that is intentional living.

Mike Calhoun, senior vice president for Word of Life Fellowship, speaks to thousands of students, leaders, and youth pastors through a diversified ministry of camps, conferences, and evangelistic events. He has a deep burden for evangelism, discipleship, and development of future leadership. Mike has written several books and produced DVDs for students and local church leaders. He makes his home in Schroon Lake, New York, with his wife, Betsi. Find more of his writing online at mikecalhoun.wol.org/blog/blog.

Q&A: Joe Schenke.

We talked with Joe Schenke, the dean of students for the Bible Institute's New York campus since fall 2011, in a recent issue.

QUICK FACTS:

Education: Bible Institute, 1981-1982; bachelor’s from Trinity University; master’s in Biblical counseling from the Master’s College
Other ministry: Pastor of counseling and family ministry at Fellowship Bible Church in Sewell, New Jersey
Family: wife Connie; Tyler, 22; Curtis, 20; Kayla, 19; Ethan, 16

Q: What was your time as a pastor and counselor like?
A: I am so grateful for the time in local church ministry, where I saw firsthand how the local church is the primary long-term resource for the growing and changing that God provides for believers. One, among many, of the things that we were blessed to be part of  was seeing very practically and in a very real way how God transforms lives through the consistent teaching of His Word and through the dynamic of the “one-another” aspects among the members of the body of Christ.

We took what we learned from the 20 years of serving at Word of Life and incorporated it into the local church context. Now the reverse is true as well, in taking what God taught us serving in the local church in pastoral ministry and bringing it into what we now do at the Bible Institute.

Q: What benefits are there from experiencing different styles of ministry, and in different places?
A: It helps me not get stuck doing something the same way just because we have always done it that way.

Q: What do you think the Bible Institute’s value is today for this generation of young Christians?
A: The Bible Institute is a great place for a young person to transition from dependence on parents toward responsible independence.

I believe one of the unique challenges, among many, that this generation faces centers around the technology of information age in which we live. The Internet is a potentially tremendous tool of blessing filled with some incredible resources and information, but it can become corrupted by a fallen world and our own sinful hearts.

I see the desperate need for young men and women alike to establish within their hearts a “biblical firewall”  (Proverbs 4:23) to protect them from the unwanted intruders, the enemies of our soul, the world, the flesh and the devil that seek to destroy them like a malicious virus would attack our computers.

Q: Do you have any good stories about students?
A: I remember when someone unscrewed all the fluorescent light bulbs in Council Hall and no one could figure out what happened. What made it more confusing is there was an actual problem with the power on campus the day before, which played right into the mystery and distracted everyone from the possibility it was a prank.

That wasn’t even the funny part for me. It was in discovering who was behind it. This was a really creative prank, and it takes a clever student to think up something like that.  I began thinking of some of the pranks that were done in prior years, and for some reason, thought of a specific student from two years prior who had a brother at the Bible Institute that year. I began to wonder if it ran in the family. I saw him in the dining room at lunch and asked him to stop by my office that afternoon.

When he got to my office, I looked him in the eye, with that dean sort of stare, and asked, “Dave, what can you tell me about the lights in Council Hall?” There was a brief silence for three seconds. He cried out, “Mr. Schenke! I can’t believe it! How did you know it was me?!”

Q: After seeing the Bible Institute grow through three decades or so, where do you think the school will be three decades from now? Where do you hope or dream it will be?
A: To go forward, we must go back and learn how to be fresh and creative, while maintaining faithfulness to the Gospel message. The Bible Institute has a tremendous, rich heritage and has seen the blessing of God’s faithfulness. It is my prayer that the ministry of the Bible Institute will continue to be shaped by faithfulness to the message of the Gospel rather than being encumbered by outdated traditions on the one extreme or, on the other hand, conforming to the popularity and fashionability of the idol of relevance. In the end, it is only the timeless Gospel message that carries an eternal impact, and it is the only message that can truly make our ministry relevant.

Do you have someone at Word of Life you would like to hear from in a Q&A?
Email alumni@wol.org.

The Son Rises.

The Victory Journal highlighted what Bible Institute students and Word of Life missionaries were doing to help Japan after a tsunami struck the island nation.

Refresh.

A look at our past helps us see whether it’s time for God to update our spiritual lives.

Every once in a while, when fishing around on the Internet, you’ll come across a long-forgotten website. You know what I mean — you’re looking for some information, and you don’t want to get caught using Wikipedia, so you click on the very legitimate-looking second option. And suddenly, it’s 1998.

