Megan Campbell
Megan is heading to seminary to study theology. Bethany University, she says, has more than prepared her for such a task.
“I came to Bethany with a passion for the Lord and a strong desire to do ministry,” says Campbell who graduated with a church leadership degree. “Bethany fueled that, but it also opened the intellectual side of my faith.”
Though Campbell will leave Bethany with fond memories and many friends, she can’t help but be in awe of the quality education she received as well. Courses such as Greek and The Righteous Suffering of Believers revolutionized her faith.
“The faculty interaction, student relationships, and spiritual life here are things this university continues to get right.”
Darin Conley
Darin says the opportunities he has had at Bethany to learn, lead and grow closer to God have far surpassed what he would have received from the prestigious universities that wooed him before he enrolled at Bethany.
“I would not have been as involved at the other universities as I was at Bethany,” says Conley, who is Bethany’s cultural representative and a speech and debate team member who plans on attending law school after he graduates.
Conley credits the university’s excellent student to professor ratio for helping him achieve high marks in the classroom.
“Professors know my first and last name and they ask me about my course work, personal life and they keep me accountable,” he says. “God will continue to direct me to the best things He has for me — I know that because He has done so, so far.”
Luis Cruz
Luis recently graduated from Bethany University with a church leadership major. Today, he is serving as an associate pastor in Nevada.
“Every would-be minister needs Bible training,” says Cruz. “Bethany has prepared me for the ministry. Academically I was challenged to work hard and strive for excellence. Without going to Bethany I can’t see myself being prepared for what I’m doing now.”
At Bethany, Cruz says all his professors knew his name, and there were numerous leadership opportunities, as well as life-long friendships to be made. He was also able to play baseball for the varsity team.
“Bethany University,” he says, “is an experience like no other.”
Vanessa Irving
Vanessa had a full-ride basketball scholarship to a California university, but when she heard the school was ranked as a “party school,” she decided a Christian university would be the best place for her.
“God put it on my heart that I needed to grow in my relationship with Him instead of with the world,” says Irving, who is a social science major. “I’ve grown so much at Bethany and God has given me amazing revelations about what I’ll do in the future.” Her life-long dream had been to become a teacher, but recently she has felt burdened to go into full-time youth ministry.
“I’ve grown with God here,” she says. “At Bethany I don’t have all the pressures of the world on me. This university is an amazing place.”
Alvin Leota
Alvin planned on going to a major college to play football — God had other plans. They were the kind of plans that would see Leota — a former gang member from San Francisco — embrace a call to missions in the Middle East.
“I chose Bethany and I’m so glad,” says Leota, who majored in business so he could be a tentmaker in other countries. “God is full of surprises.”
Part of those surprises have been seeing several of his family members and friends follow his lead in embracing a relationship with Christ. No amount of fame and fortune, says Leota, can compare to transformed lives.
“An investment in the students of Bethany is great,” he says, “because it’s an investment in the future of lives, impacting both the Church and society.”
