Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support for the Bible School this summer.  We rejoice in the answers to prayer that we have experienced this past month.  Among these include:

• God’s provision of the new music director.  Mr. Andrew Hanson was interviewed by the Board of Trustees and extended a call to serve as music director for our schools, a call which he officially began serving on August 1st.  Mr. Hanson has previously taught 6 years of vocal music at St. Francis High School and for the past 7 years has also served as Director of Music at Grace Free Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, MN.  Mr. Hanson, a graduate of St. Olaf College, is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Choral Conducting at St. Cloud State University.  He is excited to serve the Lord in this ministry at our schools.
• God’s opening doors for the Word in the summer team ministries.  Continue to pray for them as they complete their ministry on August 8th and return for debriefing and sharing about their summer on August 9th.  (Some of their testimonies will be shared here soon.)

Please continue to pray with us for the following:

• For more new and returning students.  We are currently near capacity for men students in the men’s dorm.  We would especially love to have more women students.  It has been a great encouragement to see more applications come in over the last couple weeks!
• Students as they pray about coming to AFLBS in the fall; for God’s provision for them and other concerns they might have about leaving home to attend Bible school. That their pastors, parents and friends would be supportive and encourage them in coming to Bible school.
• For the three to four students who have indicated their intention to enroll in the third-year Ministry Training Institute (MTI).
• As we plan for Fall Campus Days, October 17-19, 2008. We encourage all high school students to send in their application early for this great weekend. Pastor Eric Westlake will be our evening speaker.
• For our new Women’s Resident Head, Christina Berge, and new Men’s Resident Head, Adam Osier (and his new bride, the former Women’s Resident Head, Courtney Jacobi) as they prepare for their new roles at AFLBS.
• The upcoming Golf Scramble to be held August 11th. Last year’s Golf Scramble raised nearly $4000 in scholarships for AFLBS students who face financial hardship. Thank you for your support and gifts!

One student last year wrote, “Thank you for your generous gift of a $200 scholarship to help me continue my studies here at AFLBS. My time here has been a blessing to me. I have grown a lot while I have been here. I have matured and been changed by the things that I have experienced and learned. Thank you for encouraging me with your gift.”

Another student wrote, “Thank you so much for the generous gift you gave me to help pay for my time at AFLBS. It is such a blessing, and I pray that it would be put to good use as I study God’s Word and grow closer to Him. Studying the Bible these last two years has been amazing. I have learned so much and grown so much in my faith.

     We invite you to come be a part of the Golf Scramble August 11th or send a gift for the scholarship fund to help students in the coming year.  We praise God for the gifts given and progress made on reducing the debt on Heritage Hall. The debt has been reduced this past year from $400,000 to just under $200,000. We praise God for the way He provides. For more information click on Heritage 400.

     Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, through their Giving Plus program,  will supplement $1 for every $2 donated by members up to a $300 maximum supplement to each organization. Donations can be for any amount up to $600 (or more). Members can make multiple donations (i.e. monthly, quarterly, etc.) to the same organization in a given year and have the supplemental dollars provided when the paperwork is received and processed, however the donations will only be supplemented up to the $300 maximum supplement. Forms for gifts to AFLBS are available here.
     Thrivent Financial is also helping us with a new and easier way for students and their parents to pay school bills. Simply Giving® is an automated giving program designed to help you conveniently and consistently contribute to a Lutheran institution or to pay tuition at a Lutheran school, such as AFLBS. Through Simply Giving®, your gifts or tuition payments are made through a pre-authorized withdrawal from your bank account or credit card. You determine the frequency of your automatic gift—weekly, semi-monthly or monthly—the option is yours. Your gift or payment is deposited into the recipient's bank account on the same day it is withdrawn from your account—at no cost to you or the recipient.

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support of the Bible school!