In the News

College bids farewell to administrators and prepares for transition

Two Hesston College administrators, Vice President of Student Life Lamar Roth and Vice President of Academics Dr. Sandra Zerger, have announced they will end their service to Hesston College this spring.

Both Roth and Zerger have had a significant impact on the college and have many accomplishments in their years of service. Together, they have collaborated to promote more interaction between the academic and student life areas, resulting in higher retention and student satisfaction as well as increased learning opportunities. Plans are in place for transitions for both positions.

Roth has served as vice president of Student Life and dean of students since 2003. His last day will be April 30. Under Roth’s leadership, the college has improved student retention and student satisfaction as indicated in the Student Satisfaction Instrument survey, which the college began using in recent years to measure student satisfaction and priorities. He also collaborated with the City of Hesston to provide training and management processes for the college.

“Lamar has built and led a strong team of student life professionals to adapt and meet the complex needs of students,” said President Howard Keim. “Our student satisfaction scores are significantly higher than our comparison group due to Lamar’s leadership and the fine work of the entire staff.”

Zerger joined the Hesston College administration in 2007 as vice president of academics and academic dean. Her last day will be June 30. With Zerger’s extensive background in academic leadership, Zerger has helped lead the college in improving course standards, academic challenge and faculty instruction as seen in Hesston’s outstanding results from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and Individual Development and Education Assessment (IDEA) survey. Under her leadership, Hesston College was ranked the number 2 two-year college in the country by Washington Monthly magazine in 2010, based on 2009 CCSSE data and showed markedly improved scores on the survey in 2012. During her tenure, the college has made improvements to the general education curriculum, focused on course transferability and signed several important articulation agreements with four-year colleges and universities.

“With Dr. Zerger’s leadership, we have become the best two-year college in the area of student engagement, improved our pedagogy, earned the highest possible level of reaccreditation with the Higher Learning Commission and revised the general education curriculum,” said Keim. “Sandee has worked carefully and tirelessly to promote the best interests of students and student learning. I am grateful for her service to Hesston College.”

One-year interim roles have been assigned to the vacating positions, allowing the college to have seamless transitions and keep effective initiatives in place while looking at long-term options.

Joel Kauffman will act as interim vice president of Student Life effective May 1. Kauffman has served at Hesston College for 27 years as former women’s basketball and softball coach, instructor and vice president of Admissions from 2007 to 2011. He began as athletic director in 2011, and will continue in that role during the interim period. Kauffman is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University and a master’s of education degree from Wichita (Kan.) State University.

Rob Ramseyer will step in as interim dean of students effective May 1. Ramseyer has served as head baseball coach at Hesston College since 2011 and will continue in that role during the interim period. He also served in student life as co-director of campus activities from 2011 to 2012. Ramseyer earned a bachelor’s degree in history from MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kan.) and a master’s degree in sports studies from the University of Kansas (Lawrence).

Dr. Brent Yoder, registrar, will act as interim vice president of Academics and academic dean effective July 1. Yoder has served as registrar since 2011. He is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) and a future professoriate graduate certificate and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Blacksburg).

Spring break a time for continued learning

Hesston College sophomore Olivia Miller (Newton, Kan.) arrived in India for spring break 2014 not knowing what to expect from cultural differences and learning experiences tied to her nursing major. Miller, along with 10 other nursing students and two sponsors, spent the week experiencing first-hand just how different India is from the U.S. in everything from cultural practices and hospitality to stark differences in health care.

Travel for continued learning was a popular option for Hesston College students during spring break, March 8 to 16. Four groups traveled around the globe to experience their majors of study in new locations and cultures and learn beyond typical campus projects and interactions while serving others.

Aside from nursing students in India, another group of nine nursing students traveled to Russia with faculty leader Gregg Schroeder and his wife Cindy. Education instructors Tami Keim and Marissa King led eight students to Puerto Rico, and 14 students spent the week serving with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Duluth, Minn., accompanied by Disaster Management Program director Russ Gaeddert and campus pastor Todd Lehman.

