Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord: 

The fall of 1982 marked the beginning of another year of labor for our Seminary. Five men are enrolled in the Seminary: Barry Gritters and Kenneth Hanko are in their final year, while Russell Dykstra, Steven Key, and Charles Terpstra are in the first year of the new four-year curriculum. In addition to their studies, the seniors teach some catechism classes and are licensed to preach in the churches. We thank God for these men and for their diligent and faithful work in preparation for the ministry of the Word.

Of no little concern to the faculty is the fact that there are no pre-seminary students enrolled. Pray with us that God will raise up men in our churches for the ministry of the Word both for our churches and for the mission fields.

Two changes resulting in improvement are worthy of note. In previous years Practice Preaching has been done on Monday mornings, while our weekly chapel services were on Wednesday mornings. Now when Practice Preaching is scheduled, it is done in the place of the chapel service. It then becomes our morning chapel at the same time that it is an exercise in Practice Preaching. And following the order of our chapel service, there is singing (without a pianist!), prayer, Scripture reading, the sermon, singing, prayer. This allows practice preaching to be done in a more worshipful and less artificial setting. The second change is that of our newly expanded four-year curriculum. This new curriculum allows room to offer the students a rather wide variety of elective courses (lectures, seminars, independent studies) in all areas of the curriculum. Two electives are offered each semester. Area ministers, both active and retired, are invited to audit these courses; and many of them do so.

The subscription list of our Theological Journalcontinues to grow. Our library continues to expand as well. Some $650.00 has been spent so far this year for new books and magazine subscriptions. We appreciate the generous support you have given to our library.

Finally, both faculty and students are grateful to the area churches who provide us with a periodic “Seminary Sunday.” The preaching opportunities are divided equally among faculty and students. This provides our students with pulpit experience, and it keeps the professors in touch with the congregations.

May the Lord bless our churches and their labors!

Cordially, in Christ,

The Faculty