Samford’s Department of Christian Ministry will see its first graduates this spring. These students and faculty have created a new path for Samford students to explore ministry and discipleship. The interdisciplinary approach to ministry and mission training engages students from across the Samford campus, equipping individuals to serve the church and missions as part of their life-long dedication to disciplemaking.
Olivia Frost will be graduating in May with a BA in Christian Ministry and a double minor in Intercultural Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship & Nonprofit Management. This summer, she plans to take an internship with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association before pursuing her graduate work at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC in the fall.
Frost was one of the first students to join the Christian Ministry program. She started her Samford journey as an exercise science major but felt called to do something else after a summer mission trip. After meeting with Scott Guffin, the executive director of the department, she said, “I felt the Lord calling me to take another leap of faith and join the Christian Ministry Department.” As a student in the program, she discovered, “The Holy Spirit is noticeably moving within the students and professors to bring about a shared hope in the gospel.”
“What attracted me to the Christian Ministry Department is its unique combination of biblical and application classes,” said Frost. She also noted that the faculty played such an important role in her education and provided “foundations for her calling.”
“Olivia received a great deal from the program because she committed deeply to it and gave it her best effort. All the Christian Ministry faculty members enjoyed having Olivia in our classes because we knew she was a hard worker and also that she would apply herself spiritually to the classes and the assignments. We could see the light bulbs going off in her head as she connected the dots between the curriculum and the practice of ministry,” said Guffin.
The program has several scholarships available. Frost was the recipient of the Wayne Atcheson Scholarship along with several others. “Being a recipient of these scholarships has personally empowered me to steward my education,” said Frost. “Scholarships have proven to be a huge relief for students who need to graduate from Samford as close as possible to being debt-free. We had ten students benefiting from scholarships this year. Three of them received the Wayne Atcheson scholarship,” said Guffin.
This summer Frost will be serving as a Guest Services Intern at the Billy Graham Library located in Charlotte, NC, giving tours of the facilities and museum, welcoming guests, and helping plan and execute events throughout the summer. She will be working alongside her scholarship donor Wayne Atcheson, a Samford graduate who serves as Historian/Regional Manager at the Library. “We are so pleased to have Olivia as one of our Billy Graham Evangelistic Association summer interns. She is truly an excellent candidate as our first from Samford. This is something I have been working toward for some time since most all of our BGEA and Samaritan Purse interns come from Christian colleges. I am believing that Olivia will be the first of many to follow from Samford,” said Atcheson.
After seminary, Frost would like to pursue opportunities that “pour into women’s ministry, children’s ministry and even those who are unreached.” She is patient to determine her specific calling. “He is still revealing that to me, and I am learning to be content to live according to His time table and not my own,” Frost said.
To learn more about the Christian Ministry program, contact Scott Guffin at slguffin@samford.edu or to give to one of the meaningful scholarships contact the School of the Arts Director of Donor Relations Julie Boyd at jboyd10@samford.edu.