Returning to the Bible College of Wales: Celebrating 10 Years of God's Faithfulness

25 May 2025 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Inauguration of the Bible College of Wales. A commemorative service was held on the college grounds, with distinguished guests and former students from around the world joining in the celebration of this milestone.

Dean of Students, Cath Woolridge and Welsh Musician and Composer, Mal Pope opened the event with a song of blessing written by Martin Smith, dedicating it to both nations of Singapore and Wales. After a glorious time of praise and worship, Pastor Yang reflected on the journey of purchasing The BCW and how God had brought

us through the last 10 years.

Dr. Michael Brown followed with a short exhortation, encouraging all to cling on to God’s promises, especially during times of waiting when it can be tempting to allow doubts to creep in.

Pastor Dutch Sheets, who was the guest speaker and who also spoke at the Inauguration Ceremony exactly 10 years ago, shared a Word about the “Synergy of the Ages” – the idea that the prayers, faith, and dreams of those who have gone before us remain alive before God and our role is to come into agreement with these prayers, continuing the work they began.

Drawing from Hebrews 11, he highlighted that while the heroes of faith were commended for their faith, they did not see the fullness of God’s promises in their lifetimes. For the promises to be made perfect, each generation must pick up the baton and build upon the spiritual legacy left to them. He illustrated this through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, explaining how God’s dreams and promises are fulfilled as each generation agrees with and continues the work begun by those who came before them.

The story in Genesis 21 of Abraham planting a tamarisk tree – a slow-growing tree that would not allow him to reap its benefits – was Abraham making a statement to the subsequent generations about God’s faithfulness. It was God who established an everlasting covenant with him, knowing well his struggles and shortcomings, but giving him the strength to navigate them. It is a reminder that we sit under the shade of a covenant made with God today only because of the labour and faith of the generations before us.

Similarly, our obedience today provides shelter and blessings for those who come after us. He urged everyone

to humble themselves and to seek the Lord for what He wants to fulfil through us as a link in the chain through the ages. It is when we are faithful in our assignment that His promises and purposes can come to fulfilment through the subsequent generations.

Pastors from the United Kingdom, Pastor Peter Williams, Pastor Roy Godwin, and Reverend Celia Apeagyei were then invited to pray over the college, and Reverend Celia highlighted the importance of stewarding the vision of the BCW.

In closing, Pastor Daphne highlighted the continued faithfulness of the saints of Christ, both in the days of Mr. Rees Howells and the same must be said of the present saints in the BCW. This continuity in faith and faithfulness is key in our service unto the King. She gave thanks for an amazing working staff and volunteer team and thereafter revealed three upcoming projects as we enter our next decade together.

By 2025, we can look forward to students and visiting groups enjoying a huddle area to be named “The Circle”. The second project will be a place created for personal time or smaller groups to experience intimate fresh encounters with God in the Italian gardens named “The Pavilion” and finally the Lecture Hall Project which we hope will be completed before the end of 2026.

What has to be foremost is the reminder that prayer is the spine of the college, and we must not cease to be a praying people for which the college has been known. It is to continue in that same legacy left by Mr. Howells to the generations to come, “to build the old waste places, to raise up the foundations of many generations; to be a repairer of the breach and a restorer of streets to dwell in.”

Thereafter, we adjourned to a beautiful tea reception and the air was buzzing with conversations and sounds of joy and laughter.

As part of the celebrations, there was also a special segment for the alumni. We had the opportunity to recollect some of our times in the college and listened to how the Lord impacted the lives of various individuals through their time at the BCW. The newly minted graduates of the School of Ministry’s Batch 19 also performed their graduation item on demand.

Returning to the college as an alumnus, it was truly heart-warming to be able to catch up with friends from all over the world! It was also wonderful to connect with other graduates from across different batches, and to hear of what the Lord is doing in their lives. The event was a poignant reminder of how countless individuals including myself (Anna Ng) have had such powerful encounters with God in this place and we left with our lives changed. I was reminded yet again of the dreams the Lord gave to me, as well as the “Every Creature Commission” we are all called to carry.

Though I had some initial hesitations about making such a long trip from Singapore to attend the 10th anniversary, I left feeling genuinely honoured and privileged to have been able to be here, at this anniversary service.

I am certain many others who attended would agree that we left encouraged and reminded that we are but a link in the chain, and all we need to do is to be faithful. Our faithful God who knows the end from the beginning will guide us to fight the good fight so that the ones after us can continue to see His Kingdom’s purposes come to pass.