The Second Generation: John and Kimberly (Neve) Lingelbach

Little did we know that a short conversation on a dreary October afternoon in Pottersville, New York, would forever change our lives.

We had both come to the Word of Life Bible Institute from similar backgrounds and for the same purpose. We had both grown up in Christian homes, but as we came to the end of our time in high school, we were weary of nominal Christianity. Our relationships with God were fractured by compromise and disobedience. Tired of “churchianity,” we were starving for God’s truth and came to the Bible Institute to find it — not in the teachings of men, but in the pages of Scripture. Just “good enough” was no longer good enough — we wanted to live for more.

During that introductory conversation after lunch, we became instant friends, and within two months, we were dating. After graduating from the Bible Institute, we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives. We married in 1989, determined to put God at the center of our relationship and implement the principles we had learned at the Bible Institute.

Fast forward through 23 years of marriage, three children, and a career as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. We have seen God’s faithfulness all along despite our shortcomings. Time and time again we hearken back to what we learned 25 years ago at the Bible Institute, and those principles remain applicable today, perhaps more than ever before.

Because we saw what God had done for us, and because we believe so strongly in what God is doing at and through Word of Life, we insisted that all of our children attend the Bible Institute before starting their own families and careers. Consequently, each of our children has attended the Bible Institute, and currently our youngest daughter, Taylor, attends the Florida campus.

No, little did we know that a short conversation on a dreary autumn afternoon would forever change our lives. But at the time, we also lacked an understanding of how God is at work through the ministry of the Word of Life Bible Institute. When we first left after graduation, we were inexperienced at life, but we believed that if we would follow God’s Word, He would do amazing things through us. He has. And after all these years we are even more excited about what He has yet to do. We still believe.

Click here to read about the Lingelbachs' daughter, Taylor, Class of 2013.

For more second generation stories, click here.

Book Club.

The Class of 1988 has produced quite a crop of authors and storytellers. Kyle Hammersmith, Twila Zehr Patterson, Sean MacDonald, and Robyn DeVries Graham have each published books since attending the Bible Institute. Three of the authors wrote nonfiction books about personal experiences, but for Hammersmith — now a professor at Liberty University — storytelling was a way to apply the lessons and landscape of Word of Life in a whole new way.

The Legend of Lake Marilee (Fiction) by Kyle Hammersmith

Lake Marilee is not only full of murder theories and a local ghost legend when young Jody Barrett comes to visit — it’s also the setting for a battle between fact and fiction, right and wrong, and good and evil. Christian apologetics meet intriguing storytelling as the lessons Jody learns about families, values, and God change the way he encounters truth.

Where have I seen that before?

When Kyle started writing his suspense novel, he turned to a familiar setting to sketch his characters and scenes: Word of Life. The novel is based in an area that mirrors Schroon Lake and Pottersville, including the central location of the Brown Swan Club (aka the Word of Life Inn). Kyle, who has a master’s in education from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s in English from Liberty University, was a chef at Word of Life in New York and Florida after graduating from the Bible Institute.

Editor’s Take: Looking for a book that will help the young people you know tackle questions of truth, postmodern philosophy, or apologetics? Kyle takes classroom lessons into real life in a suspenseful and entertaining way. This novel is great for teenagers and others who are tackling questions of truth.

Class reunions: How to make it happen.

We want to host special class reunions for the Classes of 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008 this year at our annual alumni gatherings for Memorial Day weekend and Founder’s Conference.

We need your help, though, to invite alumni from all over the world to come and make the weekend a great experience for everyone. Some of you have already expressed interest, so we’ve pulled together some information of what we’ve done in the past to help you get started.

If you are willing to help coordinate a reunion for your class, here’s a “plan of action” that we found worked well for other classes:

• Form a planning team that will help you promote the event.
• Put a working schedule together and get it out on Facebook, asking for ideas. If more people get involved in planning, more people will be excited about making the trip in person!
• Take time to track down old classmates on Facebook, and start a group devoted to your class or your reunion.
• Work toward creating an experience, not just an event, by incorporating themes your class can unite around. For example, create class T-shirts, make a handout booklet, or have a theme of the journey your class will take throughout the weekend as you take part in different events. We’ll have several options for you at Word of Life, such as dinners, meeting times, campfires, or sharing time at Council Hall. But you can also take advantage of spring in the area and go to Glens Falls (shopping, go-karts, bowling, Martha’s ice cream, Great Escape), check out Lake George’s tourist attractions or cruises, take a family hike up Mt. Severance, explore the Adirondacks via whitewater rafting, or try any of the other excursions the area has to offer.
• Create some competition by challenging other classes, such as seeing which class can get the most people to come for the weekend or bring the largest family, the longest or newest married couple, or the lowest (or highest) cumulative number of demerits from their Bible Institute year. We can help provide judges and rewards.
• Encourage creativity from class members so they make it “their” reunion.
• Create “buzz” — keep telling people about the reunion, and bring up memories (or future memories you want to make) that will encourage class members to come.
• Tell us how we can help. We can send an email to alumni, post specific updates on our Facebook page or group, or use our blog to keep people updated. We want to make it a success for you!

As always, please let us know if you have specific questions. You can reach us at alumni@wol.org or waynel@wol.org.

From heartache to a full heart: Lori Beth Blaney, Class of 1988.

In December 2006, Lori Beth Blaney, Class of 1988, was in a Georgia hospital. She and her family had been in a car accident, hit head-on by a teenager from the local high school. Everyone made it out alive except for one: Lori Beth’s unborn daughter, whom she and her husband would later name Rachel.

The day after the accident, in an almost unspeakable state of grief, Lori Beth had to deliver her stillborn baby. After the birth, she didn’t see much of the hospital staff — they seemed to avoid her. No one looked to ease her despair, and she was left alone without much help to deal with her loss.

“I felt like I had a hole that needed to be filled,” she says.

As time passed and Lori Beth’s sorrow threatened to swallow her up, she felt God laying something on her heart. She was painfully aware of the lack of support for mothers in her situation and felt God leading her to do something about it.

“I didn’t want to do it at first,” Lori Beth says of creating Rachel’s Gift, the faith-based nonprofit that would emerge in 2008. “I’m more of a worker bee and not one to start something from scratch.”

But after much lost sleep and time spent arguing with God, Lori Beth knew what she was supposed to do.

She started by reaching out to other moms dealing with the loss of an infant, women who felt isolated during the grieving process. She did extensive research and connected with counselors and nurses to help understand how best to work with parents in crisis.

Four years later, Rachel’s Gift now works with seven (soon to be eight) Georgia hospitals to provide grief assistance for parents and families experiencing infant loss. It also helps train nurses and caregivers to address issues that families face while dealing with such tragic situations.