The Bus Ministry

The educational philosophy of Hyles- Anderson College is similar to the philosophy of the United States Army. That philosophy is BE-KNOW-DO. Be what you are supposed to be, know what you are supposed to know, and do what you are supposed to do. Like all good philosophies of life, it has its roots in Biblical truth. Hyles-Anderson College is a BE-KNOW- DO college. Between the classroom, the chapel, and the church, our students are trained to be, know, and do. The bus ministry is the epitome of this philosophy.

1. The bus ministry trains the heart. Bus workers reach out to the needy, the discouraged, and the broken. They reach out to the unloved and give them love. The things a bus worker learns about helping people are things that can be only talked about in the classroom.

2. The bus ministry causes the students to pray for others' needs instead of their own needs. There are so many needs that can only be met by God, so the students quickly learn to pray for their riders. Perhaps for the first time in their life, bus workers are praying fervently for the life and death situations of those they love and so desperately want to help.

3. The bus ministry makes soul winners of the students. Many college students come to Hyles- Anderson College and win their first soul to Christ. What a thrill it is to be in a culture where soul winning is expected and the norm.

4. The bus ministry builds character; it forces the workers to produce. There is a pressure to produce. It is both a peer pressure from their fellow students and high expectations from leaders within the bus ministry and church. It is not an unreasonable stress, but it does force the student to achieve and excel to a level that is outside his normal comfort zone.

5. The bus ministry makes teachers and preachers out of the men. Jesus was a teacher come from God. (John 3:2) Soul winning is teaching. Getting a bus rider baptized requires teaching skill. Teaching them “…all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” is teaching. Hyles-Anderson College students learn to teach and preach on the bus. It is the “DO” talked about in preaching class.

6. The bus ministry teaches commitment. Working in the bus ministry means that you get up early on Saturday, go to your route meeting, your division meeting, your bus ministry meeting, and then to visit your riders. It means week in and week out that you give yourself to a cause.

7. The bus ministry teaches dedication. The work of the ministry goes on when it is good weather and bad. It goes on when the college student is feeling great and when he is not feeling so great. It goes on when things are going well and when things are not going so well. The people that are served in the bus ministry need their workers all the time. It does not take long before a bus worker realizes how important he or she is to the people that ride his bus.

8. The bus ministry teaches the students to serve. The bus ministry is giving. The manifestation of love is giving. This is the very essence of the ministry. In a sense, a bus captain is a pastor to his riders. He is the closest representative of God to the people who ride the bus. He is also an influence and a testimony to the people in the community. Even those who do not come to church are aware of the bus workers' presence and good works within the neighborhood.

9. The bus ministry teaches leadership and leadership traits. Our philosophy is BE-KNOW-DO. Leadership traits are the BE in that philosophy. Bus workers learn the leadership traits of integrity, knowledge, courage, decisiveness, dependability, initiative, tact, justice, enthusiasm, bearing, endurance, unselfishness, judgment, and loyalty.

10. The bus ministry teaches the student to accept and rise to a challenge. Life is not easy. Weak people do not achieve great things for God by taking the easy route. There are those who fear failure and never rise to the challenge. The bus ministry teaches our students not only to accept the challenge but to be a David in the cause of Christ. Goliath was but an obstacle, not an excuse.

11. The bus ministry teaches confidence. It is a proving ground to show the students that they do indeed have the right stuff. A Hyles-Anderson College graduate can go to any city in the world and know that he has the right stuff to be a success in the ministry. He has the confidence of a man who knows he can do the job because he has already done the job on his bus route. He has learned to work with people, and for people. He knows God and is a servant of God. The ministry will not start when he graduates. He already has four years in the ministry when he graduates.