GOD’S LEADING IN THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Past
Owen: I was baptized at 9 years of age, but I was not saved. Then at 14, my mother, who also was unsaved, started taking my siblings and me to a Bible-preaching church. As a result, God began drawing me to read the Bible. This led to the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin, and in March 1968, I trusted Christ as my Savior at a revival meeting. Later that summer, at a youth camp, I sensed God’s call to some kind of ministry. I then began thinking in terms of preparing for what God would have me do. In the fall of 1971, I enrolled in Bible College at Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated in 1975. From there I answered a call to be the associate pastor of a church in Celina, Ohio. After that ministry in 1977, I moved back to my hometown where I eventually met Marilyn while substitute teaching some of her English classes in a nearby high school.
Marilyn: Having been brought up in a loving home in which I was taught about God and Jesus and faithfully taken to church, I chose to be baptized as a teenager. However, I was not saved and kept trusting in church duties and good deeds. Not until I reached my twenties, did I learn from the preaching of the Word that I could not earn my salvation. I realized the truth of Matthew 11:28-30 and trusted Jesus to save me from my sin and to give me His peace. Then I was baptized as a born-again believer.
We were united in marriage on October 3, 1981. The Lord gave us Sarah Grace on July 21, 1982. We had been praying about the possibility of seminary. God opened the door for me (Owen) to enroll in Grace Theological Seminary in August 1983. Those years were filled with family and work responsibilities, academic endeavors, and church/personal ministry commitments. Our family size also increased as Joseph Owen was born on June 24, 1985 and Timothy Lee on December 14, 1987. In the years after graduation from Grace in 1988, we were involved in various ministries in the churches we attended while working secular jobs and homeschooling our children.
We learned about Cornerstone Bible Institute (CBI) in the late 1990’s. Our son Joseph enrolled there in 2005 and graduated in 2008. During those years, we sensed that God possibly would have a ministry there for us. We committed these things to God in prayer. Then in 2010, after completing the application, we traveled to Cornerstone in April for the interview process. God made it clear to us and CBI that this is where He wanted us. After engaging in building our prayer and financial support base, we moved from Warsaw, Indiana to Hot Springs, South Dakota in December 2012. Cornerstone does not pay a salary to its staff so that we can be an example of faith-living to the students and so that the student expenses can be kept low. Thus, the staff must raise support for life expenses just like a missionary.
Present
Many years ago before our marriage, both of us trusted Christ as Savior. Through the years, individually and together, we have benefited spiritually from various persons who have discipled and mentored us. Now we are doing the same for the next generation of choice servants God is calling and preparing (2 Timothy 2:2). What better place than CBI! Owen’s first semester teaching load includes Old Testament Survey, Bible Doctrine I, Pastoral Epistles, and Homiletics I. Second semester he teaches Bible Doctrine II, Galatians, James and Jude, and Homiletics II. Owen also serves as the CBI Registrar. Marilyn’s teaching responsibility for first semester consists of Basic English and Writing Research. Second semester she teaches English Grammar and Composition. Marilyn also assists in Christian Education classes, and she oversees the Hot Springs Bible Club, which meets weekly in our home during the school year. Together, we are involved personally in the students’ lives as they prepare for ministry.
Future
Our desire is to continue in this ministry as long as God allows. It is exciting to see how God has providentially worked in our past. It is even more exciting to trust Him for leading in the future. Our God reigns!
