Dr. Matt Olson, president of Northland International
University, has dedicated his life to “preparing the next generation of
servant-leaders for Great Commission living”—a statement that is repeated often
to students, faculty, and staff; to strangers; and to himself. It best sums up
what a ministry-training school like Northland is all about, and its simplicity
serves as a reminder to “keep the main thing the main thing.” However, Dr.
Olson’s influence is not confined to the boundaries of the
campus-in-the-woods that is Northland. This passion, to follow the biblical
injunction of passing along those things which “our fathers have told us . . . shewing
to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His
wonderful works that He hath done” (Psalm 78: 3–4), has propelled him around the
world to lend assistance to like-minded ministries and to receive blessings in
return.
At the beginning of December, Dr. Olson had the privilege of
speaking to the first graduating class of Central Africa Baptist College (CABC).
The college was started in 2006 with Phil Hunt as its founder and president. While
serving as missionary pastor in Zambia, starting in 1993, Phil Hunt and other
like-minded men began to see the need for strong theological training for
Africans in Africa.Serious discussions
began in 1998, and the college was formed in 2004, opening its doors two years
later. As a board member, Dr. Olson sees this as a strategic area for missions
in Africa. Currently, there are thirty students. The first graduating class consisted of nine young men who are now equipped with a deep understanding of
Scripture and a respect for the office of pastor with its responsibilities as a
shepherd of the people of God.
Since its inception, Phil Hunt has had close ties with
Northland and its administration—several of whom have visited the ministry and
serve as adjunct professors. Dr. Sam Horn, Northland’s vice president for
ministerial training and pastor of Brookside Baptist Church, is a frequent
teacher and speaker at the college and just prior to graduation, participated
in their sixth annual Leadership Conference. The conference brought in over
three hundred Christian workers, focusing on the theme of Psalm 78:6, “That the
generation to come may know.” During the conference, Dr. Horn had the
opportunity to teach a class on Psalms to over 120 pastors.
Incidentally, Northland graduate, Rachel Johnson, serves on the
staff of CABC as an administrative assistant, and the college also hosted Ben
Hobbes as one of Northland’s first GO Study Abroad students. Dr. Olson is
thrilled to see such a work on the continent of Africa and hopes that Northland
will continue to be a small part of what God is doing through dedicated servants
such as Mr. Hunt and the faculty at CABC.