It is a pleasure to introduce myself to you. I reside in Clermont, Florida, with my wife, Erin, and our five children: Carly, Lila, Sylvie, Nolan and Mercy. We homeschool our children and actively participate in several Christian homeschool groups in Central Florida. Over the past 20 years, I have worked in non-profit leadership, primarily with the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. I also served for more than 11 years at Northside Community Church, an Advent Christian congregation in Knightdale, North Carolina, in various roles, including children’s pastor, youth pastor, pastor to students and families, pastor of ministry operations, and executive pastor. My introduction to Berkshire Christian came through completing my Ministry Certification via the ACGC Ministry Training Institute (MTI) program.

In my transitional role, I’m grateful to have the opportunity from time to time to share with you key happenings at Berkshire Christian. This month I’m happy to share some important work that has begun with the Adventual Collection at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS). In 1990, a partnership was signed between Berkshire Christian College and GCTS. This agreement established the Berkshire Professorship, provided financial aid for Advent Christian students, and the establishment of the Adventual Library at GCTS. Since that time, great care and dedication has been directed toward the Adventual Library by Curator Duane Crabtree. This Adventual Library has served students, scholars and lay leaders for nearly 35 years.

Over the years, the collection inside of the Adventual Library began to exceed what was ever planned or dreamed. There was so much material included that it began to fill the aisles and reach to the ceiling. Last month, several leaders representing Berkshire Christian, GCTS and ACGC began to evaluate the collection and assess various elements to determine how they fit into the bigger picture and original intent of the collection.

I’m grateful for the devoted leaders from Berkshire Christian, GCTS and ACGC who are dedicating what will likely be hundreds of hours carefully evaluating the collection and determining next steps. Will you commit to prayer for the team over the next few months? It is a blessing and quite an undertaking to review the various elements of the collections and to discern the appropriate next steps for the items as we work to make the collection accessible and safe for anyone who visits it.

If you have any questions about the Adventual Library or this process, please reach out to me at dan.thorpe@berkshire.edu or 919-766-0110.

Dan Thorpe
Interim Executive Director