A Lasting Legacy

One of the greatest of the American Patriots was Benjamin Franklin. He was a signer on all four of the foundational documents: Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Alliance with France, Treaty of Paris (ending the American Revolution), and the Constitution.

Benjamin Franklin was well acquainted with the message of the Gospel, and he personally knew the Revivalist preacher, George Whitfield. In his famous Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, he writes of Whitfield’s booming voice and also of his persuasive fund raising ability (Whitfield was collecting funds for an orphanage).

At the close of his life, Franklin was sarcastically challenged by a Frenchmen to leave an endowment for the fledgling America. Franklin wrote a thank you to his antagonist, and promptly added several pages to his will.

At Franklin’s death, 1000£ (about $4,500) was to be given to Boston (his birth city), and Philadelphia (his adopted city). The money was to be lent out at 5% interest to young businessmen and repaid every 10 years. Franklin stated that in Boston a board of ministers were to help control the assets, while in Philadelphia it was just the local government’s (selectmen) responsibility. After 200 years the principal of the money would be given to each city. (p. 400-405) Shousen, Mark. The Completed Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. Regnery Publishers: Washington, D.C. 2006.

Over the decades those two funds survived several Panics and even the Great Depression. Franklin’s endowment advanced hundreds of young people and started many businesses and one training institute. The experiment came to an end 200 years later, in 1990. In those 200 years the Philadelphia leaders had watched Franklin’s gift grow to 2 million dollars. However, in the City of Boston, the preachers and other custodians realized almost 5 million dollars in the fund.

Benjamin Franklin’s dying gift helped thousands.

Graduation Week Events

On April 29 - May 1, 2025, we will hold our eighteenth Graduation Week for Heritage Baptist College. The Lord blessed with another good year, and we are looking forward to sharing the blessings with you. We are excited to see you again, and to have you participate in the events that will take place this week. The schedule of the 12 speakers from various states can be found in the Spring Edition of the Heritage News which is also found on our website. Please note the several event times:

Dr. Tom Wallace to Speak at Banquet

Every year, one of the special events of Graduation Week is the Alumni/Graduation Banquet. Dr. Tom Wallace, author, evangelist, and Vice President of the Sword of the Lord is scheduled to speak at the Tuesday night, April 29th event. Dr. Wallace has pastored three great churches, where the Lord blessed with many souls saved. Dr. Wallace will spiritually feed your heart and soul.

This year, we will again host the Alumni/Graduation Banquet on the Hopewell Campus, and the food will be catered by Gray Brother’s Cafeteria. Gray Brothers may be moving, and this may be your last opportunity to enjoy their chicken and pies.

Come and hear Dr. Tom Wallace’s message, along with a night of good food, Christian music, and great fellowship. Please call Heritage Baptist College to make a reservation. (317) 738-3791 or (317) 833-0172.

Graduation Week Fish Fry

Following the morning service on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, we will enjoy our Annual Fish Fry. The annual fish fry began in the 1990’s, when Dr. Clyde Billingsley brought fish caught from various lakes in Kansas. For the past decade, Brother Harvey Shilling and the men from Waverly Baptist Church have come to Heritage to fry a wonderful meal of Crappie and later Rainbow Trout. This year we are featuring Pacific Cod as our main deep fried fish. Come and enjoy some wonderful eating!

Dr. Dave Martin to Preach During Graduation Week

One of the week’s highlights will be the combined meeting of local churches on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Dr. Dave Martin of Milford, OH will be speaking that night. We will have special singing, and numbers of churches will be in attendance.

Brother Martin has been in Gospel ministry for over 50 years, with 38 years being a senior pastor. After many years shepherding the Lighthouse Baptist Church of Winchester, VA, Dr. Martin now serves as a representative for First Bible in Milford, OH. He has also taught classes at Heritage.

This is our nineteenth year to host this combined service, and we look forward to a special evening filled with great enthusiasm, kindness, and Christian unity among the churches.

Commencement

The final activity of the week is the Commencement Service, on Thursday, May 1st at 7:00 p.m. Pastor James Brown, founding pastor of the Beanblossom Baptist Church in Brown County, Indiana will close out the week with the Commencement Address. Pastor Brown has been a faithful man of God in his community for the past five decades.

Come celebrate with students and faculty the completion of our eighteenth year.