“I want to be a part of this!” is what some students and I said as we toured the Inspired Vision Compassion Center in Dallas during a City Immersion in 2024. Those words came easily and from our hearts. What we witnessed stirred something deep within us.
We heard powerful stories of transformation - of lives once on the margins, now beginning to flourish. We saw firsthand the fruits of hard labor: new food items brought in daily, other resources ready, and volunteers serving with joy and purpose. Some of those who had been on the receiving end, were now able to join the many volunteers. They had rebuilt their lives, were able to support their families, and now returned to serve others.
We saw it in the smiles of those distributing and in the relief on the faces of those receiving. Then something unexpected happened: our hearts were moved. No one asked us to donate or pray, but we did - willingly and joyfully. Looking back now, I still find myself praying for the center and the people who walk through its doors whenever I think of my experience.
This experience was part of the Dallas City Immersion, a cornerstone course for the transformational education at Bakke Graduate University (BGU). These immersions are 10-day intensives that shape the core of who our participants are becoming. Alumni, spouses, and an increasing number of auditing leaders join in to experience this transformation for themselves.
BGU is known for raising transformational leaders who create real change across the globe. Our graduates have launched NGOs, founded schools, influenced national policies, and innovated in fields from agriculture to education—all in service to communities we may never see, but that God knows intimately. Many of them have created their own “compassion center” in cities around the world. You can read a few of these inspiring stories at www.bgu.edu.
Reflecting on my own journey, I ask myself: What really happened in my heart that day? The answer is simple - it was the joy of seeing God on the move. In that moment, I wanted in. I wanted to be part of what mattered to Him.
When God draws us into intimacy with Him, He also reveals what matters most to His heart. And that changes us. As God forms us into the likeness he created us for, we naturally respond with a caring heart to see all of God’s creation redeemed. Our formation is affected by the choices we make about who will influence us. Now I ask you, how have you been moved to participate in what God is doing in your part of the world?
Would you consider partnering with BGU financially to help bring God’s Shalom to communities around the globe? My prayer is that your heart will be filled with joy as you give, wherever you choose to give, and that you experience God’s Shalom in your corner of the world.
Dr. Nita Kotiuga
BGU Director of Spiritual Formation