Inspire, Winter 2007

Inspire 7 Feature The individuals God put in Pete’s life saw their prayers answered as Pete rededicated himself to the Lord. “The integration of life and witness had an impact,” Pete said. When I left Cedarville, I wanted Christ to impact my life and allow me to make an impact on the world at large.” Pete graduated in 1978 with a degree in Bible and spent the rest of the year praying about some difficult seminary decisions, while his fiancée Kathy Kearbey ’79 put the finishing touches on her degree in business and accounting. They married the day after Kathy’s last class, in December 1978. While many of Pete’s friends had elected to attend seminary near their alma mater, Pete made a difficult decision to move more than 2,500 miles to Tacoma, Washington, to attend Northwest Baptist Seminary. “I needed to focus on study and make better use of my time,” Pete said. “NBS offered the options of study without the typical social distractions.” Just like his arrival at Cedarville, there were godly men waiting for Pete when he arrived in Tacoma — men who instilled a desire in him to know more of God’s Word and awakened a renewed passion to serve Him. Things seemed to be going just as Pete had planned. Kathy became pregnant with their first child, and Pete was well on his way to earning his master’s in divinity when it became clear that God had other plans. “Our first son went home to be with the Lord shortly after his birth,” Pete recalls. “During the period of his hospitalization and then his subsequent death, we visited the First Baptist Church of Richland.” Pete was eventually offered the position of youth minister, which led to nine years of ministry in Richland. Working with youth, he quickly identified a problem that was facing the church’s young people. “I saw the average church kid growing while in a youth program and receiving mentoring from faithful adults,” Pete said. “They would then go to a secular university and their faith would unravel. They just couldn’t stand up to secularization.” Pete saw how much the teens loved the Lord, but he recognized that their faith was not mature. “It became clear that attending a Christian college would give youth a stronger foundation, a time to reason through a personal faith, a richer group of godly mentors, and an opportunity to serve Christ along with peers,” Pete said. “As I looked at Christian schools, it was Cedarville that always stood out,” Pete said. “Its liberal arts education, strong mentors within the administration and teaching staff, positive Christian service, and expectation to grow academically and spiritually created stronger graduates than other schools.” Pete started recommending Cedarville to the youth in his churches, and they took his advice. “[Pete] has directed literally dozens of students to Cedarville over the years,” said Dave Ormsbee ’78, associate vice president for strategic initiatives at Cedarville. “Every time he lands in a new town, he recruits students to attend Cedarville. In fact, for a time you could track where Pete was by the number of students we had from that area.” Even with modern technology, it is difficult to track just how many students from Washington, California, and Oregon Pete has sent to Cedarville. “I really cannot remember. I started making a list and could name 30,” Pete said. “It is a joy to know that a part of Kathy and me is in the lives of each of them as they serve the Lord. We had no idea we would have any impact at all, but we realize God is the one who makes the real impact in the lives of those to whom we minister.” Pete ’78 and Kathy Kearbey Slusher ’79 live in Central Point, Oregon. They have a married son, Mike ’05, who lives with his wife Samantha Sherfey Slusher ’06 in Springfield, Ohio. Pete and Kathy’s daughter, Katie, is a student at the Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California. Pete has been the senior pastor at Central Point Community Bible Church since April 1996. Kathy is a tax accountant for Newhall, California-based Stewardship Services Foundation, a ministry that prepares taxes for pastors and missionaries worldwide. Find out more about their ministry at www.centralpointchurch.org . Devin T. Robinson ’03 lives in Lebanon, Maine, with his wife, Adeliz Rivera Padilla, and their daughter, Kerri Elizabeth. Devin studied broadcasting at Cedarville and journalism at the Department of Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Devin is the audio/video production manager for Creative Broadcast Concepts in Biddeford, Maine. Pete Slusher ’78 has invested in hundreds of students’ lives during his years of faithful church ministry. I