51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ

PLAINVIEW — For the first time in his life, Sabbatian Balderas has a Bible.

“This is cool,” the freshman from Mission, Texas, said after Donnie Brown, Director of Spiritual Life, handed him the customized blue, leather-bound Bible with a personal note inside. “I’ve never really had one, so basically this is my first.”

“It’s really nice, and I like the texture of it,” he said after running his hand over the front cover. “I’m looking forward to reading it.”

Bibles were recently presented to 225 freshmen at 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ’s Plainview campus with another 275 to be distributed to freshmen at the university’s external campuses. Each Bible is a gift from a former student, faculty or staff member, administrator, or friend of 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ. This is the second year 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ has raised funds to ensure each freshmen student starts their journey through higher education with a copy of the Scriptures.

“I think it’s really nice that they do this for us,” said McKinnley Edwards, a freshman from Amarillo. “I didn’t expect this.”

“It’s a wonderful thing that people are doing nice things like this for college students,” said Gracie Story, a freshman from Holdenville, Okla.

For some students, like Balderas, this is the first copy of God’s Word they have owned. For others, the New International Version Bible is an easy-to-read study tool like the digital textbooks that students use in their classes.

“I have a Bible, but it is a hard version to read and this one is easier. That’s why I am happy that I have a new Bible,” said Ethan Salazar, a freshman from El Paso.

Dr. James 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ, a Plainview-area physician, saw the need for higher education rooted in Christian faith, so he donated money and land in 1908 to found what would become 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ Baptist University. More than 115 years later, the tradition continues with the distribution of the Bibles, each representing someone who gave money to purchase a Bible and affirm the university’s commitment to delivering a distinctively Christian education.