A Faithful Journey 

Reaching beyond himself: The ministry of Harrison Elkins

Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Germany, Central Asia and Harrison Elkins. The last one is not a country, but a Cedarville alumni of 2018. From Arizona to Germany, Elkins’ faith is central in his story, portraying a life of
trust in God’s plan and purpose even when it doesn’t seem possible. 

Cedarville University, while known for its science and education degrees, was not Elkins’ first pick. In fact, he had no intentions of being in the cornfields of Ohio. Rather, his heart was set on the beaches of Florida at Clearwater Christian College.  

Except there was a problem. During Elkins’  freshman year, the picture-perfect campus unexpectedly closed, leaving him uncertain of his future. When Cedarville University President Thomas White heard the news of Clearwater’s closure, he decided to take action and enroll Clearwater students. 

While not the place Elkins expected to be, it was exactly the place where God wanted him.   

It was in Cedarville’s Biblical and Theological Center, looking at a small, unassuming sign of the countries without Scripture, that Elkins’ perspective on the world and his future transformed. 

“I saw [the sign] in October 2015, and I felt this huge burden on my heart. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh all of these people and all of these languages don’t have access to Scripture – what am I doing with my life?’” Elkins said. 

Studying to teach biology, Elkins saw no way his love for teaching and passion for missions could be linked. It wasn’t until Elkins prayed for wisdom that he had a divinely appointed coffee meeting with a Wycliffe Bible translator. 

In this encounter, Elkins learned an astonishing, yet obvious truth: Bible translators overseas have kids, and those kids need teachers. But these kids are different – they are Third Culture Kids (TCK). When he heard about the constant transition in their lives, Elkins’ heart was kindled with the desire to teach TCKs 

“I was beginning to see that even though God took something really big away from me, it was actually part of Him giving me a much greater plan that I hadn’t recognized,” Elkins said. 

In his senior year, Elkins searched out missionary schools overseas. His first internet search popped up with a school called Black Forest Academy (BFA) nestled in the foothills of the German mountains. 

“I just felt God say: this is where I’m sending you, this is where you’re going to teach one day,” Elkins said. “I shut the laptop and was stunned. I felt very strongly this is where I was going to be.” 

Elkins continued to prayerfully consider serving in Germany. With encouragement from faculty and peers at Cedarville – Elkins began to see that his transition to Cedarville was anything but a mistake. 

As Elkins prepared to raise support to go overseas, the Lord provided him with answered prayers and the connections he needed to make teaching at BFA a reality. Without Cedarville, Elkins would not have considered serving in Germany as a teacher and would not have made an impact on TCK students like Kaite Stemple.

Tucked away in the Black Forest, BFA is a school dedicated to educating missionary kids. With a welcoming and diverse student population, BFA brought new perspectives to Stemple’s life. Seeing so many different cultures all in one place taught her to respect and love others’ differences. 

In her environmental science class all the way in Germany, Stemple walks in to see a smiling face wearing plaid. From the beginning of class, Elkins exudes fun, taking science and making it tangible and relatable. As Elkins teaches at BFA, Cedarville’s influence pours into his lessons.

“We would go outside or do fun experiments that would really enhance our learning,” Stemple said. “[In Germany] we have such a clear picture of God’s creation, and Mr. Elkins was really quick to point that
out and always bring it back to scripture.”

Stemple, now at Cedarville, was deeply impacted by missionary teachers like Elkins, who went out of their way to teach TCKs like herself. Living overseas is not convenient, yet each unpaid teacher at BFA is there by choice, working for the riches of watching
students learn. 

“The teachers are there to teach but also to step in whenever there is a need,” Stemple said. “There are lots of needs at BFA, and yet the Lord always provides people who can fill those needs in some way.”

Elkins saw God provide his needs as he prepared to teach at BFA. When Elkins discovered that the biology and anatomy lesson plans he had prepared were not the classes BFA needed him to teach, he became discouraged.

Going to the Lord in prayer, Elkins asked that the Lord would give him a clear sign of what to teach and say in his classes. That day, during his student teaching, he was surprised with a gift.

The Lord, literally, dropped the right words in Elkins lap. 

“I just knew immediately this was God saying, ‘I will be with you, and I will teach you what to say, now therefore go,’” Elkins said. “And I was like, ‘OK, therefore I will go.’” 

Seven years later, Elkins has been faithfully teaching environmental science and biology at BFA. 

On top of teaching, God laid a desire on Elkins’ heart to work with Bible translators. On his visa break year, Elkins worked in Central Asia, where he not only taught but also lived with Bible translators, being involved in their daily lives in a very closed country. 

Cedarville gave Elkins the tools to faithfully follow after the Lord. Even when it seemed impossible, God had a way of making it possible. 

“I think I’m not the Christian that I am today without Cedarville,” Elkins said. 

Cedarville University provided the launch point for Elkins’ teaching overseas. While memories of flicking baby carrots at Chucks are joyful, Elkins is constantly reminded of the spiritual growth he experienced in classes like Theology 1 and the push for missions across campus.

Missions is not a cut-and-dried-calling, and Elkins’ life is proof of God’s ability to take a degree and meld it with a calling overseas. 

 “Working at an international school, [students] will meet so many families from around the world, and they can form those connections,” Elkins said. 

There are so many opportunities at MK schools, encapsulating degrees like youth ministry, maintenance, marketing, teaching degrees and, like Elkins, the sciences. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is such an open road for students to get exposure to the missions world. 

Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Germany and Central Asia have one more thing in common – a testament of the Lord’s faithfulness in the life of an individual who was willing to chase after God’s call. God can use any circumstance, major, life change and mistake as a part of your story. 

So what will your story look like? 

Danielle Cherry is a sophomore communication major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany who attended BFA and can say without a doubt it was the best experience of her life.