The two day event went very well, especially on Saturday, April 26, 2025, with an attendance of about twice that of the previous day. The moderator for both days was Dr. Marlene Hines, Alumni President and BGU Professor. The program included a keynote, the presentation of BGU President, Dr. Bryan McCabe, and of BGU Academic Dean, Dr. Belete Mebratu. The proceedings of both days were blessed by an opening prayer offered by Dr. Marimuthu Arumuganadar, a member of the BGU Board of Regents from India and a founding Alumni Council member, Dr. Andrea Mullings from the U.S.A.

The keynote presentation for Friday was offered by Dr. Jacob Bloemberg, Catalyst for Lausanne City Network, who presently resides in Hanoi and whose recorded presentation was titled “Love Hanoi” showing him walking through the streets of Hanoi and sharing his city transformation story. We were truly inspired and motivated. The 2nd keynote address was delivered by Dr. Martine Audeoud, Advisor to the BGU President and Director of the PhD Program, which was equally inspiring and was titled “What is Holistic Mission”. Each keynote session was followed by a 5-minute discussion reflecting of the cultural diversity of the participants on both days.

Dr. McCabe provided an update on BGU’s progress concerning the "BGU 4.0" strategic plan. This update presented BGU’s achievements to date and its forecasted developments, including an increase in student enrollment, the growth of its certificate program, and the establishment of doctoral programs in Asia and Africa. The presentation of Dr. Mebratu titled “The Role of Alumni in Student Recruitment” focused on the influence BGU alumni can play in growing student enrolment. Both presentations were informative, insightful, and transformative, as reflected in the questions and comments of the participants.

The program featured a short virtual tour presenting books written by BGU alumni and accessible on the BGU website. The tour guide was BGU Director of Marketing, Dr. Krisztina Olah from Hungary. Our graduate, Dr. Lauren Speeth presented her certificate program titled "Professional Development in the Seven Pillars."

Dr. John Lewis, BGU alumni from the Caribbean Island of Grenada, presented on the topic “Pastoral and Church Health” which is related to the subject of his doctoral dissertation. This presentation on Saturday touched the heart of compassion and care for pastors and their families among the participants, despite of geographical and cultural boundaries which was made evident through the robust questioning and answering segment that followed.

A recorded panel discussion with Kathy Pierburg, Director of Certificate Programs and DTL candidate, was also on the agenda for both days of the Gathering. The panelists representing the USA, Nigeria, and Guyana shared how they successfully implemented certificate courses in partnership with BGU, and how they provide them in their different locations and for different audiences. The topics feature trainings for church leaders, Theology of Work, and Business as Mission (BAM). Participants were allowed to ask questions from Kathy about the process of implementing similar certificate courses. The participants asked about the possibility of new additions to the BGU certificate offerings in the near future.

The final session on both days was the breakout room session, facilitating a discussion on the establishment of regional alumni groups on all five continents, representing the global population of BGU alumni and students. The discussions were also guided by the takeaways from Dr. Mebratu’s presentation.

As a follow-up to the Annual Alumni Gathering and in particular the breakout sessions, a meeting was called by Dr. McCabe and Dr. Mebratu in May to discuss the way forward to establish regional alumni bodies. We plan to proceed on starting the establishment of the USA alumni group. We are remobilizing the group in Alabama, establishing a group in Canada and at least one group in Africa, and we will also remobilize the Caribbean group. In the next phase, we will establish at least one group in Europe and an additional group to the Singapore alumni group in another country in Asia.

According to David Agron (2022), “At small Christian colleges, we are not simply providing a few years of education. We are beginning a lifelong relationship with our students so that when they graduate, we will continue to make our alumni more effective in their careers and ministries”. This statement has been expressed through different words supported by BGU President, Dr. Bryan McCabe and BGU Chancellor, Dr. Brad Smith.

Please take some time to view the recording of the 2nd day of the event via this LINK.

Dr. Marlene Hines

BGU Alumni Association President