STUDENT AFFAIRS
FGBC has established four houses into which the student body is divided, in order to foster healthy community, competition, and encouragement as students journey through their schooling. Houses are composed of students from all 3 years. They are student-led, with a President, Vice President, and Secretary to support each house family.
The houses are named for families whose influence shaped the local church and scope of evangelicalism as we know it today. Each house carries a theme and values exemplified by their namesakes. As we take our place in global church history, we humbly acknowledge those who have gone before us and seek to lay a solid path for those who will follow us.
ELLIOT HOUSE // Expansion • Self-Sacrifice • Risk
Jim Elliot was a missionary in the 1950’s who felt called to evangelize the previously unreached Auca people of Ecuador. He and four of his friends were brutally martyred while seeking to give gifts and develop relationships with this people group.
His most famous quote was, “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Jim’s wife Elisabeth later returned to Ecuador to minister to the Aucas, and she eventually led some of her husband’s murderers to faith in Christ. She spent her life inspiring people to take up the call of missions and evangelize the world. In the 1990’s she hosted a radio program and often opened with this statement, “You are loved with an everlasting love… and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
GRAHAM HOUSE // Strategy • Proclamation • Boldness
Billy was an evangelist who preached the gospel to more people on the planet than anyone else in history. It is estimated that more than 3.2 million people came to Christ at Billy Graham Crusades over sixty plus years of ministry. He is considered to be the greatest evangelist to ever live besides the Apostle Paul. Graham provided spiritual counsel for every U.S. president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.
His wife Ruth spent her life alongside Billy, helping him accomplish the mission of reaching the world for Christ. She is known as a contagious Christian who invited thousands of people to come hear the gospel.
The evangelical church today owes a great debt of gratitude to both Billy and Ruth for their relentless effort of sharing the gospel with the world.
MORRIS HOUSE // Prayer • Obedience • Spirit-Filled
Samuel (Kaboo) Morris was an African missionary that came to America from Liberia in the 1890’s. His life is full of simple yet strong childlike faith and complete trust in God his Father. Samuel’s obedience gave way to incredible miracles and provision. He was known for spending hours “speaking with his Father” in prayer out loud. Samuel would read the Bible, believe it, and pray it into impossibilities that could only come from God. His example changed even the hardest heart from rough sailors to atheists. It was said that in every room where he spoke, the Holy Spirit filled every part.
After his death, Samuel’s story was sold in book form. This generated millions of dollars in scholarships for the university he attended. His example inspired thousands of students to fulfill his wish to see the Bible taught in Africa. On his headstone is written: Apostle of Simple Faith, Exponent of a Spirit-Filled Life.
WESLEY HOUSE // Legacy • Multiplication • Worship
Susanna, John, and Charles Wesley were a powerhouse family of ministry that started a worldwide movement of faith in the 1700’s.
Susanna was the mother of 19 children including Charles and John. She was a pastor’s wife, and while her husband was away for two years, Susanna assembled her children in her home for Sunday afternoon church services. They sang a psalm, and then she would read a sermon from either her husband's or father's sermon file, followed by another psalm. The local people began to ask if they could attend. At one point there were over 200 people who would attend Susanna’s Sunday afternoon service.
Charles was a worship leader and songwriter who wrote over 6,000 hymns, many of which are still sung today.
John became a preacher and founded the Methodist and Wesleyan church movements. During his ministry, he rode over 250,000 miles on horseback, a distance equal to ten times around the globe. He preached over 40,000 sermons. By the time of his death, he had raised up thousands of pastors and planted hundreds of Methodist churches around the globe.