Led by Nursing faculty member Jean Rodgers and Hesston Mennonite Church pastor John Murray, the Hesston College India delegation spent spring break in the southern village of Chiluvuru where they observed and assisted doctors at Menno-Clinic, India, a privately-operated affordable medical care option for the region’s population.

The students spent several days at the clinic working in a rotation to participate in different aspects of the operation – taking blood pressures and pulses at the initial check in, observing cataract surgeries and other procedures at the eye clinic and helping doctors in the exam room, lab and pharmacy.

They also toured government-run hospitals where they experienced nursing in a much different way from the holistic care they are taught in Hesston’s program, reminding students why they choose to pursue nursing and to note the practices and behaviors they hope to carry with them as they begin their own careers

“One thing that impacted me and tugged on my beliefs was the lack of patient centered care at the government hospital we visited,” said Miller. “The head doctor himself said that the hospital was a teaching hospital and the priority was not the patients but the students who were learning in that facility. This really clashed with what we focus on in Hesston’s program. Patient-centered care has and will always be at the core of my beliefs and practices as a nurse.”

The Hesston College nursing students who visited Russia participated in a roundtable discussion with midwifery and nursing students at the oldest midwifery school in the world in St. Petersburg and toured the College of Midwifery. The group also traveled to Veliky Novgorod where they participated in a conference on Simulation in Nursing Education at the Medical University, toured the hospital to see how nursing care compares to the U.S., toured Victoria Children’s Rehabilitation Center and School and spent a day in the small village of Utorgosh where they played games with children and taught them English words.

Back in the U.S., the Minnesota group worked on siding, painting and laying floors in three new houses being constructed for those affected by floods in June 2012.

The construction and leadership skills that sophomore Jeffrey Smoker (Harrisonburg, Va.) has learned through classes, service opportunities and a summer field experience assignment with Mennonite Disaster Service following his freshman year, prepared him to serve as a crew leader for his peers during the week.

“As crew leader, I got to know the six people in my crew much better than I had before,” said Smoker. “I enjoyed teaching my crew new skills, such as how to hang siding on a house.”

While Disaster Management students were braving freezing temperatures in Minnesota, education students focused on educational pedagogy in the sun and warmth of Puerto Rico.

The group visited classrooms and observed and conversed with teachers and students at Summit Hills, a preschool to 12th grade private Mennonite academy in San Juan on the northern coast, and at Academia Menonita Betania, a Mennonite school in Aibonito, the central mountain area of the country.

“Our students represented interest and study across the educational spectrum, so our conversations were informed not only by all we had observed but by classes, practicum, tutoring working in public schools and our on-campus preschool lab,” said King.

Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser to feature Hesston College faculty member

“Each Other’s Light,” a Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser reception and show featuring acclaimed baritone Tony Brown and retired master ballet dancer and teacher Alexander Tressor will be at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 11 at the Reflection Ridge Retirement Community, 2300 Tyler, Wichita, Kan.

Dwight Roth, former Hesston College social science instructor, is organizing the event along with Parkinson’s Association of the Plains in Wichita. Roth was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in January 2013 and since that time has worked to empower others with the disease. Parkinson’s Association of the Plains’ mission is to provide to people with Parkinson’s a support group, updated information about medical research, community resources and possible discoveries related to care.

The fundraiser will feature Brown singing from his wide repertoire of spirituals and inspirational music and a dance performance by Tressor. The event’s theme is taken from one of Brown’s CDs of the same name.

Brown is Hesston College artist in residence and teaches in the social work department. He is also an international promoter of peace through his music and the founder of the Peacing It Together Foundation, an organization that serves the global community as a resource for peace and social justice.

Tressor has danced with several ballet companies around the world, including the New York City Ballet, and on Broadway. He now teaches ballet and does coreography in the U.S., Europe and Russia, and is ballet master at the National Opera Theatres in Zagreb and Split in Croatia and the National Theater in Kosovo. Tressor also has Parkinson’s Disease, and, like Roth, lives by the principle that the disease has had an extremely positive impact on his life.

