2016 has been a year unlike any other for many of us.
We’ve been richly blessed by the quality guest speakers who visited BST this year like Darrell Bock, Tom Schreiner, Christopher Wright, Andrew Shead and Michael Jensen.
Some of us had the opportunity to travel to Greece and Turkey with Alan Stanley and visit where the Apostle Paul and early Christians lived and ministered for a time.
Andrew Prince (one of two BST lecturers who is a Parramatta Eels supporter, but we won’t hold that against him), finished his PhD on contextual communication of the gospel across cultures (something to be celebrated, after all, it is the only forward progress someone associated with the Eels has made all year!).
Richard Gibson and John Coulson secured publishing deals for each of their books, which we look forward to getting our hands on in 2017.
Yet as far as the true fabric of BST goes, 2016 has been the same as other years that have gone before it, and exactly what we’ve come to expect from a community of Christians doing life together.
The highlights that will stick in our minds, and which we will remember fondly for many years to come, are the same as they will be every year.
They are the memories that are created as faculty, staff and students share life together: praying for and comforting one another through difficult times, studying God’s word together and persevering through assignments and exams, serving and encouraging one another, and sharing many great laughs.
Our highlights will be the treasured moments spent in lecture rooms, cafés, mentors’ offices, on road trips, camp and college missions. These are the precious times when people have the chance to share their vulnerabilities, getting to know each other and forming stronger bonds of friendship.
An essential part of community at BST, and a key to our identity as a college, is the way we create highlights, simply by doing life together.
I’ve had the privilege of serving as Student Committee President this year with a fantastic team of people who I now consider great friends–Isaac Biggs, Karen Nivala, Tim Guo and Phil Coates. It was our job to help foster community through coordinating social gatherings, providing sporting equipment, sponsoring students to attend key events, and leading through serving our peers and wider BST family.
We are so thankful for all of the students, faculty and staff, board members and other volunteers, and our families who have richly contributed to making BST a wonderful place to study, live, and work.
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