Our First President, Dr. R.C. Sproul, was Called Home to the Lord

Dear Friends of Reformation Bible College,

Today we all grieve at the passing of our beloved first president, Dr. R.C. Sproul.  Of his many accomplishments, few were as dear to his heart as Reformation Bible College.  

His own years in college were rather formative. He was led to Christ in his freshman year. Later that year, his first mentor in the faith, Dr. Thomas Gregory, introduced Dr. Sproul to Augustine and the richness of the Reformed tradition. And it was also in college that Dr. Sproul had what he called his second conversion—his conversion to God the Father and to the holiness of God.

Dr. Sproul was first and foremost a teacher. His life’s work of teaching others about the holiness of God took shape at the Ligonier Valley Study Center in the mountains of western Pennsylvania in the 1970s. He trained up an entire generation. In 2011, he embarked on training the next generation as he welcomed the inaugural class of Reformation Bible College onto the campus here in Sanford, Florida. Reformation Bible College bears his distinct impression of life-on-life discipleship.  Dr. Sproul based the curriculum on what he would have wanted as an undergraduate student himself. We will always be grateful for his vision, his tireless efforts, and his unstinting support for Reformation Bible College.

Dr. Sproul’s work is not done. We at Reformation Bible College and Ligonier Ministries are committed to carrying on that work. We are committed, by God’s sustaining grace, to be faithful to those core doctrines he so clearly taught, so ardently defended, and so warmly embraced. We are renewed in our commitment at this time. We honor his memory best by carrying on the work he started here.

It was also while at college that Dr. Sproul married the love of his life, Vesta. We mourn with her at his passing. We ask that you would join us in praying for her and their family—for God’s sustaining hand of mercy, comfort, and love during this sorrowful time.

We are grateful for this one who now joins the great cloud of witnesses. We are grateful for his labors, grateful for his single-minded devotion to God, and grateful for his love for life. He will be missed. Above all, we are grateful that he pointed us so clearly and so persuasively to the Author and Finisher of our faith.  

 

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols, president
On behalf of the board of trustees, faculty, and staff of Reformation Bible College