Bakke Graduate University’s global learning community of students, faculty, and alumni are making a big difference in cities all over the world. I experienced the impact firsthand as I made my way to San Francisco, California for a research project in September, to Richmond, Virginia for the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in early October, and recently at the Every City Summit in Washington DC. And I cannot wait to join up with our learning community for the Los Angeles City Immersion from October 23 to November 1! For this edition of the BGU newsletter, I wanted to highlight several of the BGU students, faculty, and graduates who I got to know a little bit better through my recent travels.
In the Bay Area, I visited with BGU graduate and faculty member, Dr. Timothy Svoboda. He and his wife, Karol, walked me through the streets of San Francisco where they have invested the past twenty years of their lives in building out transformational intervention strategies across eight different parts of the Bay Area. I got to be a part of a pop-up church in the middle of the street in the Tenderloin District. I spent most of my time dodging driverless vehicles that were trying to make their way through the street that was partially blocked off and overflowing with people waiting in lines for meals and coffee. Tim and Karol also served for around 30 years in India where they built out similar models of decentralized urban ministry efforts across various sectors of cities. It was a joy to see the work firsthand. But, more than the models of ministry, it was a joy to see how much love they have for their neighbors and for their community. It was especially exciting to get to know the people who serve in the ministry who come from all kinds of different backgrounds. I also made my way to San Mateo to visit with Dr. Lauren Speeth while I was in the Bay area. She holds two doctorate degrees from BGU, and she also teaches and coaches our students. She shared tea with me and my wife, Julie, at a beautiful building where her company, Elfenworks Productions, LLC, is located. She has produced many creative projects and events over the years, and she has also written several books. She makes a difference daily with her life and leadership in the Bay Area and beyond!
At the CCDA conference in Richmond, it was like attending a BGU reunion. BGU graduate, Dr. Autumn Swain, had a booth at the conference where she was promoting her organization called Aligned Leader. She was also promoting the launch of a new certificate in partnership with BGU called the Aligned Leader & Organizational Well-Being Certificate. I also crossed paths with BGU Graduate, Dr. Vatreisha Nyemba, who is a CCDA board member. She serves as a transformational leader in the city of Cleveland, where she has developed an extensive network that works together for the common good of the city. BGU graduate and faculty member, Dr. Kit Danley, reminisced with me about the adventures that she had in Ethiopia as a BGU student. She told me that she was excited that Addis Ababa is developing as the Hub of BGU’s regional ecosystem in Africa, and she is hoping to go back to Ethiopia when BGU is planning to host a gathering. Another BGU graduate, Dr. Alexander Gee, Jr., closed out the conference with a captivating keynote address about the importance of passing on leadership from generation to generation. He is an author and a pastor who leads several organizations in Madison, Wisconsin, where the CCDA conference will be hosted next year. He has been a ministry leader there for more than 40 years!
At the Every City Summit in Washington DC, I was able to connect with two of our students who lead the City Leaders Collective network and who helped to organize the summit for city movement leaders and stakeholders, Rob Kelly and Daria Nardozza. Their passion and vision has inspired city movement leaders from all over North America to work together and support each other. I visited with BGU student, Amy Willman, who is doing remarkable work as a city movement leader in Springfield, Ohio. BGU graduate and Board of Regents member, Dr. Jacob Bloemberg, was also there. In a historic moment, BGU signed an MOU partnership agreement with Lausanne Cities, the global network that Jacob leads. I spent time with the leader of an organization called Good Cities, Dr. Glenn Barth, who is a BGU graduate who has led city transformation work in many cities over the past twenty years. I met BGU graduate, Dr. Tyler Johnson, who shared a brilliant keynote address on the first day of the gathering sharing theological perspectives on how to engage culture in our modern world. And I enjoyed catching up with Dr. Eric Swanson, a mentor to me (and many others) who originally recruited me to study at BGU. He has made years of faithful investment through his writing, teaching, and coaching of many leaders of city movements.
I met so many BGU leaders during my travels over the past month that I am certain that I missed highlighting other interactions that I had with our staff, faculty, and alumni members. And I may have missed some of you as I made my way around. My apologies if that happened! But I was so encouraged by everyone that I crossed paths with who is a part of our BGU global family. Much thanks to all of you who make such a significant impact with your life and leadership every day. You are inspiring! And I would also like to thank our amazing donors who help to fuel so much impact through their generosity. I have set a goal to raise $300,000 between July 1 and December 31 of this year, and I am excited to share that individual donors have already donated more than $98,000 so far!
Will you help us to finish this calendar year strong and reach that $300,000 goal so that we can train even more transformational leaders for the global city? All the details on how to give, and a link to donate, can be found on our BGU website: https://bgu.edu/giving
Thank you for being a part of our BGU global community, and for continuing to pray for and contribute to our global impact!
Dr. Bryan McCabe
President, Bakke Graduate University