When in your lifetime have you ever heard more about the economy and the impact it’s having on just about every aspect of our lifestyle? The answer to that question would vary depending upon your age, of course, knowing that some readers have in fact lived through some very economically challenged seasons and can recall them without much difficulty. Only the Seniors among us, however, can recollect what today’s recession is being compared to, as only they would be able to attest to the challenging days of what was known as the Great Depression.

For many reading this article, this is likely ditheir first round with such a challenge, or maybe the first time they can recall a direct impact on their personal lives by the financial climate of the culture. As believers, most of us would agree that God’s plan for our lives does not rise or fall on the Dow Jones, or the current Prime interest rate. Isn’t it interesting that in all four gospels, there is not a single mention of the economic climate of the times, nor of its influence on the surrounding culture of the day!

Today, because of the relative increase in challenges being experienced by many due to what is happening in the economy, we have all become armchair analysts to a degree, offering our own synopsis of the problem. “This is all in line with what is going to happen in the end-times,” some are saying, while others may add, “It’s because of the greed of man that our economy and that of the entire world is struggling like it is.” Still others are saying, “God is shaking everything that can be shaken, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:27b).

I have to say that all of these comments are at least partially correct and there is some truth to be taken from each one. But I am convinced that the result of the need to “tighten the belt” will produce a refocusing of one’s priorities upon the things God has intended to be at the top of the list of every follower of Jesus.

For us here at Elim, discipleship is the primary focus and result of His ongoing encounter with each one on a daily basis. Ironically, I came to Elim in the mid-’70s, during the last real recession of any consequence compared to what we’re experiencing today. At the ripe age of 21 years old, admittedly I was not as conscious of most of the resulting impacts of that season, largely because I was laser-focused on following the One who had made Himself real to me and answered the deep need of my soul to know why I was even on the planet! When I came to Elim, I became a part of a community of genuinely compatible followers, who were all (for the most part) hungry to know God and to surrender themselves to His overarching purpose for creation, and specifically for themselves. I found that we would all, at some point in the journey—some of us more than others—discover character traits that had formed in our youth that were not exactly pleasing to God and warranted change! The beautiful thing was I felt safe in a culture that recognized we were all on the same journey, no doubt at different phases along the way, and not one of us were excluded from the process of “being conformed to the image of His dear Son” (Romans 8:29).

“Elim is a discipling community,” I explain to those who I encounter along the way. We are much like the story of the four blindfolded men, who were asked to define an object they would be allowed to touch for a few moments before giving their answer. One said, “It feels like a rough fire hose!” Another said, “It feels like an unusual leather rope.” Another said, “It feels like a big leaf from a tropical plant!” And still another said, “I think it’s a tree trunk!” All were right, but none recognized what it was in its entirety—an elephant! Similarly, one may describe Elim Bible Institute as a place to learn how to worship or a school committed to teach the truth of the Word of God. Both are right, in part, but each is only describing a component of the whole.

Solomon well said, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sow; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

I believe most students who came to Elim for two to three years can say that what they experienced at Elim afforded them, in at least some part, with many—if not most—of the opportunities described by Solomon. God divinely orchestrates, in a relatively short period of one’s life at Elim, a discipling experience that becomes an anchor through every season life will throw at them. Whether a staggering economy, the tragic loss of a child just brought to birth, or the launch of an exciting new ministry, God brings each of us into new seasons as it pleases Him. He is committed to His promise to conform us to the image of His Son.

That is why the verse before this statement in Romans makes any sense at all. That’s the one we most often quote in difficult times (or should!), which states, “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:28,29).

With that in mind, as a friend or alumni of Elim, you might be asking yourself, “How can I be involved in that process in others’ lives while it is daily happening in me?” I’m glad you asked yourself that question, because every day here on “the hill,” God continues to work in the lives of a new generation of hungry, sometimes hurting, desperately seeking young and middle-aged people alike—in spite of the challenging season in which we find ourselves. Your prayerful engagement and your financial gifts are helping our students, one at a time, to continue to experience transformation in a discipling community.

Here at Elim, we are committed to keeping student fees as low as possible, to enable our students to finish their program with minimal to no debt. How can one pursue service on the mission field or in a ministry that offers minimal remuneration while carrying the debt that most students finish school with these days? The amazing thing is that student fees only account for a little over half of what it takes to run the school annually.

Friends and alumni like you, feeling the burden to see this process of discipleship continue as it has for these last 85 years here at EBI, are helping carry the balance of the cost.

As you consider how you might continue to participate in this mission, we’ve created three ongoing initiatives, all focused on helping our student body. These include our Legacy Partnership (becoming a regular contributor), our Elim Scholarship Fund (helps to fund the many student discounts that we give to our students), and the Gideon’s 300 (an initiative focused on committing to give a thousand dollars a year for three years).

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Any gift that you make will be used to advance our mission in and through our students and aid in helping continue to see servant-leaders, who are experiencing the transforming work of God in their lives, reach their appointed destiny in Him.