15 SPRING 2026 (1) McDonald (second from right) with former Bethel presidents, from left, Dr. Steve Cramer, Dr. Barb Bellefeuille and Dr. Gregg Chenoweth. (2) After the luncheon, the McDonalds greeted students, faculty and staff at an afternoon tea, where attendees got to take home a souvenir tea cup and saucer, donated by alumnus Jeff Ziegler ’80. (3) McDonald greets his son, Ell, at the inauguration. (4) The McDonalds give students high-fives after the ceremony. (5) LaMorris and Megan Crawford served as the McDonalds’ prayer partners during their discernment process. They are pictured at the luncheon. (6) LaMorris Crawford, chaplain for the Carolina Panthers NFL team, gives the inaugural address. (7) Dr. Emile Hawkins prays over the McDonalds, along with the platform party, during the inauguration ceremony. (8) McDonald with daughter Maelee, who opened the luncheon in prayer. the place. And now is the time.” He shared a message focused on vision and purpose found in Christ. McDonald specifically chose Crawford to speak on his behalf rather than give the address himself. “From my initial appointment as president, my wife Amanda and I felt compelled to have the inauguration be about revival and point people to Jesus,” McDonald explains. “LaMorris and his wife Megan were our prayer partners through the whole discernment process, and God prompted us that he was the person He wanted to speak. I wanted to draw the attention to Jesus where it should be, which fits with Bethel’s motto – with Christ at the Helm.” The ceremony included friends and colleagues from McDonald’s life and work. Dr. Don Reddick, Rev. Jasper Taylor and Sharon Norman provided the music; the invocation and benediction were given by Rev. Kevin Jack; the ethos of the president was given by Dr. Andrew Denton (president, Crown College) and Dr. Simone Twibell (associate professor, Olivet Nazarene University); and the dedicatory prayer was given by Dr. Emile Hawkins (professor, Southeastern University). Rev. Bill Hossler provided greetings from the Missionary Church; Bethel Alumni Board Chair Octavian Sayumwe ’18 provided greetings from the alumni; and Bethel Vice President for Spiritual Life and University Affairs Dr. Shawn Holtgren led the university hymn, “To God Be the Glory.” Following the ceremony, McDonald addressed guests at a luncheon. “My prayer is that Bethel would thrive in pointing people to Jesus. My vision is for Bethel to thrive financially and feel the manifest presence of Jesus. I want to see God do something new and different … something only He can do.” McDonald’s inauguration was part of Homecoming Weekend, which included a number of activities for alumni and friends: a historic presentation in Taylor Memorial Log Chapel, afternoon tea, character dinner, musical “Into the Woods,” and Hoops and Hot Dogs during the men’s and women’s basketball games. See more on p. 21. 1 6 2 3 4 8 7 5
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