In the Nick of Time comes to your inbox free of charge fifty weeks a year. We only talk to you about money during one of those weeks, and this is it. It’s time for Central Seminary’s annual Give to the Max event, and we’re going to ask you to participate with a gift.
Give to the Max is the creation of GiveMN, a private coordinator for charitable donations in Minnesota. The original event—a decade and a half ago—was a single day, and it was called “Give to the Max Day.” At the time we had a local pastor in Minnesota (now retired) whose name was Max Day. The first “Give to the Max Day” created a certain amount of confusion.
Now the Give to the Max event is one of our primary occasions for telling our friends what is happening at Central Seminary. During COVID we made the shift to distance education using the Zoom® platform. While many schools declined and even shut their doors, our student population has grown globally. We now reach into twenty-seven states, thirteen foreign countries, and five continents. We are educating pastors and missionaries in places like Windsor (Ontario), Kitwe (Zambia), Albion (New York), and Ockenheim (Germany). We are training Christian counselors not only in Minnesota but in places like Nairobi (Kenya) and Cape Girardeau (Missouri).
Not one of these students pays the full cost of seminary education. Each of them is subsidized generously by your gifts. Without your help, seminary education would become so expensive that only the elite could afford it. Because people like you want pastors and counselors who are well equipped, we can offer a very affordable seminary experience to our students.
The ministry of WCTS AM-1030 continues to blanket the Twin Cities along with much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The Bible Station broadcasts Christian music, biblical exposition, and scriptural perspectives into homes that have few or no conservative Christian alternatives.
Central Seminary also provides a variety of services to churches and individuals. In the Nick of Time is one of those. So is the Central Seminary Podcast (if you haven’t listened to it, you should). Central Seminary provides assistance to many churches seeking pastors or pulpit supply. We sponsor both a fall conference and the Charles MacDonald Lecture series. Incidentally, next February’s MacDonald Lectures will feature Dr. Manfred Kober talking about “Living Under a Hostile Government.” Kober knows something about that topic, having experienced both Hitler’s Germany and the communist East German regime.
The point is that Central Seminary gives you a lot of bang for your buck. We are getting the Lord’s work done, both here in Minnesota and around the world. That’s why we’re not embarrassed to ask for your support. Every penny goes toward advancing the gospel and proclaiming the whole counsel of God.
This year, a generous donor has promised $50,000 as a matching gift. What does that mean? It means that he will give when we (the rest of us) give. When we give a dollar, he gives a dollar. When we give a thousand, he gives a thousand. If you can give ten thousand (not many can), he will give ten thousand. Every dollar that you give will automatically be doubled. You can help to turn this donor’s $50,000 promise into a $100,000 reality.
How can you give? The easiest way is to follow the link here and to give online. To give to WCTS, follow this link. If you wish, you can mail a gift to Central Baptist Theological Seminary at 900 Forestview Lane North, in Plymouth, Minnesota 55441. Or you can call 763.417.8250 between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM Central Time. No matter how you give, your donation will help to make that $50,000 promise into a $100,000 reality.
How much does a Central Seminary education help our graduates? Here is what one graduate says:
Every year at Give to the Max time, I’m reminded of how grateful I am for my time at Central. I thank the Lord for the men and women who have made Central’s ministry possible. I cannot adequately describe how important it was for me to come into my first senior pastorate with these tools at my disposal, because of the reality of ministering in a small congregation where I need to work part-time outside the church to make ends meet. I cannot imagine what a guy in that situation would do who did not have access to the trunk loads of jewels that I’ve been given. During plenty of long weeks and late nights, having such a reservoir to draw from has allowed me to be ready for Sunday time and time again, with wholesome meals to offer to the flock of God.
That’s exactly what we aim to do. We aim to give pastors, missionaries, and biblical counselors the tools that they will need to succeed in real-life ministry. Will you help us to fulfill this task?
Go Preach My Gospel
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
“Go preach my Gospel,” saith the Lord;
“Bid the whole Earth my Grace receive:
He shall be sav’d that trusts my Word,
He shall be damn’d that won’t believe.
I’ll make your great Commission known,
And ye shall prove my Gospel true,
By all the Works that I have done,
By all the Wonders ye shall do.
Teach all the Nations my Commands;
I’m with you till the World shall end;
All Pow’r is trusted in my Hands,
I can destroy, and can defend.”
He spake, and Light shone round his Head;
On a bright Cloud of Heav’n he rode;
They to the farthest Nations spread
The Grace of their ascended God.
