September 21st Update (See Below for August and July Updates)
Update on Bethany/Thrive
Thank you for your prayers lifting up the Thrive/Bethany board as we processed what the future holds for the buildings and entity of Thrive/Bethany College.
Over the past month we have moved quickly to sell the final piece of property which holds so many memories for students and staff from the past decade. We knew, without a program we would struggle to maintain the building and manage it over another winter. Through our last email we let you, our supporters know that we would be selling the property and were looking for ministries or individuals who might be interested in purchasing it or running a new ministry in this same location.
As of September 18th at 12 pm, we officially sold the last parcel of land and building. The purchasers have a deep connection with the school and property. They are former alumni, were on the board of directors and at times were also employed by Bethany College/Thrive. While this is not a specific ‘ministry’ and the use of the building will change, we trust that the memories made in this place will far outlast the bricks and mortar.
We praise God for a quick sale, for working through the multiple offers, and for helping us navigate the realities of transitioning the Bethany/Thrive program. Without the building we are now able to focus on the entity of Bethany College. We are actively pursuing opportunities for the continuation of biblical education ministry, under the banner of Bethany College. We are looking for other schools, ministries or programs that would fit with the history and legacy of Bethany and perhaps be the right ‘fit’ for the future of the school.
Should we not find the right group to carry on the legacy we are also looking for a way to carry forward the history, transcripts and other artifacts of the school so that our former students can still receive transcripts and so that the alumni doesn’t lose that history. Following the dispersion of those documents, there is a real possibility of dissolving the organization of Bethany College. This will take up to a year to do well, so please pray for us as we pursue the right next steps for Bethany College and The Thrive Discipleship Program.
Thank you for your support and prayers. Should you have any questions or ideas please send them to me, via email.
Curtis Zoerb
August 16th Update (See Below for July Update)
Here is the latest update on what's happening at Thrive/Bethany.
Since the town hall on July 8th, we have been preparing for the sad reality of the closure of the program and property. We have actively been searching for programs, schools, or ministries that might be interested in the facility or some legacy program with Bethany and its charter. To this point, there are no discipleship ministries interested in the physical building that Thrive currently owns. Because of this, the Board has decided to sell the physical building, as we cannot continue to cover the facility's operational costs without an active program.
As part of this decision, the Board has decided to also separate the facility from the Bethany College Charter/charitable status. This is because parties may be interested in continuing the ministry of Bethany/Thrive but are not interested in the physical building. Hence the reason to sell the facility while trying to find a more permanent solution for the charter and these other intangibles.
We are carefully stewarding the many years of ministry, discipleship, passion, finances and heart that so many of you have given to this school. This is why we want to let you know about our next steps.
We are accepting sealed bids from parties interested in purchasing the property in Hepburn, where we operated the Thrive Discipleship Program.
- The bids should include:
o Purchase price
o Proposed use of the facility
o Potential possession date
- Bids must be emailed to president@thrivesk.com no later than August 28th, 2024.
o The Board reserves the right to reject any and all bids.
A fact sheet with information about the property will be available for those interested. Interested parties should know that the zoning is Community Service.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Curtis
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July 4th Update
Please find our update on Thrive below:
It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the Thrive Discipleship Program will not be running this coming season.
Over the past months we have been to many conferences, schools, youth groups, churches, conventions, and town halls, making every effort we could, within the means we had to meet with potential students. However, we have not met the minimum required students to maintain the program. The board has made the decision to not run for the 24/25 school year. We are also going to start exploring what options there are for the future of Thrive, the facility and the legacy of Bethany that we steward.
We believe that there has been a great impact made on the lives of the 69 students who came through the Thrive Discipleship Program over the past 7 years. I (Curtis) know the past 2 years best as I have personally seen the impact that was made on those 12 students. I have also heard some of the stories of past students growing in faith, maturity and becoming closer to Jesus from the previous years.
We invite you to join us in this journey to talk about the future. We will be hosting a Town Hall on Monday July 8th at 7 pm in Hepburn at our building. This meeting will also be made available through zoom at the following link:
Topic: Thrive Town Hall, July 8th
Time: Jul 8, 2024 07:00 PM Saskatchewan
I want to be clear, we are looking for ideas, people and ministries that might be interested in running a ministry in the facility in Hepburn. This could possibly mean carrying on the legacy of Thrive/Bethany and continuing the legacy of so many that have given of their time, talents and treasures to disciple students within those walls.
We don’t know what the future will hold, but we are looking for ideas and people who would like to carry that future forward. We will steward the legacy we have been entrusted with carefully which is why we want to hear from you, our supporters, alumni and prayer supporters.
Things you should know:
Our Town Hall will be Monday July 8th at 7 pm. The link is above, so you can join us via zoom, from anywhere.
If you can’t make the meeting but would like to send your questions, ideas or thoughts, please email me directly at:
president@thrivesk.com
We will be moving quickly, we hope to have a plan in place by the end of July. We do not want to carry the facility through the winter, this would be cost prohibitive but to an even greater extent we believe that God still wants to work in peoples lives, in this place.
An example of one life changed…
There are many students whose lives were changed during their time at Thrive. I’d like to share one story of a life changed by their time at Thrive.
Zach was a student last year, and in his testimony he shared about how his time at Thrive helped him to understand God in a new way. He said, “my parents faith became my faith” it was during his time at Thrive that he began to understand God on his own. During Zach’s time at Thrive he developed in his Bible reading, made new friends and matured in his faith.
I had the amazing privilege of baptizing Zach in Pike Lake just a few weeks ago on June 23rd. He also just started volunteering at the MCC Thrift store in Saskatoon.
Once again, we would appreciate your prayers, ideas and input as we work towards the next part of God’s plan for Thrive, Bethany and its facility in Hepburn.
