Cedarville Magazine Spring 2020

equipment and shipped a total of 150 masks between March and May. Each mask is completely reusable, meaning one mask can last for months if it is sanitized effectively and the filter is changed regularly. Hart distributed the conserver masks to the Spring Valley Fire Department, in Spring Valley, Ohio, about 20 minutes south of Cedarville; to multiple nursing homes; to a number of families with members at high-risk of complications from COVID-19; and to healthcare workers in the communities near the University. “I don’t have any plans of making more masks since the shortage is over and I am back to serving families with Hands of Hope,” Hart said this fall. “However, if I see an opportunity to use my skills to serve others in a similar way in the future, I won’t hesitate to jump into it.” 61 DAYS THROUGH THE BIBLE Last spring, the COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic change, from health to sickness, from employed to unemployed, from face-to-face to virtual. For Cedarville University students, the pandemic brought an immediate switch from on campus to online. But in this unique, disruptive time, three students saw an opportunity to make this season transformative. Zac Griffith, M.Div. ’20; Andrew Hile, M.Div. ’20; and Joshua Lankford ’20, M.Div. ’22 spearheaded a 61-day journey through the Bible. "The pandemic provided an opportune time for a holistic reading of Scripture since many of us had more time on our hands,” Hile said. “ P e o p l e mi g h t k now certain stories or verses, but might not know how they fit into the biblical authors' composition of the Scriptures. God has given us 66 books, and each is vitally important and relevant on its own terms for every believer." Hile reached out to his good friends Griffith and Lankford, who were groomsmen in his September wedding, to see if they wanted to participate. The team of three then advertised the 61- day read-through-the-Bible program on their social media, with approximately 200 responding. Between 75 to 80 joined the Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday Zoom calls, where they reviewed, discussed, and learned about the reading for the week. The virtual sessions were populated with current Cedarville undergrads from a wide variety of majors: business, nursing, engineering, worship, communication, Bible, and education. But parents also joined in, as well as students from other universities. As for Hile, Lankford, and Griffith, this pandemic-inspired deep dive in the Scriptures turned a time that many see as an interruption into a moment for meaningful instruction. “We probably wouldn’t have done this if not for the stay-at-home order,” Hile explained. “The Bible faculty has equipped us as students with awesome tools and resources, and we were excited to share these with others. I want to teach God’s Word till I die.” Clem Boyd is Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine. Michele (Cummings) Solomon ’91 is the Copy Editor for Cedarville University Marketing and Communications. Nicole Hackett ’21 is a student writer for Cedarville University Public Relations. God has given us 66 books, and each is vitally important and relevant on its own terms for every believer. Andrew Hile, M.Div. ’20 Cedarville Magazine | 23