May 17, 2019, marks the 45th graduating class for Rhema USA. For the first time in 40 years, Rhema’s commencement ceremony will be held at a different venue. The Mabee Center, located on the campus of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will host this year’s event.

We asked Tad Gregurich, Dean of Rhema Bible Training College, to share his thoughts on the 2019 graduating class.

Q&A with Dean Tad Gregurich

Q: What does the 45th year of RBTC mean to you?
T.G.: The 45th year is significant. I was in the 10th graduating class. I don’t know that any of us thought we would still be here! We didn’t know if Jesus was coming back or not. Now there are over 80,000 graduates worldwide!
These students are graduating from the strongest program we’ve ever had. Our instructors have over 1,000 years of ministerial experience. The programs we have now are a result of those early graduates coming back and telling us things they wished they would have learned. What we teach in the classroom is not theory. It’s more than principles. It can be applied to everyday life, no matter what God has called you to do.

Q: What would you say about how God gets people to Rhema?
T.G.: God has a way of getting people here at the right time. Sometimes students think they should have come earlier—especially the older students. God is timeless. He knew they would be here now and everyone else who came to Rhema during this time. Being part of the 45th graduating class—whether someone is a second-year graduate or in one of our specialty programs—is not something to take lightly. Never discount God’s timing!

Q: What do you see in the student body this year?
T.G.: We have men and women of all ages and backgrounds who are willing to put themselves secondary to meet the needs of another. They love people, especially those who many “church people” wouldn’t have anything to do with. They will defend someone who is being persecuted and show them God’s love. Put that together with learning how to use their faith, and it makes them a powerful force. I think these students are going to do more than we’ve ever thought about doing in the past. From here forward, they are going to be involved in the greatest work of God on the earth.

Join us May 17 at 7 p.m. for the 45th Rhema Bible Training College commencement at the Mabee Center, 7777 S. Lewis Ave, Tulsa, OK 74171.