President Bryce Jessup Addresses Friends & Donors
Dear Friends and Donors,
This is without a doubt one of the most important letters I have ever written to our friends and partners of William Jessup University.
Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
Serving as President of SJBC/SJCC/WJU for the past twenty-five years has been undoubtedly one of the most rewarding seasons of my life. The blessings and benefits have far outweighed the challenges and I will always feel a great debt of gratitude to God and our Board of Trustees for allowing me the honor of serving our Lord at WJU.
Aware that there is a time for everything, and that seasons have beginnings and endings, it is time for WJU and for me to enter into a new season of leadership. Therefore, today I announce my retirement as President of William Jessup University. I will continue to serve as President during the 2009-2010 academic year, or until another President is appointed. It is my desire to finish strong and complete my season as President no later than May or June of 2010.
Following my retirement, I will be out of the area for about six months and then return to serve at WJU in whatever capacity the new President and the Board of Trustees deems useful.
I look forward to continuing in ministry as there is no “retirement in God’s Kingdom” as my Dad, the founder of WJU used to say with passion! The new season for WJU and me will be an exciting one as our God builds on the foundations which have been laid to exponentially multiply His disciples on earth. I fully believe that the best days of growth and impact for WJU lie ahead in the not too distant future.
The 2009/10 year will be a busy one with many exciting events currently in the planning stages. It is my desire to finish strong and pass the baton of leadership to the next President with high energy and forward momentum. Therefore, the year ahead will be filled with times of reflection and planning, to look backward and forward to the great things He has done and to the things He is yet leading us to accomplish.
Keep your eye on the mailbox, as we will be coming to different geographical areas of California and Oregon to tell the WJU story, to thank God for the victories won and to seek your partnership in the tasks yet needing to be completed. We will be announcing those meetings later this fall and seeking your participation in them. I would love to see you there so I can personally thank you for standing with me during the past twenty-five years of Presidency as there is no way that I could have done it alone!
I am asking you to put on your “running shoes” with me so that we can, “Run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.” I love the way Paul put it in Acts 20:24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”
My desire is to finish the race strong and complete the task Christ has given me. To complete the task means that I hand the baton representing a strong and vibrant WJU to the next President giving them every opportunity to succeed by God’s power. Ultimately giving them freedom to take WJU places it has never been and to victories it has never achieved for our Lord.
Now is not the time for us to “slack off” or just coast to the finish line. Rather it is a time for us to “run the race” as never before “looking unto Christ as the author and perfector of our faith.” He is leading WJU and we as His runners are anticipating a thrilling race ahead, the setting of new records, and someday hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”
Thanks again for your part in the privilege and joy of serving as President, and for your sacrificial partnership and support through the years. Please pray with me for God’s direction during this important year of transition which lies ahead. Stay tuned for frequent updates on “the race marked out for us.”
With Gratitude,
Bryce Jessup
President