Tickets for the event are $50 per person. The reception will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by the entertainment from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

For questions call 316-558-8869 or email billybass@hotmail.com.

Hesston College to host education professor in Melva Kauffman Lecture Series

Hesston College will host Dr. Kathy Short, professor in the College of Education at the University of Arizona (Tucson), for the Melva Kauffman Lecture Series entitled “Creating a Culture of Inquiry” April 3 to 4 on the Hesston College campus. All events are free and open to the public.

Dr. Short is a professor in the Language, Reading and Culture program and director of Worlds of Words, an initiative focused on encouraging thoughtful dialogue around children’s literature to build bridges across global cultures.

A free seminar entitled “Acting to Make a Difference in the World: Going Beyond Charity to Authentic Action” will be from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, April 3, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center on the Hesston College campus. The workshop will focus on ways to encourage authentic, responsible action in children working for change in a global society. Instructional strategies, children’s books and inquiry units will be shared to consider how teachers can invite children to take action to make a difference in their world. A certificate of attendance will be available to all participants and can be used as documentation by certified teachers for MyLearning Plan continuing education credit.

Dr. Short will also present at a campus forum at 11 a.m., Friday, April 4 in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary and resource a lunch discussion at 11:30 in the Bontrager Student Center Dining Hall Sauder Rooms. Lunch can be paid for at the door.

Melva Kauffman, a 1936 graduate of Hesston Academy and a 1939 graduate of Hesston College, was an English and education instructor at Hesston College from 1944 to 1977. Following her death in October 2003, her family established a lecture series that would continue Kauffman’s lifelong interests in learning and the humanities.

College to take sabbatical from Pastoral Ministries program for discernment process

A review process of the Hesston College Pastoral Ministries program by a specially appointed planning committee has recommended that the college take a one-year sabbatical from the program to assess how the college can best meet the changing leadership needs of Mennonite Church USA and the broader church.

The Hesston College Board of Directors accepted the planning committee’s assessment report, which described the program as unsustainable in its current form and recommended that the college take a one-year respite from recruiting students.

Since 1985, the Pastoral Ministries program has operated as a two-year residential program with a focus centered on adult learners seeking a new career path and for whom seminary was not an option. Low program enrollment over the past several years prompted college administrators and board members to question the existing program’s long-term viability in light of shifting church needs.

“We are trying to determine the best way for Hesston College to contribute to the pastoral and lay leadership needs of Mennonite Church USA,” said Howard Keim, Hesston College president. “As a result of this careful process, we have accepted the need for transformation in our approach to meeting these needs and are moving in a direction that will allow us to shape a program that will serve the church well.”

The sabbatical will allow for a discernment process in which the college can explore changes and leadership needs in the church and position itself to prepare leaders to meet those needs.

The planning committee included people with insight on Mennonite Church USA’s pastoral needs and knowledge of the college’s program. Members include: Dave Boshart, executive conference minister for the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA; Dee Custar, 1998 program graduate and pastor of Salem Mennonite Church (Waldron, Mich.); Karen Dalke, 2009 program graduate and pastor of Des Moines (Iowa) Mennonite Church; Michele Hershberger, Bible and ministry faculty member; Kenzie Intemann, 2013 program graduate and youth program director at Camp Amigo (Cassopolis, Mich.); Tim Lichti, pastoral ministries program director; Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, Hesston College vice president of Admissions and Financial Aid; Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency; Howard Wagler, 1992 program graduate and pastor of Journey Mennonite Church (South Hutchinson, Kan.); and Norm Yoder, Hesston College Board of Directors member.

Lichti’s service with the college will conclude at the end of the academic year. He has served as program director since February 2010. The college will staff the program based on discernment of the program’s future scope and direction.

“We are grateful for Tim’s care for the students and the needs of the broader church, as well as his contributions as part of the planning committee,” said Keim.

Discovering the secrets to happiness

A lot of research has been done on what makes people sick, but few psychologists understand what makes people well.

