CIU: Bible-Centered, Prayer-Centered, Missions-Centered
I appreciate the outpouring of kindness from the faculty and staff, the students, and CIU alumni who have made me feel at
home as I accept the awesome responsibility of leading a highly-respected institution known for taking the gospel to the
ends of the earth for nearly 100 years.
I’m tremendously honored to build on the great legacy of those who have come before me. As the school’s seventh
president, I am mindful of the heritage set forth beginning with President R.C. McQuilkin in 1923 to the sixth president Dr.
Bill Jones, who now serves as CIU chancellor and my co-worker in the Lord.
As we labor together, I assure you we will not compromise on CIU’s core value of the Authority of Scripture, and continue to
have Bible in CIU’s curriculum. After all, I have just completed a term as chair of the Association for Biblical Higher Education
(ABHE) and worked with its president, CIU’s 2017 Alumnus of the Year, Dr. Ralph Enlow, to further the cause of biblical higher
education. What President R.C. McQuilkin wrote in CIU’s first brochure is still relevant today, if not more so:
“To know Bible doctrines in a systematic and thorough way is the safeguard against being swept by every ‘wind of doctrine’
and ‘the wiles of error.’”
At the same time, God has equipped me to grow His kingdom; however, I know that He is the builder and any endeavor
must be for His glory. So, I also commit that future plans will be bathed in prayer and faith. In his book, “Lord Teach Us to
Pray,” R.C. McQuilkin wrote:
“To pray aright is to live aright. Not that all prayer is a substitute for doing anything else that needs to be done. But true
prayer will make possible the doing of everything that needs to be done in the most effective and victorious way.”
The history of CIU is marked by times of fervent prayer. Now is one of those times. I’m praying,
“Lord, give us vision for this season.”
Pray with me as we develop online education, programs for working adults,
and high school online postsecondary programs. We also need to develop
and expand majors such as Business, Education and Nursing — each fully
integrated with biblical wisdom. As Dr. Jones has often stated, CIU
develops “professional ministers and ministering professionals” — and
I embrace that terminology. We need CIU graduates who will make
an impact in all spheres of influence.
We have a mission to fulfill, and with God’s help, Columbia
International University will continue to be used by Him in mighty
ways. Again, it was President R.C. McQuilkin who wrote at the
founding of the school:
“What a mighty power for missions and for soul-winning
evangelism the school may be!”
Indeed it is, and by God’s grace, it shall remain.
As we approach CIU’s 100th anniversary, let us together
commit to strengthen CIU’s mission to educate people
from a biblical worldview to impact the nations with the
message of Christ.
Dr. Mark A. Smith
President
THE FINAL WORD
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THE FINAL WORD
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