Dear JWC family and friends,
It is an exciting time at JWC! As we begin a new academic year, we see new faces – among faculty, on staff, and within our students. We are preparing for new classes, new experiences, and new understandings. We have new opportunities and new leadership.
The beginning, the newness, is exciting, but it can also be a time of concern. Humans long for newness and the excitement of moving forward, but we also desire the familiar and stability of the old. It is a paradox of the human condition, but it is also where we are reminded of a great truth.
Joshua inherited his position of leadership from Moses. Moses, who had called plagues, parted waters of the sea, received bread from heaven and water from stones. Moses, who had conversed with God! With the death of Moses, Israel lost their leader, their stability, and the familiar.
Or did they? It is not an accident that one of Joshua's first acts as a leader was to part the waters of the Jordan just as Moses had parted the Red Sea. It was a visible way of demonstrating to the nation what the Lord had already conveyed to Joshua:
“Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5b)
The loss of Moses was grievous, but it did not mean that Israel had lost their leader and their stability. Because the Lord God of Israel remained the Lord God of Israel, and He would still bring his nation forward into the Promised Land.
This year we are seeing a number of changes at JWC. We pray and have faith that these changes will help JWC to continue to grow in its development, mission, and impact. This new year will afford students the opportunity to take new courses, gain new understanding, and move forward into the future to which God has called them.
But while we are beginning a new phase in the journey of JWC, we are blessed and encouraged by the truth that JWC's leader and rock remains the same: the Christ remains our King. We continue to strive for Christ-centered learning, Christ-centered living, and Christ-centered leading.
It's a new year, it's an eternal mission, and I am thrilled to be on this mission with each of you. I want to thank you for your continued support of John Witherspoon and your continued commitment to the work of the Lord Jesus in Rapid City, South Dakota, across the USA, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
It is a new year – let us be about the work!
Sincerely yours in Christ,