BGU News
A NEW FACE AND A NEW VOICE AT BGU . . . PLUS OTHER CHANGES
If you call the BGU office you will likely hear the voice of the newest addition to the BGU staff family – Lisa San Martín (pronounced “mar-TEEN”) – Receptionist & Office Assistant. She can be found at the front desk where Lauren Geiser sat. Lauren has moved down the hall to Room 405, where she is quickly learning the ins and outs of her new role – Assistant Registrar. And Jessica Moore will be primarily working from her home in Tacoma as the Administrative Assistant to the Business School , helping Business Dean Neal Johnson, et al, launch the new BGU Business School.
Lisa provides general office support for our office team, and specific support for Academic Dean Grace Barnes and the Academic Department. She saw our job listing on Craigslist and wrote a compelling cover letter to accompany her resume. In the letter she said, “Everything I read convinced me that this job would be a wonderful fit for me, and that very likely you would also find me a wonderful fit for the position.” She was right on both counts. A global person, Lisa speaks fluent Spanish and can get by in Russian. She has lived in Argentina and the Ukraine and traveled extensively. In addition, last fall she married Marcos San Martin, making a 24/7 commitment to a bi-cultural life. For Lisa hospitality comes naturally, and she is in the prime seat for extending hospitality in the BGU office... a good fit indeed.
CITY SIGNALS WINS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM “OUTREACH MAGAZINE”
In 2008 New Hope Publishers released City Signals: Principles and Practices For Ministering In Today’s Global City, written by BGU President Brad Smith.
The book recently received one of the book of the year awards for Cross Cultural Ministries from Outreach Magazine.
Nearly 140 books and other resources were nominated, and a panel of judges assisted in the final selection of 27 resources within nine categories. City Signals was among two other winners in the Cross-Cultural Ministry category.
From Outreach Magazine - “City Signals recognizes the significance of globalization impacting the urban centers of our planet and the accompanying opportunity to reach the world with the Gospel through innovation, adaptation and renewed spiritual formation. The book is helpful for leaders embracing the challenge to develop a more ethnic, economic and educationally diverse mindset and approach to ministry in and through the local church, whether in cities throughout the United States or around the world.”
FRESNO EPILOGUE . . . TWO THUMBS UP – DR. RANDY WHITE
I am learning to think in a completely different way about collaboration, leveraging and stewardship in Christian Community Development. (BGU Graduate Student)
The Fresno Urban Field Experience has wrapped up and students have given it a spectacular evaluation. Students overwhelmingly signaled that the class was transformational.
Comments included:
The course exceeded my expectations.
I felt strengthened, encouraged and inspired by what God is doing in Fresno, the city with the highest level of concentrated poverty of any large city in America.
I was deeply moved by the character and the love witnessed in the lives of those who intentionally moved into high poverty neighborhoods.
Our meals comprised a global tour, as we ate Salvadoran Pupusas, Hmong pho (noodle soup), carne asada burritos and Vietnamese sandwiches. Besides covering issues such as housing, education, immigration, poverty, relocation, and compassionate service, the course ended with a Christian Community Development Association 2-day regional conference, featuring practitioners from San Francisco and Chicago who shared the keys to effectiveness and sustainability in the city from the scriptures and their experience. I’m still flying high and can’t wait for next year’s second annual Fresno Urban Field Experience.
- Dr. Randy White (Associate Director Doctor of Ministry Program – Professor of Record for Fresno Course)
SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENING IN FRESNO – MARCH 16-20
Doctoral and Masters students participating in BGU's Fresno Urban Field Experience spent time in Fresno's highest poverty neighborhood yesterday (March 19), but they were surprised by the easily identifiable signs of hope there. 
For instance, in this neighborhood formerly known as the Devil's Triangle, students stood in front of the homes of dozens of families and leaders who have relocated there to become an intentional community seeking its peace and well-being. Randy White, Associate Director of BGU's international Doctor of Ministry Program and Professor of Record for this course, lives in that neighborhood. During the week he has introduced students to key influencers in the city who are working collaboratively to pursue transformation. As a lab, Fresno offers some unique features. It is the city with the highest level of concentrated poverty of any large city in the nation, but an uncharacteristic level of connection between churches, missional agencies and city programs has evolved in this climate of hardship. Randy says, "Students here are being treated to the focus, creativity and solidarity of the Christian community in ways that are unique to this city, as well as to some amazing leaders who are providing transferable examples of what can be done in the students’ own cities." The Fresno Urban Field Experience will be an annual course.
