Seminary

Ogden, UT – Dr Jamie Dew, President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary spent an evening with Weber State University students and faculty answering questions about life after death. This was a great opportunity to present a biblical perspective to students who may have a differing worldview. 

In preparation for the event, Redemption College Ministries along with a supporting mission team from Mississippi personally invited nearly 1,000 students. They were also able to survey over 300 students on the subject of life after death to generate student interest in the subject, and have gospel conversations. It became clear to us that students have extremely diverse perspectives on life after death. We learned that while life after death interests students, very few have any kind of certainty or hope concerning eternal life. 

As students and community members arrived at the event they received a raffle ticket for door prizes, a Bible, information for Redemption College Ministries, a gospel conversation guide, a response card with a pen, and Dr. Dew’s notes to follow along with his talk. Our ministry leaders were able to connect with several new faces from Weber State and the community. 

Dr. Dew delivered a biblical, apologetic, and philosophical argument for why life after death is a coherent perspective to hold. He spoke on the biblical expectation of a life after physical death. He then argued that the philosophical basis for such an expectation is in the immaterial reality of the human soul. If humans are more than their material beings and are a soul, it is natural to trust in biblical claim of life after death. 

After the presentation, Dr. Dew took several great questions on the concepts of faith, materialism, addictions, resurrection, and much more. We closed the conversation with Dr. Dew defining Hell as eternal torment, Heaven as eternal bliss, and the only pathway to eternal bliss is through trusting in the person and work of Jesus. After handing out the door prizes, Jamie continued conversations with students and community members on this subject. Leaders from Redemption received three response cards that are being followed up with by campus leaders. 

The success of this event encouraged leaders to hosting more Perspectives conversations and events next school year! They were thankful for the partnership of the UISBC to make this quality event possible for the students of Weber State and the community of Ogden. The event was a success in that eighty-four people were encouraged and challenged with the coherent nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hundreds more were given the Gospel in preparation for the event. Our prayer now is that we would be faithful to continue the momentum created through the event and that God would give the increase for His glory (1 Cor. 3:7). 

To watch the event On Demand, click this link

To download a copy of Dr Dew’s notes on the topic, click this link