In recent weeks, a number of us on Faculty here at MST have had the privilege of joining past cohorts of MBI/BCV students as they come together and celebrate various anniversaries of their graduation. You can imagine that, as with most class reunions, there were plenty of fascinating stories, shared and precious memories, and of course hilarious anecdotes from their years studying together.
One thing that particularly struck me was their collective testimonies of the way in which their years at MBI/BCV were so profound and formative, leaving them with not only a confidence in Scripture and a love of Christ, but a heart to serve. This, in spite of many of their life experiences being characterised by difficult, and even at times profoundly painful seasons.
What was also remarkable, and overwhelmingly evident, was the degree to which the culture, ethos, and clear legacy of their years at MBI or BCV, left them with an enduring passion for mission, and an irrepressible vision for the proclamation of the Gospel to the unreached peoples of the world. It seems that for many years, virtually every student who studied at MBI, or BCV, left this College with a life-long determination to not only pray for and support mission work, but where possible, to personally commit themselves to mission work somewhere in the world. Indeed, the collective years of cross-cultural mission service represented among just those few groups of Alumni would add up, I suspect, to many, many hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years! God alone knows the fruit and impact of all our graduates over the years, but no wonder our College has a name and reputation for a commitment to cross-cultural ministry!
And while the world has dramatically changed, along with the specific places, methods, and vocational pathways by which men and women engage now in mission service, this commitment to the cause of Christ among the nations remains at the very core of our identity as a College. After all, right now, over 7000 people groups remain effectively unreached. In other words, over 40% of the entire world’s population right now have little, or indeed no access at all to the Good News of Christ.
So we press on – inspired both by those who have gone before us, and by the vision we find so beautifully portrayed in the book of Revelation, of a day that that is coming when those from “every single nation, tribe and tongue, will know and worship our Saviour.” (Rev 7:9)
One of MST’s core values speaks to this commitment.
“MST’s story has always been of people with a heart and a passion for global missions. Generations of men and women have been trained here and have gone on to shape the world and the world of global mission in remarkable ways. Mission remains central to the heart and purpose of MST.”
May this same mission passion and vision be just as vibrant and evident one day, when those who study here now get together again, to worship, and remember.