Londen Institute for Evangelism

Home News NEWS ARTICLE

Training that makes sense

In 1958 Gerald Comp decided that God had called him into ministry. Twenty-eight years old, with a wife and three children, Gerald quit his job with General Tire, moved three hundred miles away to a Bible College campus, and enrolled in school. There he sat in classes with young men and women ten years younger and with much less church and business experience than he.

While he was eager to begin his training, he still had to provide for his wife and children, so Gerald took a full-time job working in the warehouse of a supermarket chain. His work demanded so much of him that his school hours were limited. After five years of Bible College he still had considerable classroom work to do to complete his degree, but he felt an urgent need to begin preaching. So Gerald accepted a preaching position at a small church in northwest Pennsylvania and decided to put the remainder of his education on hold.

That’s how Gerald Comp became the minister of my home congregation in Conneautville, Pennsylvania in 1963. He was deeply loved by the church and he led a very effective ministry before his untimely death five years later at age 38. I’m very grateful for his commitment to Christ and the contribution he made to my life and my home church.

This is a story that took place five decades ago. If Gerald’s call into ministry had taken place today he could have enrolled in the Londen Institute for Evangelism and continued working at his job. His children could have remained in their school, Gerald and his wife Barbara could have maintained their friendships at their church, and through distance learning he could have secured a bachelor’s or master’s degree in ministry. His previous job training, church experience, and Bible knowledge would have been taken into consideration, and he would have been well prepared for service without completely uprooting his family and physically exhausting himself.

Let’s give thanks today for the Londen Institute for Evangelism and for those who envisioned it. Let’s give thanks for all who are currently enrolled and are preparing for ministry and evangelism. Let’s pray that God will touch the lives of hundreds of others who need to consider ministry as a second career. “The harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few,” and the opportunity to serve has never been greater than now.

In Christ,
Dr. Bob Russell
Londen Faculty