A new Hesston College course is doing what few other college and university psychology departments are doing – embracing the relatively new branch of positive psychology and exploring why people thrive. Positive psychology, which was first summarized by professionals in 1998, is not yet widely offered at many higher education institutions, but the course at Hesston puts the college and students in company with universities like Harvard, Yale and Boston College. The only other Kansas institution to offer positive psychology courses is the University of Kansas (Lawrence).

Instructor Kevin Wilder says positive psychology is congruent to a healthy view of faith and religion, and offering the course at a Christian institution presents students with another approach to the subject.

“Positive psychology is a prevention model of mental health more than a cure,” said Wilder.

With course content that relies heavily on discussion and exploration, co-instructors Wilder and campus counselor Dan Harrison operate the one-hour, one-day-per-week class in a seminar format, with students leading the planning and teaching of each week’s classroom time.

A pair of students lead the weekly lesson, preparing in advance by researching, then meeting with Wilder and Harrison to process the material and create a formal lesson plan.

“Students show better learning results if they have a chance to display and present their knowledge,” said Wilder.

Sophomore Nikki Lowry (Falcon, Colo.) says the student-led teaching keeps discussions interesting and fresh.

“I have learned techniques that may help me in a counseling career or even just giving advice to a friend who is the dumps,” said Lowry. “I think knowing what makes someone happy or how to maintain happiness is very important in psychology.”

“Having the class be peer-guided encourages more conversation,” said freshman Isaac Dahl (Archbold, Ohio).

Along with the course text, students are also encouraged to read the book of Ecclesiastes and write reflections for extra credit.

“Reading Ecclesiastes along with the text book has been really eye opening,” said Dahl, a Bible major and psychology and music minor. “There isn’t a better biblical book that fits with positive psychology as it’s very much a book about happiness. It is like the answer sheet to the text book and gives us the answers to the questions ‘What is the meaning of life?’ and ‘How can I find true happiness?’”

Psychology in general, and understanding human behaviors can be helpful to professionals in a variety of career field, and positive psychology offers a more specific understanding that benefits students pursuing helping professions like education, psychology, nursing and social work.

“This is a great class for me as I hope to be a counselor someday,” said Dahl. “I want to be rooted in Christian values, and this class allows me to absorb both the science and faith aspects that I can apply to psychology in that role.”

Beyond its professional applications, students are learning that the subject is applicable for every person on a daily basis. This spring, Wilder and Harrison will teach a community course on the subject, “What Do Happy People Know,” through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on the Hesston College campus. For more dates and pricing, go to osher.ku.edu.

“I believe as humans, every one of us questions ourselves about our happiness,” said Dahl. “We want and need to know what it takes to make us satisfied. This is what the field of positive psychology is all about.”

Final HBPA event to feature world-renowned South African choir

by Melanie Zuercher, Bethel College

You’ve been hearing them this month on KMUW-FM’s “Global Village,” and now the Soweto Gospel Choir is coming to Bethel College.

The final event in this year’s Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series is also the kickoff for the first-ever “Spring into the Arts” Festival, sponsored by the Newton Area Arts Council. The Emmy and Grammy Award-winning choir will be in Bethel’s Memorial Hall March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

According to HBPA director Matthew Schloneger, in a large city, a ticket to see the Soweto Gospel Choir could run $60-100. Tickets for their HBPA appearance are $27, with discounts for students and senior citizens.

Reserved-seating tickets are available at the Hesston College Bookstore (620-327-8158) or through the HBPA website, hesstonbethel.org. Thresher Bookstore in Schultz Student Center on the Bethel campus (316-284-5205) is an outlet for general admission tickets.

Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in November 2002 and released their first album, Voices of Heaven, a month later. Within three weeks of its U.S. debut, in early 2005, the album was at No. 1 on Billboard’s World Music chart.

In the 1980s, fellow South African performers such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo had introduced many in the United States to the lush, tight harmonies of South African vocal music. A Soweto Gospel Choir live performance includes rich vocal performances of traditional South African hymns and Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho gospel songs, along with athletic dance numbers and spectacularly colorful traditional garb.

