Equip
April/May 2020 Newsletter
Holmes Bible College
Expressions From the President!
We are not criminals! We are just ready for the outside world!
On March 15, I was sitting in my chair waiting for time to start the evening church service at Holmes Memorial Church. I received a call from Dr. Brent Lollis, our Advisory Council President. He informed me that our governor (South Carolina) had just closed all the South Carolina colleges effective Monday, March 16. We were closed just that quickly.
I called a meeting of the President’s Council that very evening. I met with the Holmes faculty the next morning. We immediately moved all classes to online. Holmes has a superb group of faculty. They are diligent, hardworking, and very flexible.
Since that day we have worked very hard to salvage the semester for our students. Classes end this week. We have made it!
NO! GRADUATION
Graduation has been postponed! It has been postponed to Saturday, August 22. The fall semester begins August 19. Please pray that we can honor the 2020 Seniors on this special day.
Our faculty are to be commended. They have had much more work to do. They stepped up and delivered. I do wish to say well done to Rev. Stacy Watford. He is Director of Online Studies.
The staff have made so many adjustments but kept everything going. The outside doors are locked but we are inside working – obeying the guidelines of social distancing. Those who need to enter are allowed to do so but under strict guidelines.
These are challenging days! We had tornadoes within 7 miles of us 2 weeks ago. The Lord protected our campus! We had no damage. Last Saturday night we had hail and a tornado passed over us but touched down 2 miles from us and then stayed on the ground for 6 miles. The Lord has protected us.
All of our expenses have continued with the exception of some food costs. Several of our students could not go home – international, etc. They continue on campus. The Lord has provided.
The church has not had a live service since Wednesday, March 18. We have been streaming the services on Facebook. We have averaged over 1,000 views each Sunday morning. (We will continue the streaming after we come back together.) We are streaming as Holmes Memorial Church and Holmes Bible College on Facebook. Join us on Sunday morning at 10:45 a.m. and Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We will do Summer School Online! Praise Him! We are registering now. We plan to re-open on August 19th. Please pray! Pray specifically for full dormitories and that we will exceed 100 students on the way to 150. Also pray for an additional part-time music teacher and a part-time drama instructor.
Travel Plans
Please be in pray for my travel plans to represent the College. I have had to cancel my March, April, and May dates. These events allow the raising of extra funds for the College and the recruiting of extra students. Our budget has been adversely affected. (Our regular giving is also off due to church funds being down and faithful contributors losing their jobs) However, to date all bills are paid! We are dependent upon the Lord as our Jehovah-Jireh! He has never failed us!
Please forgive all these words! We would have loved to give you pictures of the spring outing, graduation, the spring festivals, the spring tea, etc. but we do not have any. They never happened!
Remember – The Special Project
We are raising funds for the Flagpole Project.
· 1 pole – 30 feet – American Flag and State Flag
· 1 pole – 25 feet – Christian Flag
· 1 pole – 25 feet – Holmes Flag
Beneath the poles will be a brick garden with names.
· Million Dollar Miracle Bricks (1990’s fund raising)
· Sustainer Bricks (A sustainer is one who has given at least $1200 per year) This is the cost of one day’s operation.
· Holmes Military Veterans Bricks ($250 gift to honor Holmes military veterans)
Special Note – The military bricks are beginning to come in. Thank you! The bricks are $250 each. They are for students or staff members who have served in the military (U.S.A. or other). Each line for the brick is 18 characters or less – 3 lines. Our goal is to have the poles and bricks in place by October 1st, Vision4Education.
April/May 2020 Newsletter
Holmes Bible College
Expressions From the President!
We are not criminals! We are just ready for the outside world!
On March 15, I was sitting in my chair waiting for time to start the evening church service at Holmes Memorial Church. I received a call from Dr. Brent Lollis, our Advisory Council President. He informed me that our governor (South Carolina) had just closed all the South Carolina colleges effective Monday, March 16. We were closed just that quickly.
I called a meeting of the President’s Council that very evening. I met with the Holmes faculty the next morning. We immediately moved all classes to online. Holmes has a superb group of faculty. They are diligent, hardworking, and very flexible.
Since that day we have worked very hard to salvage the semester for our students. Classes end this week. We have made it!
NO! GRADUATION
Graduation has been postponed! It has been postponed to Saturday, August 22. The fall semester begins August 19. Please pray that we can honor the 2020 Seniors on this special day.
Our faculty are to be commended. They have had much more work to do. They stepped up and delivered. I do wish to say well done to Rev. Stacy Watford. He is Director of Online Studies.
The staff have made so many adjustments but kept everything going. The outside doors are locked but we are inside working – obeying the guidelines of social distancing. Those who need to enter are allowed to do so but under strict guidelines.
These are challenging days! We had tornadoes within 7 miles of us 2 weeks ago. The Lord protected our campus! We had no damage. Last Saturday night we had hail and a tornado passed over us but touched down 2 miles from us and then stayed on the ground for 6 miles. The Lord has protected us.
All of our expenses have continued with the exception of some food costs. Several of our students could not go home – international, etc. They continue on campus. The Lord has provided.
The church has not had a live service since Wednesday, March 18. We have been streaming the services on Facebook. We have averaged over 1,000 views each Sunday morning. (We will continue the streaming after we come back together.) We are streaming as Holmes Memorial Church and Holmes Bible College on Facebook. Join us on Sunday morning at 10:45 a.m. and Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We will do Summer School Online! Praise Him! We are registering now. We plan to re-open on August 19th. Please pray! Pray specifically for full dormitories and that we will exceed 100 students on the way to 150. Also pray for an additional part-time music teacher and a part-time drama instructor.
Travel Plans
Please be in pray for my travel plans to represent the College. I have had to cancel my March, April, and May dates. These events allow the raising of extra funds for the College and the recruiting of extra students. Our budget has been adversely affected. (Our regular giving is also off due to church funds being down and faithful contributors losing their jobs) However, to date all bills are paid! We are dependent upon the Lord as our Jehovah-Jireh! He has never failed us!
Please forgive all these words! We would have loved to give you pictures of the spring outing, graduation, the spring festivals, the spring tea, etc. but we do not have any. They never happened!
Remember – The Special Project
We are raising funds for the Flagpole Project.
· 1 pole – 30 feet – American Flag and State Flag
· 1 pole – 25 feet – Christian Flag
· 1 pole – 25 feet – Holmes Flag
Beneath the poles will be a brick garden with names.
· Million Dollar Miracle Bricks (1990’s fund raising)
· Sustainer Bricks (A sustainer is one who has given at least $1200 per year) This is the cost of one day’s operation.
· Holmes Military Veterans Bricks ($250 gift to honor Holmes military veterans)
Special Note – The military bricks are beginning to come in. Thank you! The bricks are $250 each. They are for students or staff members who have served in the military (U.S.A. or other). Each line for the brick is 18 characters or less – 3 lines. Our goal is to have the poles and bricks in place by October 1st, Vision4Education.