Ohio Baptist Partners with Cedarville University

COLUMBUS, Ohio - During the 49th annual session of the state convention, Cedarville University, a Baptist university of arts and sciences, shook the hands of partnership with the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio. Messengers to the November convention applauded the agreement, and committed to recommended Cedarville to all "Southern Baptists as an accredited, quality, four-year university that embraces Southern Baptists."

"We're thrilled with the alliance with Cedarville," said Jack Kwok, executive director of the Ohio convention. "Cedarville is a quality Baptist school. They wholeheartedly embrace Southern Baptists. A significant number of our pastors are Cedarville graduates. We're looking to them as a resource for future church leaders. They embrace our theology, our polity and our missiology. We would recommend Cedarville not only to Ohio Baptists but all Southern Baptists."

Cedarville President Paul Dixon also voiced excitement for "growing a relationship with Southern Baptists."

"We have many Southern Baptist young people in our student body and some of our key trustees are Southern Baptist pastors or laymen," Dixon said. "Our alumni attend and pastor Southern Baptist churches. A number of our administrators, faculty and staff attend Southern Baptist churches in our part of Ohio."

Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church, affirmed the partnership during the annual meeting of Ohio Baptists, Dixon said.

"He commended the churches for their decision regarding Cedarville and he indicated that this was representative of the convention emphasis on Empowering Kingdom Growth," Dixon said.

Cedarville University was founded in 1887 "for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." Located in Cedarville, near Dayton, the university has approximately 3,000 students in more than 100 areas of study. It is one of the top feeder schools for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville Ky., and has been described by Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary as one of the finest Christian liberal arts universities in the country. Its largest departments are business administration, education, science and mathematics, engineering, Bible and nursing.

By Pauline C.