The choir’s second and third albums, Blessed and African Spirit, won Grammy Awards in 2007 and 2008. Their sixth and most recent release is Divine Decade – Celebrating 10 Years (2012).

Soweto Gospel Choir has performed or recorded with the Black-Eyed Peas, Diana Ross, Bebe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Johnny Clegg, Shakira, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Robert Plant, among others. They were a support act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at concerts in Germany in 2007.

In the United States, the Soweto Gospel Choir has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The choir has toured the world extensively, performing at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House and Royal Festival Hall in London, as well as at high-profile festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival, the Adelaide Festival and the Hong Kong Festival.

Soweto Gospel Choir’s collaboration with Peter Gabriel on the song “Down To Earth” in the movie Wall-E won a Grammy in 2008. In February 2009, the choir became the first South African artist or group to perform at the Academy Awards, when they sang “Down To Earth,” nominated for an Oscar, with John Legend.

The choir collaborated with U2 as the featured South African artist on three songs for ESPN’s promotional campaign for the 2010 World Cup, which earned them a Sports Emmy Award in 2011.

Also in 2011, 18 choir members performed six concerts in Maastricht, The Netherlands, with top-selling classical violinist Andre Rieu, joining the Harlem Gospel Choir onstage as a first-time collaboration between these world-famous choirs.

The choir sang at the 2011 launch of their patron, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s, new book, backing Bono on “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” as a surprise for the archbishop. Bono’s word for them was “brilliant.”

Besides praising God and promoting cultural understanding all over the world, Soweto Gospel Choir is dedicated to supporting various charitable organizations. In 2003, the choir set up Nkosi’s Haven/Vukani to raise funds for AIDS orphan establishments that receive no government or private funding.

The choir is currently on an extensive North American tour. After their appearance at Bethel College, they will be in Lawrence and Manhattan, on the campuses of the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.

Soweto Gospel Choir’s appearance in the HBPA Series is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton; Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston); the Hesston Community Foundation; Holiday Inn Express, Newton; other area businesses and patrons; the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the NEA itself.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts (HPA) with funding and planning provided by Hesston College and the Hesston community. In 1998, HPA planners launched a partnership with Bethel College, and the series name changed to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts. Hesston College in Hesston and Bethel College in North Newton host performances each year.

Chorale to present hometown Lent concert

The Hesston College Chorale will present their tour concert with a Lent theme at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 20 at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The concert is free and open to the public though a free will offering will be collected to help defer tour expenses.

The group will tour Northeast Kansas March 29 to 30.

Chorale is under the direction of Ken Rodgers, and members are: Samantha Aeschliman (Lindsborg, Kan.), Megan Baumgartner (Hesston, Kan.), Eric Cender (Valparaiso, Ind.), Emma Cloud (Chandler, Ariz.), Kristy Clouse (Kalona, Iowa), Isaac Dahl (Archbold, Ohio), Mischa De Jesus (Kalona, Iowa), Dusti Diener (Harrisonville, Mo.), Jessica Donnelly (Woodvillage, Ore.), Bryce Elder (Ottawa, Kan.), Hannah Fenton (Hesston, Kan.), Charissa Graham (Princeton, Ill.), Christina Hershey (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Marissa Hochstetler (Strang, Neb.), Kayla Kauffman (Hutchinson, Kan.), Cadie Kiger (Jeffersonville, Ind.), Josh Landis (Sterling, Ill.), Cynnandra Luttrell (Tiskilwa, Ill.), Cris Lopez Maldonado (Quito, Ecuador), Dennis Marcellino (Van Nuys, Calif.), Elsa Miller (Millersburg, Ohio), Savannah Mitchell (Groveland, Ill.), David Penner (Moundridge, Kan.), Daniel Ramirez Zea (Valle de Cauca, Colombia), Jacob Rhine (Indianapolis, Ind.), Eyan Roth (Hesston, Kan.), Rachel Short-Miller (Bellingham, Wash.), Jordan Waidelich (Stryker, Ohio), Hannah Weaver (Inola, Okla.), Elisabeth Wilder (Hesston, Kan.), Noah Yoder (Freeman, S.D.) and Steven Yoder (McVeytown, Pa.).

