News Article

“Just do your best and let God do the rest.”

Dr. G.B. Williamson was a much-loved professor and ministry leader who served at NBC from 1968-1980 and often encouraged his students to “Just do your best and let God do the rest.” This simple encouragement became a memorable part of many students’ time at NBC. Dr. Williamson’s courses were intentionally rigorous, preparing students for the challenges of ministry.

In 1964 at the 16th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene, Dr. Williamson had encouraged the entire denomination in a similar way.

The Commission on Higher Education for the Church had recommended establishing what would become two of our region’s universities, but in the discussion that followed, an additional recommendation was made – to establish a Bible college. This special institution would not compete with the Nazarene universities; it would complement their work, with a program of ministerial preparation and inspiration for those answering a call to ministry later in life.

As the delegates discussed this recommendation, then General Superintendent Dr. G.B. Williamson slowly walked across the platform, down the stairs, and to the delegates’ microphone, temporarily giving up his position of authority and asking to speak in favor of establishing the Bible college.

In a few minutes, he laid out his reasoning and his own passion for this institution. This short speech from a respected leader had an impact, but it was not the only one he would make on NBC! The recommendation was approved, and three years later Nazarene Bible College held it’s first classes. In the fall of 1968, the Williamsons joined the NBC faculty.

They thoroughly supported the establishment of the Bible college by just doing their best and letting God do the rest.

What God has been doing is astonishing.

Over the past almost six decades, NBC has trained thousands of ministers and lay leaders, and those thousands have spread out across the USA Canada region, serving the church effectively. (Click here to see a map of NBC alumni and here to read how God is using a few of our current students and recent graduates.)

The mission of the college to prepare adults to evangelize, disciple, and minister to the world has led the institution into notable innovations to ministry education. District-level localized training centers were launched in the mid-1980s, and the Bible college accepted temporary responsibility for three developing schools as branch campuses in the late 1980s. In 1998, NBC began offering college courses online, making this excellent ministry training available to even more people, anytime and anywhere.

God is still calling people into His ministry, and today, some of these called ones are pursuing their ministry training at NBC from their homes. Students are able to remain in ministry, supporting their local churches and immediately implementing the skills and theories they are learning.

Jeannette Gratz’s twins were born profoundly deaf. What began as a mother’s desire to communicate with her Deaf children has become a calling to reach the Deaf community with the Gospel. “I don’t know exactly where God is leading,” she says now as a degree student in pastoral leadership, “but I know He’s called me to be faithful. Every class is helping prepare me to handle His Word rightly and to serve the Deaf community wherever He leads.” 

Rege Campbell’s call to ministry grew through twenty-two years of work in the federal prison system. As a Christian, he already knew two things about every inmate he encountered: “They were people before they were inmates, and if anyone needs God’s grace, it’s them.” This was the basis of a career of lay ministry, but at retirement, he and his wife both knew God was calling them to be faithful witnesses in a different way. Rege came back to college at the age of sixty. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry majoring in Bible and Theology, and now he works as a chaplain, a pastor, and in support of the local hospice, food banks, and other community ministries.

The mission continues.

Nearly sixty years ago, Dr. G.B. Williamson stepped away from the platform to speak in favor of a new kind of institution, one that would prepare adults who sense God’s call to ministry and equip them for faithful service.

Today, that vision is still being fulfilled. NBC continues to prepare men and women to evangelize, disciple, and minister wherever God calls them. God’s call may come at different times of life, in different places, and for different ministries, but the need for preparation remains.

As God continues to call people into His work, NBC continues to do what it was founded to do. Like Dr. Williamson said, we move forward together, doing our best and trusting God to do the rest.