The King's Yomen: Adam Bottiglia, Class of 1998

When Adam Bottiglia, Class of 1998, graduated from high school, he had two choices: Study engineering, like his father, or study what his heart truly longed for. The answer, he says, was easy. “If you’re going to study anything your first year out of high school, why study anything but (the Bible)?” he asks.

Adam was no stranger to ministry at 18 years old. He’d found his own unique way to spread God’s Word three years earlier when preparing for a high school talent show. “I knew that if they were going to give me the chance to get up on stage, I was going to preach,” Adam says. But he knew his peers wouldn’t connect with the message unless he made it fun.

It was 1995. Adam’s solution? Yo-yos.

The skit he and a friend performed earned them first place at the talent show, and they eventually became a drama team known as The King’s Yomen — a ministry that Adam still continues with his wife, Crissy, 25 years later.

If water sustains life, then the yo-yo is The King’s Yomen’s well. It’s merely a tool for spreading the larger message of the Word of God.

In the play, a lonely, broken man discovers he has a special talent: yo-yoing. He meets the devil soon after his discovery and makes a deal to use his skill for evil. Once the man realizes what he’s done, he finds Christ and is set free when he learns he can still yo-yo — for the glory of God.

“Think of it as a sermon with a yo-yo mixed in,” Adam explains.

It’s an unusual twist, but one that seems to appeal to all audiences.

Adam says that’s because the toy is completely nonthreatening.

“No one takes the yo-yo seriously at first,” Adam says. “You shouldn’t — it’s a yo-yo.” But, he says, it’s a way for him to win people over, opening up a new avenue for discussion about Jesus Christ. “If people will truly hear me — really listen — when I have a yo-yo, then give it to me.”

Adam started his yo-yo ministry before attending the Bible Institute, and he kept right on going when he arrived on campus. In fact, fellow alumni may remember some of his halftime performances. After graduation, Adam says the training he received launched his ministry even further. Spreading the Word is something he’s never been able to get away from — skit writing is a “constant” for him and Crissy.

The two met in their high school’s youth group and attended the Bible Institute together, where Adam says they “lived and breathed” the Bible. Though they always knew the Bible Institute was an important part of their Christian foundation, Adam says they are just now starting to realize what a truly perfect fit it was.

He explains that the Bible Institute was the first time he’d been in an environment that encouraged the all-encompassing study of the Word — and he loved it. “Everyone else (at the Bible Institute) was on the same page. And still, to this day, when Crissy and I are around fellow alums, we fit in better than anywhere else.”

Maybe that’s because Bible Institute alums understand his mission, from which his biggest takeaway is a lesson in humility. He admits he never set out to have his legacy be tied to a yo-yo — it’s simply what God keeps asking him to do.

“(The yo-yo) has taught me to take whatever opportunity God gives you to minister, even if it’s humiliating,” he says. “I mean, why not put a yo-yo and the Gospel together?”

Q&A: Jeff Lewis.

The newest dean of men at the Bible Institute’s New York campus has brought a measure of thrill-seeking to the Christian walk. While discipling students and teaching classes, Jeff Lewis makes the most of God’s creation, from kayaking in the summer to snowboarding in the winter — with hikes up and down the Adirondack Mountains in between.

Jeff’s path to ministering at the Bible Institute began at Schroon Lake. (Full disclosure: This dean of men comes highly recommended by the alumni director.) He grew up in the Word of Life family and attended the Bible Institute in 1998. He then studied Bible exposition and later Biblical counseling at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California and became resident director there. In 2009, he joined the Bible Institute staff at the New York campus, serving as the assistant dean of men for two years.

Now as dean of men, Jeff is responsible for the leadership development on campus. He also speaks at campus services, teaches electives, and helps with the Contemporary Issues class for second-year students.

What do you like about your role at the Bible Institute?

The thing I enjoy most about my job is its diversity and how it creates a number of different ways to interact with students. One day I may be talking through a significant family situation with a student over lunch, and the next we may be on the local ski mountain in one of the winter physical education classes.

What about the Bible Institute separates it from other schools and ministries?

One of the things I appreciate about the Bible Institute experience is the number of opportunities in which the students get to apply what they are learning in the immediate context of this campus and beyond. I have always appreciated how Word of Life puts an emphasis on taking what you have learned and looking for opportunities to serve.

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.