AVDS conference reveals Bible’s eternal truths

by Quinn Katherineberg and Rachel McMaster

In the age of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, how does the Bible – an ancient book, thousands of years old – continue to be relevant to common experiences of the contemporary age? That was the question explored by the 190 participants at Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series weekend Feb. 21 to 23.

The weekend’s theme, “Reading the Bible in an Instagram World,” featured the college’s Biblical Literature curriculum. The Bib Lit course intentionally looks at the Bible in its historical context instead of reading stories from a modern understanding. It weaves the Bible together from Genesis to Revelation, moving into church history and the present to reveal the Bible as a narrative of God and the people of God rather than a compilation of stories. Exploring the Bible in this way allows participants to understand stories and situations in their original context to help shape and grow faith and values of believers today.

Attendees had multiple encounters with the cornerstone of the curriculum – the Heilsgeschichte, a German word meaning “salvation history.” The Heilsgeschichte is illustrated through an expansive timeline that shows how individual Biblical stories and events are connected as a larger story.

Presenter Marion Bontrager, faculty member in the college’s Bible and Ministry program, explained the concept with “hat hooks,” as he tried to hang his hat on the timeline only to have it fall to the ground, explaining that while people may know Bible stories well, it is difficult to acknowledge the larger context. “Hooks,” or stories, help the reader remember the entire narrative as a continuous story.

“I appreciated hearing the whole Bible story connected and tying the Bible to our personal stories,” said Christina Litwiller of Salina (Kan.) Mennonite Church.

Bontrager and co-presenter Michele Hershberger, also a Bible and Ministry faculty member, led participants through an inductive Bible study, studying a specific passage and determining the meaning for the original audience and applying the eternal truth to today.

Social media sites like Twitter were used as interactive devices throughout the weekend to formulate discussions as participants live tweeted their thoughts and insights of the discussion, illustrating the Bible’s continued relevance even in the contemporary world.

Breakout sessions gave participants the chance to find ways to deepen their understanding of scripture. Nationally recognized actor and theologian Ted Swartz (Harrisonburg, Va.) led a session on creating theatre out of scripture. Hesston College theatre director Laura Kraybill presented different techniques for reading scripture that make it come to life, including the rate of speech, adding emphasis on certain words and using gestures. Former Hesston College Biblical Literature students Carlota Ponds (Hesston, Kan.) and Rachelle Adrian (Mountain Lake, Minn.) recited the Heilsgeschichte and tied their personal stories in with the Biblical narrative. Del Hershberger (Hesston, Kan.) and Marvin Lorenzana (Harrisonburg, Va.) of Mennonite Mission Network presented on making disciples through prayer, scripture and accountability.

The weekend worship was enhanced by music led by well-known worship leader Jeremy Kempf, a Hesston College graduate and worship leader at Trinity Mennonite Church (Glendale, Ariz.) and Hesston College students.

Swartz also presented dramatic performances throughout the weekend that complemented plenary sessions. “Genre Café,” which also featured Hesston College students explained different interpretations of scripture. Swartz’s one-man show, “Didn’t You Get My Letter? Musings from the Apostle Paul,” presented the Apostle Paul as a man often misunderstood. Through his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus to his sometimes contentious relationship with Peter and his frustrations with the followers of Jesus – the church, the show allowed the audience to better understand Paul’s passion, pains, doubts and unshakable belief in the church and the power of love.

Many participants expressed appreciation for the weekend’s contents allowing them to view the Bible in a new light.

“Bib Lit is an important class for faith formation at any stage in a person’s faith journey,” said David Horst of Journey at Yoder (Kan.) Mennonite Church and a Hesston College graduate and former Bib Lit student. “This weekend was a good reminder of God’s faithfulness to his people in any age.”