GREATer Updates PhotoHere are some examples of the GREAT momentum building on campus as we strive to become GREATer, for the greater glory of God.

G: GROW
• Since launching GREATer two years ago, we are up 40 percent in applications and 28 percent in campus visits.
• The Center for Professional Development has issued more than 750 certificates within workplaces from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and locally, including the SMART Hospitality and Tourism Program, which launched in October.
• Adult & Graduate Studies is starting an innovative Spanish language assisted bachelor’s degree program in Elkhart, with the first cohort beginning this fall.
• The Christian Ministries major has been retooled to offer students more options in high-demand ministry areas including children’s ministry and sports ministry.
• Our M.A. in Counseling program launched with a cohort of 12; 15 more are signed up to begin their studies this fall.

R: REVIVE
• We now have 80 faculty/staff members and 520 students engaged in mentoring or discipleship pairs or groups. This is the largest number of students participating in mentoring/discipleship in four years, up 39 percent from last year.
• Bethel held the third installment in the ReDiscover series Nov. 10, focusing on the practical implications of a Wesleyan perspective on sanctification for the church and classroom.
• On Jan. 16, more than 800 people attended the third annual ReFuel worship conference on campus. Dove award-winning singer and songwriter Paul Baloche was the keynote speaker.
• On Feb. 19 and 20, Bethel hosted the “Unleashed” prayer conference, featuring Pastor Corey Jones of Fort Worth, Texas. This four-session gathering provided coaching in the practice of corporate prayer.

E: ENCORE
• A $2,199 grant from Sam’s Club’s Step Up for Small Business will allow the Bethel College Business Club (BC Squared) to support small businesses in the area through workshops and mentoring, giving students valuable experience while meeting a need in the community.
• Bethel’s web team created a new web-based application, Go.BethelCollege.edu, designed to keep students on track and informed in key areas: food, chapel and class.
• Bethel’s first Online Giving Day in October was so creative with promotion and had such a successful outcome ($18,000 raised in one day), that a competitor institution asked that we teach them our process.

A: AESTHETICS
• The new athletic park entrance and softball field is now complete, along with new curbs on the east side of campus.
• We have raised $880,000 toward our $1 million goal to renovate our nursing facilities.
• The Alumni Association and 50-year reunion class are partnering to fund this year’s senior class gift: a prayer garden.

T: TESTIFY
• Christian Universities Online ranked Bethel No. 1 in the nation on the list of “50 Christian Colleges and Universities Exceeding Expectations.”
• For the sixth year in a row, 100 percent of Bethel’s Sign Language Interpreting majors passed the national interpreter certification written exam.
• An alumni Survey of 2014 graduates shows 93 percent are employed or in graduate school. The highest rated reflections on personal development were (a) utility of knowledge in their job and (b) a “fuller understanding of the Christian faith.”

Read more at BethelCollege.edu/Greater