The website usually has a solid hue for a background — some drab purple or forest green — and if its links aren’t royal blue, underlined, and in Times New Roman, centered down the middle of the page, they may be buttons along the top of the screen or down the left-hand side. The official mark of the early Internet age is probably there, too — a ticker, announcing that you are visitor No.  021,149.

These websites aren’t bad; they still work, and some still have relevant information. They were very suitable in the late 1990s, when “surfing” and “Web” still went together, when more colors and more emoticons were cool, when being on the cutting edge meant decorating your website like a kid tinsels up his childhood Christmas tree.

But as nice as the nostalgia is, we’re all pretty happy we’re past that time. We like that most of the Internet has become cleaner, more orderly, more helpful, and relevant. We can enjoy looking at these old websites, but only because we’re not there anymore.

Yearbooks, old websites, and even alumni magazines are all fun for that reason: They remind us of what we used to look like, and how we’ve changed since then. Different haircut, different job, different clothes — you probably prefer yourself today to your 1998 version, too.

For most of us, our Bible Institute year (or two) was a lot like that early Internet age. That year, we were discovering God and people in new ways, and our spiritual growth was fast-paced and flashy. We tried new things, talked about what God was doing all the time, and thought the possibilities for knowledge and learning would never end.

Once we graduated and got into the busyness and responsibilities of everyday life, though, that probably changed. We realized that the excitement and flash of growth and learning didn’t happen all the time, and that the Christian life was a lot more about God patiently changing us than it was about adding buttons and colors and tickers all the time. Growth for someone becoming a mature Christian looks very different.

Some people get scared when they run into this part of spiritual growth. They’re used to the comfort of what they know, and rather than pushing on into new questions and challenges, they work to protect what they have. Their spiritual walk looks like that old website — good for its time, sometimes helpful, but ultimately stuck in a version that’s less than what it could be.

Others, however, can look back on the former versions of themselves with a smile because they’ve been updated. They’ve committed to the tough parts of growth. Every day, week after week into months into years, they’ve been learning and growing and changing. Piece by piece, God has replaced parts of them and tweaked others as He makes them the “new man” He is shaping to be like Christ.

When you push the refresh button on these lives, you see change. Whatever has been faulty, jumbled, or outdated gets replaced with a fresh take. Day to day, the changes are small, but over time, all the little parts God is swapping in become a totally new person.

Have you ever thought about how much you’ve changed, and what those changes look like, since your Bible Institute year? Would your friends from then not see much difference in your spiritual life — or would they not be able to recognize you at all because you’ve been transformed?

Before you move on from here, take a moment to think about all that has happened since your time at Word of Life. Consider whether the growth that began that year has continued in your life. Have you changed? Can you see God’s blessing?

Have you been refreshed?

The Victory Journal. Online.

We at the Victory Journal have been making an effort over the last year and a half to provide alumni with a new and improved publication. From the magazine's design to the content it offers, the revamped Victory Journal has been making strides toward creating a place where Bible Institute graduates can find resources and stories by alumni and for alumni.

This new effort includes more Bible Institute updates, a focus on providing advice and encouragement, and enhanced features on alumni who are part of interesting developments in both the working world and Christian ministry. We hope you've been following the Victory Journal as it has grown and changed, both in appearance and in what it offers to those who have shared the Bible Institute experience.

Everything the Victory Journal has been doing is part of a greater goal of "waking the giant" that is the Bible Institute alumni base. The journey that alumni begin in their pivotal Bible Institute year or years does not have to stop once the graduates leave campus. Word of Life wants to be part of alumni's lives — whether it be hearing how each person is doing, encouraging or helping individuals in their life pursuits, or in reuniting graduates with the vision and tools of the Word of Life ministry.

As the Victory Journal expands, we hope you'll use it as a place to check in on your fellow alumni and connect with those you haven't heard from in years. We want the publication to be an avenue for starting reunions, looping into exciting developments at the Bible Institute, or just encouraging you in your everyday walk with Jesus Christ. Above all, we pray that the Victory Journal will be a place you can come home — where you remember the time of growth the Bible Institute provided, and where you can tap into the body of Christ in a new way.

While we encourage all alumni to join our mailing list (email alumni@wol.org if you're not getting the Victory Journal), we know many alumni want information online, too. This blog will be the place to come for everything you see in the print version of the Victory Journal, plus some bonuses and extra information on reunions and other areas where you can connect with other alumni. Feel free to comment and offer feedback, and, as always, we welcome suggestions for anything you would like to see in the Victory Journal. Send us questions, article topics, or any suggestions about how we can better serve you.

We are in the beginning stages of making the Victory Journal and its online partners (the alumni Facebook page and group) ready to help alumni in awesome ways. Stay tuned to see what's coming up, and become a part of the Victory Journal and the alumni community today.