r Dr. White celebrates 10 years serving Cedarville University By Kathryn McDonald "God is faithful We can trust Him." These words, spoken by Dr. Thomas White in many chapel messages to the student body of Cedarville University, resonate with his goal to see students leave Cedarville equipped with the tools they need to flourish. It starts with this foundational truth God is faithful. This academic year marks the 10th anniversary of White's service as President of Cedarville University. His time here has been filled with many opportunities to rejoice as he sees it expand and grow. Of all the unexpected blessings in his life. White doubts that he could have anticipated the blessing of serving as president of a University. Looking back on the first steps he took in faith, White still isn't sure what he had expected before agreeing to take the role of president of Cedarville. "I don't know that I knew what the joys of the position would be: White said. "I just knew that this was the next assignment from the Lord." Even though the truth was not new for White, his confidence in it only grew as he continued working in faith. The other side of God's faithfulness that White points out is that even though we are unfaithful followers God is still faithful. "I don't like when we try to pretend like we're not sinful," he said. "I like authenticity where we acknowledge with humility that all of us have issues and we seek to live better for Christ. Let's lock arms and walk through life together. And when we stumble. let's stumble forward, let's not fall backward. Let's keep stumbling forward so that we have a long walk in the same direction toward godliness." White is confident that the faithful ministry that he gets to participate in at Cedarville will have a lasting impact on the lives of students in the many years to come. God blesses the Fall 2022 faithfulness of his servants even when the fruit comes long after they do the hard work of sowing and watering. "How many Old Testament prophets had to serve faithfully and never got to see the fruits of their labor?" White asked. The greatest joys White has in his ministry to students are when he sees them take God's faithfulness to heart as they faithfully serve the Lord with their lives. Seeing students' lives change even beyond their 1.000 days is one of his happiest processes to witness. White said he thinks the soul-changing impact Cedarville has will continue to be revealed as time unfolds. White's goal for students is to see them equipped in their 1,000 days to grow into the kinds of people who do kingdom work with enthusiasm for the rest of their lives beyond Cedarville. Dr. Jon Wood serves as vice president for Student Life and Christian Ministries and assistant professor of Theological Studies and has been working with White for the past 18 years. As the years passed, Wood saw White's ministry impact the lives of others in ways that are hard to quantify. "Perhaps one of the most significant things Dr. White does is cultivate, equip and motivate the people that students interact with so regularly," Wood said. "His influence works from behind the scenes. He really seeks to equip the rest of us to be effective." White's experience with teachers in his own life has taught him that faculty members can make huge differences in students' lives. So he makes it a clear priority of Cedarville to hire faculty who are willing to spend their time personally investing in students. Not only is it important for Cedarville to hire faculty who will lead the students well. but White also has a responsibility to be an example of leadership to faculty and staff. Having worked with Dr. White for almost two decades, Wood points to Joshua 1:6-9 as a passage that characterizes his leadership. "The foundation for being strong and courageous is the word of God," Wood said. "He seeks to build upon the foundation of the word of God which then allows, equips, and empowers him to be strong and courageous as a leader of the university. I don't think our community can fully grasp how much pressure and how intense the university president role is, I think the way he approaches those trials is to trust God first and foremost. The pressure and the stress drive him to dependence on God." White recalls how faithful God has been to him and the university in the midst of challenging times. "Everything we've needed all along the way. the Lord has just provided," White said. "In the nick of time, He comes through with what we need." While this is certainly true of God's provision for Cedarville University over the years, White had his share of unmistakably divine moments of provision and answered prayer One of the biggest moments in White's life was his interview for the position of president, and he recalls the encouragement that the Holy Spirit gave him that gave him the resolve to go through with it. The day of the big interview arrived and White was having trouble focusing during his Bible time before heading to the interview. He had felt God's call to ministry at Cedarville but was wondering if this position was really the next step for him. As he sat on the hotel bed, White felt his phone vibrate on the table next to him. He was floored by what he read in a text message from his wife. It was Joshua 18-9 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth. but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that CID61l5 13
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