Significant Service for Christ

Significant Service for Christ

Published November 6, 2017

CSU Women Share Their Passions

Elizabeth Fletcher, Hazel Vibbard and Mabel Thomson were three of the founders of CSU and the first full-time faculty members at what was then known as Baptist Bible Seminary in Johnson City, New York. The women taught everything from missions and Christian education to Bible analysis and biblical criticism.

Now, 85 years later, their names adorn CSU residence halls, a salute to the work God did through them. But the greater legacy is the thousands of female CSU alumni now impacting the world for Christ in incredible ways—teaching, discipling, counseling, writing, leading—because of the foundations laid by the founding women. Today’s female graduates continue to make a difference with Christ at the center of everything they do.

Missionary Teacher

Dr. Cheryl Fawcett (’75) was called to ministry at age 15 during summer camp. After completing a Bachelor of Religious Education at CSU, Fawcett earned an M.A. in Christian Ministries from Wheaton Graduate School and a Ph.D in Educational Studies from Trinity Evangelical School. Now she’s a missionary with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, traveling the world teaching educational seminars and youth ministry workshops. She is part of 4:12 Generation, an initiative to “equip and encourage ABWE missionaries and nationals toward biblical and culturally sensitive youth ministry.” Fawcett has written curricula and resources for Regular Baptist Press and the Evangelical Training Association. In 1996, she was granted the Alumni Outstanding Service Award and in 2013 was named CSU’s Alumnus of the Year.

Fawcett came to CSU to learn to teach the Bible to children and students. “Clarks Summit University prepared me in every way I could imagine,” says Fawcett. She hasn’t stopped teaching since.

Life-Affirming Counselor

The ministry of Evelyn (Decker) Stone (’77, ’02) thrives in Lima, Perú. She’s the founder and president of Centro Prenatal Vida Nueva (New Life Prenatal Center), a crisis pregnancy center providing biblical counseling and medical attention to over 1,500 people every year. The ministry has led over 1,900 people to Christ.

Originally from Mehoopany, Pennsylvania—only 30 miles from CSU—Stone is a second-generation CSU alumna. The Elementary Education major spent 15 years teaching elementary school and then Christian education at Bible colleges in Peru. In 2002, Stone earned an Master of Science in Counseling Ministries at CSU before launching New Life Prenatal Center, an answer to the burden she felt for the women of Peru. She counsels at the center and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Peru and online to students in no less than 13 countries. She says CSU provided a firm biblical foundation for her ministry.

“The solid Bible training from CSU has been most valuable,” said Stone. “I love to open the Word of God and find the exact answer to the problems of life.”

Motivating Writer

Emily Gehman (’12) is a storytelling coach and online managing editor of AUTHENTIK Magazine/Shattered Media, Inc. She majored in counseling, but her passion is writing. Working in the university’s Communications Department furthered her career skills and provided mentors to help her hone her writing.

“The summer after I graduated, I realized how my counseling and writing could come together. I love hearing people’s stories and writing to make them shine, so others could see God at work through peoples’ stories.” Her work has been published on Christianity Today’s website and in the “Baptist Bulletin.” She’s written stories about God at work in the lives of people like Lee Strobel and human trafficking survivor Rebecca Bender. She also helps authors and clients share their stories in book form, including CSU professor Sherrie Holloway’s “For the Love of God.” 

“The skills CSU prepared me with serve me well in everyday life,” she admits. “I love sharing stories of Jesus changing peoples’ lives, including my own.”

 

Emily Gehman (’12) and Erika Bruckner (’04) are CSU graduates serving through writing.

 

 

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