The Harding Family’s Call to Africa; The Training at CIU

The Harding Family’s Call to Africa; The Training at CIU

William T. "Bill" Harding III in the 1950 Finial, the yearbook of CIU.

Since the 1950s, the Harding family of Charlotte, N.C. has been spreading the gospel and leading humanitarian efforts in Africa; from building schools and orphanages to AIDS treatment and prevention to the introduction of clean water.  For at least a dozen members of the Harding family or their relatives, training for the mission field was at Columbia International University, beginning with William T. “Bill” Harding III who graduated from CIU in 1950, when the school was known as Columbia Bible College. 

During a recent family get together, newspaper writer Michael Gordon of the Charlotte Observer sat in as the family reminisced about past experiences in Africa, and looked forward to the completion of a new project in February 2013: the Harding Bible School in Ethiopia.  Read the article “The Call of Africa.” 

Read more about the Harding family’s work in Africa and the development of the Harding Bible School at Senai's website.