College Church of the Nazarene and Olivet Alumni and Friends Share Stories of Faithfulness in Inspirational Books
College Church of the Nazarene, on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, recently released two heartwarming collections of inspirational stories, Senior Moments: Reflections on God’s Faithfulness and Celebrating God’s Goodness, which showcase the wisdom and faith of senior adults from the congregation in Bourbonnais, IL. Many contributors are Olivet alumni or former employees, who weave a rich tapestry of testimonies that speak to God’s enduring presence in their lives.
The vision for these books began with Pastor Jesse Spencer, senior adult minister at College Church. Inspired by Deuteronomy’s call to share God’s works with future generations, Pastor Spencer felt charged with preserving the wisdom and testimonies of the faithful individuals within the College Church congregation. He gathered a small editorial team to collect and edit stories before sending them to publication. This team included Dr. LaVerne Jordan, Marsha Smith, Barbara Robbins ’71 (Reflections on God’s Faithfulness), and Mary Mercer ’71 (Celebrating God’s Goodness).
Each collection reflects the deep faith of its contributors, offering readers a glimpse of God’s work in their lives during both challenging and the everyday moments.
Reflections on God’s Faithfulness is, in the words of Dr. Mark Quanstrom ’77, Senior Pastor of College Church, “filled with personal stories of God’s faithfulness…a spiritual reflection that reveals the very real and dynamic relationship that we can all have with our Lord.”
Celebrating God’s Goodness expands on this theme, emphasizing God’s beauty and goodness, even in a world that can seem dark. With a forward inspired by Zechariah 9:17, Pastor Spencer writes, “Our prayer is that these stories of the goodness of God will allow you to see the world in a more beautiful light.”
Copies are available now at College Church of the Nazarene, or may be ordered online at Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.
Contributing Authors Include: Angela Alvarado ’89, Genevieve Arnold ’66 (former employee), David Atkinson (former faculty), Dorthy Bendix (former faculty), John C. Bowling ’71 (president emeritus), Nelson Bradford, Ben and Susan Bretveld, Keryl Carlton, Arlene Chenoweth ’62, Sylvia Diekman, Mary Ada Dillinger ’68 (former staff), Don Donley, Lonna El-Talabani, Stephen Farrar ’83, Susan Fields ’86, Rachel Greenwalt ’74, John Hanson ’57 (former faculty), Arlene Hoffman (former faculty), Harriet Hopkins ’53 n(former faculty), Marvin Jones (current faculty), Gary Jordan, LaVerne Jordan (former faculty), Audrey Kenyon, George Laun, George ’ 70 and Jan ’74 Laun, Russ Lovett ’68 (current faculty), Jane Maupin, Mary Mercer ’71, Lynn Millikan, Sherry Mitchell (adjunct faculty), Mark ’68 and Sharron ’69 Moore, Phylis Mund, Robert Potter, Mark Quanstrom ’77 (CCUA senior pastor), Roy Quanstrom ’69, (current staff), Barbara Robbins ’71, Carol Schriefer, Marsha Smith, (current staff), Jesse Spencer, Carol Summers, ’88 (former VPAA), Joy Weber ’77, George Wood
About Senior Moments: Reflections on God’s Faithfulness: This book is a collection of personal reflections on moments when God’s goodness and faithfulness was revealed in ordinary life events. It also includes some short devotions that provide personal insights into the nature of God. The vision for the book was to capture stories for subsequent generations.
About Celebrating God’s Goodness: This book is a collection of personal reflections contributed by 30 different people of the goodness of God. The title embraces the idea that these events are worthy of not only remembering them, but celebrating how they enhance our understanding of the very character of God. The stories range from major life-changing events such as being spared from danger or something that established a direction in life, to seeing the goodness of God in an ordinary life activity. The vision of the book is to capture stories that can be passed on to our children and grandchildren that provide them assurance that God is at work in our lives, providing direction, protection, and love. Additionally, we hope that these stories will provide encouragement for persons in the final stage of life’s journey who may need a reminder that God remains faithful in the struggles associated with aging. As Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Eccl 3:1). These are our stories of God’s goodness in various seasons of our lives.
