A Message From Pastor Wes

Dear friends in Christ,

As another academic year draws to a close on our campus, I find myself returning again and again to Paul's simple yet profound words in 1 Corinthians 12:27: "You are the body of Christ and individually members of it."

This verse served as our theme verse for the 2025-2026 school year and has been echoing across our community in surprising ways all year-through classroom conversations, chapel reflections, service projects, and late-night talks in residence halls. And it has resonated especially deeply as our students have been exploring its connection to the South African term, UBUNTU, often summarized as: "I am because we are."

UBUNTU is not merely a cultural proverb. It is a theological truth. It is Paul's teaching in a different key. It is the gospel expressed through community. It is the reminder that our lives are bound together, that our flourishing is shared, and that our identity is never isolated but always relational.

In a world that often tells young adults to build themselves, brand themselves, and prove themselves, UBUNTU offers a counter-witness:

You become yourself through others.

You grow because others have invested in you. You thrive because someone prayed for you, taught you, challenged you, or believed in you.

This year, I watched UBUNTU come alive on our campus in countless ways:

• When a first-year student struggling with homesickness was embraced by a circle of peers who refused to let her feel alone
• When faculty and staff gathered around a grieving student, offering presence more than answers
• When student leaders reminded one another that leadership is not about spotlight but service
• When our faith-infused community practiced being the body of Christ by showing up for one another in joy and in sorrow

Every one of these moments whispered the same truth: "I am because we are."

And this is where you-our partner congregations, pastors, alumni, and friends-play such a vital role. Your prayers, your encouragement, your financial support, your willingness to send students our way . . . all of it forms the web of belonging that makes UBUNTU possible here at TLU.

Our students are discovering that vocation is not simply an individual calling but a communal one. They are learning that their gifts matter not only for their own future but for the sake of the world. They are learning that to be part of the body of Christ is to be responsible for one another, accountable to one another, and connected to one another.

As we send another class of graduates into the world, we do so with confidence-not because they have all the answers, but because they know they do not walk alone. They carry with them the truth of UBUNTU and the promise of Christ's presence. They carry the conviction that their lives are intertwined with the lives of others. They carry the hope that community is not a luxury but a calling.

Thank you for being part of this calling with us. Thank you for helping us form students who understand that "I am because we are" is not just a proverb-it is a way of life rooted in the gospel, it is what it means to be part of the body of Christ.

May God continue to knit us together as one body, one community, one people in Christ.

With gratitude for our shared ministry,

~Pastor Wes