Welcome to the April edition of the Hyles-Anderson Connection! We just finished an amazing College Days at Hyles-Anderson College and we wanted to make sure we got the recap of that in this edition. We will also highlight the annual Valentine Banquet and missions conference, and we will look ahead at some upcoming spring events you will not want to miss!
The Connection is designed to keep you informed about what is happening at Hyles-Anderson College. It is a great way for you to stay connected to us and for us to stay connected to you. Enjoy!
We wanted to open the Connection this month with an interesting story that we thought you would enjoy reading. One of our college administrators, Bro. Andrew Bailey, is the teacher of the "Lifebuilders" adult Sunday school class at First Baptist Church. On Saturday, March 26, Bro. Bailey was visiting Robert Lewis, one of his Sunday school class members, in the UIC Hospital in Chicago. He asked Mr. Lewis how he started attending First Baptist Church of Hammond. This is where the story gets very interesting.
Robert Lewis was a heroin addict living on the streets in Chicago. He wandered into a Charismatic church one day on the south side of Chicago and heard the gospel for the first time in his life. He testifies that he got saved that day but realized that this was not the type of church that he wanted to attend. He soon moved out of Chicago and into an apartment complex in Schererville, Indiana. One morning, he was at the end of his rope, out of money and in complete despair. He decided to take a walk.
While walking through his apartment complex and out onto the main road, he began to hear music playing in the distance. It was Christian music and it told about God's love. He started walking toward the music. He ended up at the front doors of Hyles-Anderson College. (We play music during daylight hours across our campus on an outdoor sound system.) Robert opened the front door and stepped inside to find out what this place was all about. A security hostess met him at the front door. While he was talking with the hostess, a Hyles-Anderson College student came in and introduced himself. The student invited him to stay for chapel. That day in chapel, Dr. Ray Young was the chapel speaker. After sitting through chapel, Robert determined that he needed to go to a church with preaching and singing like he had just heard. The student invited him to come to church with him on Wednesday night. Robert attended First Baptist Church for the first time that Wednesday night and has been a faithful member ever since. Hyles-Anderson College is reaching the world one person at a time both across the street (literally) and around the world!
The largest event on the calendar for the spring semester is the annual Valentine Banquet. This year's banquet was held on February 18, 19, and 20 and accommodated over 500 people in four showings. Each banquet started with a delicious three-course meal featuring the main entrée of Chicken Kiev and was capped off by delicious red velvet cheesecake for dessert. After the meal, the crowd moved to the Evans Auditorium for the full-length music production entitled "Love Notes." This musical was originally written in 2001 by Bro. Dan Wolfe. It was rewritten and adapted for this year's cast by our Program Director, Bro. Anthony Collins. "Love Notes" featured a cast and crew of twenty-eight people and included nineteen songs, hilarious acting, and a four-scene theatrical set that covered over sixty feet of stage.
The annual Missions Conference at Hyles-Anderson College and First Baptist Church brought fifteen missionary families from all over the world to our campus for three days of preaching, teaching, and interaction with both brand-new and veteran missionaries. This year's theme was "Reaching Farther" and featured preaching by Dwight Tomlinson, Tommy Ashcraft, and Eddie Johnson. Our students were challenged in the areas of preaching, praying, sending, going, and giving.
The Spring College Days was amazing. We never really know what to expect each year, but we know based on statistics that the Spring College Days is typically smaller than the Fall College Days. We were expecting around seventy-five teens this year. Much to our amazement; God blessed in an unbelievable way this year when 152 teens from 12 states and Canada showed up on our doorstep. We had a wonderful time. Delegates had the opportunity to attend classes, stay in the residence halls, participate in chapel, and go on an activity. College Days is an excellent opportunity to experience life at Hyles-Anderson College. Plan to join us in the Fall on October 5-7, 2016. You can get more information about College Days by visiting our website.
The 2016 Hylander Basketball Championship game was held in conjunction with College Days on April 8, 2016. The top two teams in the Hylander Basketball League went head to head on the hardwood in the DeCoster Gym. Congratulations to Captain Derek Wilkerson and the Jazz for finishing the season in first place and beating the Nets in the championship game.
