From Masks to Mission: How CBC Changed a Life
By Terry Kimbrow, President
Executive Editor’s Note: As part of this year’s theme, Your Connection to the Mission, the Baptist Trumpet is excited to feature this series in the first few issues of the year. These stories will highlight how churches in the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA), working together, have impacted lives around the world for eternity. From pastors encouraged by BMA Financial to students transformed at Central Baptist College and individuals reached through missionary efforts from the state, national and international work of missions, these narratives celebrate the life-changing power of our shared mission. This series serves as a reminder of the incredible difference you and your church make when connected to the mission of advancing God’s kingdom. Together, we are making a global and eternal impact. Stay informed about what God is doing, be inspired by the lives changed through the ministries of the BMA and get involved as you stay connected to the mission through the Baptist Trumpet.
Central Baptist College is committed to transforming lives through education that integrates Christian faith and academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. That is our mission, and we work hard to pursue it in everything we do. There is no better way to do this than by hearing from a student whose life has been changed because of his time at CBC.
Caleb Allen is a senior double major in Music Performance and Worship Arts and is the son of Wade and Joanna Allen. Caleb spent much of his childhood on the mission field in the Philippines. Even though Caleb made a profession of faith at a young age, during his time at CBC, he realized he did not truly come to Christ then.
“Growing up as both an ‘MK’ (Missionary Kid) and a ‘PK’ (Pastor’s Kid), I learned all the ‘right answers.’ I knew I was supposed to be saved, although I didn’t understand what it meant to be saved, so I made a profession of faith when I was seven because I knew that was what was expected of me. While I said the words, I did not truly accept Jesus into my heart, which was evident throughout my childhood in the way I would act at home,” he said.
“Before coming to CBC, I was kind of your stereotypical pastor’s kid,” Caleb said. “I was a sweet and kind person to our church and the outside world, but at home, I was a bad kid, constantly lying and fighting with my parents… I would put on different masks depending on what group of people I was around,” he said.
Even though both of Caleb’s parents attended CBC, he was uncertain about attending himself. However, after receiving the offer for the Singers Scholarship, Caleb’s path to CBC became apparent, and he began as a freshman in 2019.
“Once I got here, I immediately fell in love with the school and felt right at home,” he said. When he began at CBC, he did not know how life-changing his time here would be.
“I mentioned these ‘masks’ I would create for myself earlier. Well, it got to the point where I had so many of them that I began to forget who I truly was. When I started college at CBC, I decided I was tired of trying to keep up with these different personalities, so I was just going to be myself and figure out who that was. Throughout this whole time, I’d been living in sin, not showing any signs of fruit, but through a program at CBC called SOS (Student Orientation Services) and my close friend/mentor Daniel Hopp, I realized that I was not saved. On August 21, 2020, I accepted Jesus into my heart and was saved,” he said.
In Caleb’s time at CBC, we have been blessed to see him come to Christ, build a relationship with Him and commit his future to Christ’s plans. It is already clear that God does indeed have big plans for Caleb.
“Currently, my wife and I are planning to be a part of the Antioch Celina church plant in Celina, Texas. I graduate in May, and we, along with a team of 28 other people, will be moving there this summer to start a church. Travis Sellers, the worship pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, will be our church’s lead pastor. One cool thing is that Daniel Hopp and his wife are also a part of that team,” Caleb said.
CBC is humbled and inspired to have played a part in Caleb’s life and walk with God. Stories like Caleb’s are the reason we exist, and our greatest desire is to have more students come to Christ and learn to follow Him throughout their time here.
Please pray for CBC as we continue to pursue our mission. Only Christ can truly transform a life, and your prayers hold us together and push us forward as we work to allow our students to experience His great transformative power.