Hyles-Anderson College is very excited to announce a brand new course that will be offered the week of May 9-13 entitled Biblical Constitutional Awareness. Dr. Chuck Harding from Awake America will be teaching this course designed to give every Christian a Biblical understanding of the Constitution of the United States. He will dig into the history, truths, and spiritual connections of the framers and philosophies that are the foundations of our nation while outlining our responsibilities as Christian American citizens.
This course is available for credit or for audit. There will be morning and evening classes available to accommodate your schedule. For more information, please contact the Dr. David Stubblefield in the Academic Office at david.stubblefield@hylesanderson.edu or by calling 219.365.4031 extension 1210.
The Music Department is excited to announce the upcoming release of three brand-new music cds this spring. They are currently in production but will soon be available for purchase through iTunes, Google Play, Amazon MP3, and through the digital music store on our website. You can also order hard copies of our most current projects by contacting the Campus Bookstore at store@hylesanderson.edu or by calling 219.365.4031 extension 1284.
We had two wonderful Alumni and Friends Fellowships last week in the great state of California. Nearly 150 alumni and friends attended at either Gethsemane Baptist Church in Long Beach or at Hopewell Baptist Church in Napa. Special thanks to Pastor David Murphy and Pastor Mike Ray for hosting these events.
We still have three more Alumni and Friends Fellowships planned for this Spring. Plan to attend one in your area.
We hope you can join us at one of these upcoming fellowships. There is no charge to attend. The fellowships are an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. You do not have to be a graduate of Hyles-Anderson College to attend; anyone is welcome. We only ask that you register so we know how many to prepare for. Each Alumni and Friends event includes a delicious meal, an update from Pastor Wilkerson, and wonderful fellowship. To receive more information or to register to attend, please contact our Alumni Director, Bro. Steve Froelke, at froelkes@hylesanderson.edu or by calling 219.365.4031 extension 1165.
In each edition of the Hyles-Anderson Connection we highlight a specific area that Hyles- Anderson College has to offer. We call this segment the "Spotlight." We want you to be informed of some of the areas that make our college unique.
This month we are featuring the DeCoster Dining Hall. While almost every college has a dining facility, Hyles-Anderson College works hard to make our dining experience more like coming to supper with family, rather than going through a cafeteria line to get some food. The dining hall staff prepares three all-you-can-eat meals per day for hundreds of students and staff.
Breakfast consists of a hot meal option along with cold cereals, bagels, coffee, juice, and a rotating supply of healthy breakfast snacks and fruit. Lunch is the largest meal of the day served on our campus. Since the majority of our students and staff partake of the lunch meal, the dining hall goes all out for lunch every single day. There is a full soup and salad bar available that includes vegetables, fruits, a variety of salad options and a full assortment of salad dressings. Each day lunch boasts two or three different hot meal options from which to choose that often include a "healthy choice" meal for those trying to eat more conservatively. We serve a variety of beverages that includes Coca-Cola fountain drinks, coffee, tea, water, and a varying assortment of flavored lemonades. Each lunch meal is topped off with delicious homemade desserts prepared fresh daily in our on campus bakery. Dinner is the smallest meal of the day served on campus. Because so many of our students work off-campus jobs, dinner has scaled-down meal offerings. A typical dinner would include salad bar access, a hot meal option, dessert, and a variety of beverages.
For those who work off-campus jobs during the dinner hours, the Hylander Sandwich Shop makes fresh, made-to-order sandwiches for the students to take to work with them. They can choose from a variety of meats, vegetables, cheeses, and toppings to custom make their sandwich according to their personal taste. Potato chips, drinks, and accompanying snacks complete the "sack lunch" to provide a delicious and healthy alternative to fast food for the working student.
We understand the growing requirements for students who have special dietary needs. The dining hall prepares unique meals (by request) for students who require gluten-free alternatives, who have specific food allergies, or who require a special diet for health reasons. It is our goal to make our students feel right at home, no matter their specific needs.
The dining hall operations are overseen by the Assistant Dean of Student Life, Bro. Robert Osgood. Food preparation and kitchen staff are coordinated by our Food Service Director, Mrs. Jane Billingsley. They, along with their staff, prepare over 145,000 meals per year for Hyles-Anderson College students and staff. That number does not include the number of banquets, special events, and holiday meals for the First Baptist Church ministries that our dining hall team prepare and serve.
Thank you for spending a few minutes with us today. We want to encourage you to stay connected with Hyles-Anderson College by following us on our social networks. If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to email us at HAConnection@hylesanderson.edu.
